Josephus
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Josephus. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
FLAVIUS (-sē'fus), a famous Jewish historian; born in Jerusalem in A. D. 37. On his mother's side he was descended from the Asmonæan princes, while from his father, Matthias, he inherited the priestly office. He enjoyed an excellent education, and at the age of 26 he went to Rome to plead the cause of some Jewish priests whom Felix , the procurator of Judæa, had sent thither as prisoners. He obtained their release and received valuable gifts from the empress. On his return to Jerusalem he found his countrymen eagerly bent on a revolt from Rome, from which he used his best endeavors to dissuade them; but failing, he professed to enter into the popular designs. He was chosen one of the generals of the Jews, and sent to Galilee. When Vespasian and his army entered Galilee, Josephus threw himself into Iotapata, which he defended for 47 days. When the place was taken, the life of Josephus was spared by Vespasian through the intercession of Titus . Josephus thereupon assumed the character of a prophet, and predicted to Vespasian that the empire should one day be his and his son's. Vespasian did not release him from captivity till he was proclaimed emperor (A. D. 70). Josephus was present with Titus at the siege of Jerusalem, and afterward accompanied him to Rome, receiving the freedom of the city. He assumed the name of Flavius, as a dependant of the Flavian family. His works are written in Greek, and are: "History of the Jewish War" (about A. D. 75); "Jewish Antiquities" (about A. D. 93); His own " Life" (not earlier than A. D. 97); "A Treatise on the Antiquity of the Jews, " or "Against Apion." He died about A. D. 100.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
jo-see'fus (38-100 A. D.), a Hebrew historian. He was born at Jerusalem. He belonged on both sides to priestly families. He was educated a Pharisee. At the age of twenty-four he made a trip to Rome to secure the pardon of some priests, friends of his, who had been sent thither on trifling charges. He was successful, not only in the main object of his mission, but in making friends at court who stood him in good stead later. When the Jewish rebellion, which brought on the destruction of Jerusalem and the banishment of the Jews by Titus, broke out, Josephus, if we may believe his own account, first opposed the Jewish movement, then accepted the command of the Hebrew forces in the army of Galilee. After the conquest he was well received by the Roman commander, Vespasian, and accompanied him to Rome. When Vespasian became emperor, Josephus was received with no little favor. He was assigned a royal residence and a pension, to which was subsequently added an estate in Judea. His chief historical work is a History of Jerusalem in seven volumes, an account of the Jewish rebellion and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. It appears to be trustworthy. Aside from certain exaggerations, easily detected, it seems to be a faithful picture drawn by an eyewitness. Another work, The Antiquities of the Jews, is little more than a paraphrase of the Old Testament narrative drawn up for popular reading. He wrote chiefly in the Greek language, then the tongue of the learned. He died at Rome. See Jews
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The facts of the life stand much as Collier's gave them in 1921, but the standing of the books has been transformed. Aiton's 1910 dismissal of the "Antiquities of the Jews" as "little more than a paraphrase of the Old Testament narrative drawn up for popular reading" is no longer tenable: its later volumes are now the single most important source for Judaea under Herod and the Roman procurators, and its brief notices of John the Baptist, James and Jesus (the disputed "Testimonium Flavianum") have generated a scholarly literature of their own, most researchers holding that the Jesus passage was reworked by later Christian copyists. Archaeology has also put Josephus to the test rather than simply trusting him: Yigael Yadin's excavation of Masada in 1963-65 checked his account of the siege and its end against the ground, and later digs in Galilee have been matched against his description of Jotapata. Where the old entries treat him as a straightforward eyewitness, modern readers approach him as an interested party writing under Flavian patronage, defending his own surrender and his people to a Roman audience.
Written for this edition, 2026.