-
oa Israel’s First Judge according to Josephus
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion, Volume 60, Issue 4, Nov 2006, p. 329 - 336
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Abstract
Inspired by the contemporary interest in the ‘rewritten Bible’ phenomenon, this article offers a detailed comparative study of the account of Israel’s first judge (‘Othniel’) in Judges 3:7-11 and its Josephan version in Ant. 5.179-184, where the figure is called ‘Keniaz’. Josephus, the study finds, significantly amplifies the Bible’s presentation, likewise redirecting attention from the theological to the political sphere when describing the nature of Israel’s offense that sets events in motion. Josephus’ version further evidences a number of similarities and differences with Pseudo-Philo’s rewriting of the biblical Othniel story in his Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 25-28. At the same time, Pseudo-Philo has much more to tell about the personage than either the Bible or Josephus.