Testimonium Flavianum
The Testimonium Flavianum is a testimony to Jesus of Nazareth, the historian Jew of the late first century , Flavius Josephus, whose authenticity is debated in the community of scholars.
Summary |
The Testimonium Flavianum be found in paragraphs 63 and 64 of Book 18 of Antiquities of the Jews , we have several manuscripts dating from the Middle Ages , and in two works of Eusebius of Caesarea : The Ecclesiastical History and the Evangelical Demonstration. The text, however, is suspect to have been interpolated, especially the passages marked in brackets:
- "At that time Jesus appears, a wise man Debate on the authenticity
The question of the authenticity of Testimonium Flavianum arises from the sixteenth century and the position taken by Lucas Osiander. Indeed, Origen , in his "Against Celsus ", says that Josephus did not believe that Jesus was the Christ. The controversy has intensified in the seventeenth century and the eighteenth century when Voltaire and encyclopedists imposed the idea of a fake. Ernest Renan was the first major modern scientist, however, after Henri Wallon , defend the authenticity, subject to minor interpolations. The thesis of the total interpolation was dominant between the wars, then, following the publication of the Syriac manuscripts by Shlomo Pines , one of the interpolation part. The recent development of studies on Judeo-Christianity has renewed way of looking at the text and revived the thesis of complete authenticity. Today, opinion is divided and there are proponents of each viewpoint as well among Jews, Christians and researchers who have no religious belief.
Interpolation complete
The whole passage would be an addition Christian, prior to the start of the fourth century. The reasons for affirming that this passage is a forgery are:
- An orthodox Jew like Josephus, who remained faithful to Judaism until his death, which educated his son in this religion, a Jew who considers that his greatest pride of being the descendant of a priestly Hebrew strain, a Jew who writes, as he himself says in the presentation of Jewish Antiquities, to demonstrate the superiority of the Mosaic religion over all others, simply can not be recognized as true the basic concepts of Christian catechesis, it can be said that Jesus was the true Christ, that is to say, the realization that the Messiah himself, as a Jew, was still awaiting the arrival.
Voltaire writes in his Philosophical Dictionary (chapter V)
"Christians, one of those pious frauds, falsified a rough passage of Flavius Josephus. They assume that Jewish, so stubborn in its religion, four ridiculously interpolated lines, and after this passage they add: He was the Christ. What! If Josephus had heard of so many events that are surprising nature, Josephus would not say that the value of four lines in the history of his country! What! This obstinate Jew would have said Jesus was the Christ. Hey! if you had believed Christ, you'd have been a Christian. How absurd to talk Josephus Christian! How is he still theologians rather insolent fools enough to try to justify this deception of the first Christians, known for fabricators of lies a hundred times stronger! "- Voltaire , Philosophical Dictionary, under "Christianity"
- The passage is placed between two facts which exclude rhetorically.
Just consider the two events, reported in their original position, to realize how the passage about Jesus is an obvious inclusion (awkward) that interrupts the sequential relationship that Josephus wanted to give two misfortunes that happen to Jews in this time.
After finishing the story of a massacre of residents of Judea by the Roman soldiers, following a riot because Pilate had used money from the Treasury to carry out a holy water , with the sentence: "Thus ended the riot, "says Joseph Flavius then hitting another disgrace the Jews began:" In the same period another terrible event threw disorder among the inhabitants of Judea and took place simultaneously such outrageous actions in connection with the Temple of Isis in Rome ... . It was enough to put the two sentences that the author brings together like links in a chain, the passage about Jesus that begins: "At the same time, about, lived Jesus, a wise man ... "To realize that this sentence is a crude interpolation between two facts which exclude.
- Flavius Josephus in his autobiography talks about the year 53 and identification of existing sects:
- "And when I was about 16 years, I had the idea to identify the different sects that were among us. These sects are these: the first is that of the Pharisees, Sadducees that of the second and third that of the Essenes, whom I have often talked, and I thought that by this means, I could choose the best if I did part, so I paid the price drive, and faces many challenges, and I was one of these sects. But I am not only satisfied these tests, but when I learned that there was one, his name is Banos, who lived in the desert, did not use other clothing that the curls of her hair, had no other food than that which had grown up following her consent, and bathed himself in cold water regularly, as well as the night the day, to preserve her chastity, I imitated him in all these things and went with him for 3 years. When I had accomplished my desires, I returned to the city, with now 19, and I began to follow my own free will the rules of the sect of the Pharisees, which is a kind of Stoic sect, as the Greeks call. "
Following the history of Christianity, in 53 AD. AD Paul preached ardently and converted many people. If one believes the history of Christianity, Jesus died for 20 years, Christians are multiplying, crowds followed Jacques, Peter and Paul and a gospel which is the source Q Mark, Matthew and Luke is already in circulation.
However, Josephus Flavius, who wishes to make a review of the various religious movements that date, no mention absolutely not. This silence raises the question if Christians were in existence at the time as an entity apart.
- Origen in his Against Celsus (chp IV XI) made an apology to prove that Jesus existed. He cites Josephus, not the passage quoted above, but to talk to Moses. In its Commentary to the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 17), it does not cite this passage not strong Jewish historian, but explains that the Jews have suffered the destruction of their temple because of the death of Jacques's brother Jesus (called Christ). The passage in brackets is debatable as to whether it is Origen who added in his speech or if he actually quotes the author.
- In his book Jewish Antiquities XX of the passage where we are concerned, it is spoken by 4 Jesus (Jesus Christ said, Jesus son of Gamaliel, and of Damnaios Josidek). 3 are located at the same time. Throughout his works and in this particular book, Josephus names the characters, following the Jewish custom of the time, "son of" and when it is necessary to the story "brother." A Jesus Christ orphan unrelated suggests to calamus Loved the post author.
This entire passage is quoted for the first time in the fourth century in the work of Eusebius of Caesarea and is totally ignored by the long list of early church fathers for 3 centuries.
Representatives of this view: Alfred Loisy , Paul-Louis Couch , Jacques Moreau , Charles Guignebert , Pierre Battifol , Leo Hermann , Daniel-Rops , Marie-Joseph Lagrange , Marcel Simon , Pierre-Aim Puech , Edmond Staffer , Solomon Zeitlin , Geoltrain stone.
Partial Interpolation
The text is partially revised, once removed the expressions Christian connotation, a text appears consistent with the style of Josephus, where Jesus is simply regarded as "a wise man." This is the point of view that was adopted by Ernest Renan and is now one of most specialists.
Groups of words considered as interpolated vary according to the authors, but are usually part: "But if we must call him a man" and "That one was the Christ," less often "because it appeared to them ... , And others.
Shlomo Pines , the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has emphasized this assumption by publishing versions of Testimonium neglected: that of Agapios , and those columnists George Kdrnos (written in Greek) and Michael the Syrian.
It seems ever circulated a short form of Testimonium, appearing specifically Syrian, which does not exactly controversial passages that opposed the tradition of "Western". The concordance of the manuscripts, despite the existence of variants, is in favor of this theory.
The underlying idea is that it would better preserve the original text as found in an area where Christianity has persisted independent of Orthodox Christianity, which came under Muslim domination.
The Syrian version would, according to its critics, its origin in the Greek version and would represent a degraded state. As noted by Etienne Nodet , "He was considered the Messiah" implies that Josephus did not use the word as a noun but powerful question of the Messiahship of Jesus (which brings in some way, the initial objection made against the traditional text) and his Roman readers were aware of what it was.Representatives of this view: Henri Wallon , Ernest Renan , Albert Reville , Maurice Goguel , Adolf Harnack , Robert Eisler , Giuseppe Ricciotti , Shlomo Pines , Jean Danielou , Antoine Guillaumont , Pierre Prigent , Charles Perrot , Andr-Marie Dubarle , Mireille Hadas -Lebel , John P. Meier.
Complete Authenticity
It would be a testimony to the Judaism of first century aimed at pagans, for whom Christ is an agitator, and Jews for whom he is in the current Messianic.
The arguments in favor of this thesis are:
- Origen says twice (in his Commentary on Matthew and Against Celsus) that "Josephus did not believe that Jesus was the Christ." This proves that he knew a text of Josephus on Jesus. He understood that Josephus did not believe in the Messiahship of Christ even if it meant well.
- Josephus could hardly ignore Jesus when he described the events as a historian and that Christianity had gained prominence in Rome already led to persecution. It also speaks in another passage about Jacques , which almost no one says he has been an interpolation.
- It often proceeds by digressions, which explains the place of passage in the story. Reinach is normal that Josephus had spoken of Jesus as he dealt with Pilate.
- About the impossibility that he could say he was Jesus Christ, you could say as much as a Christian convinced of his divinity did not have written that Jesus was only a "wise man. Similarly, a Christian would not use the imperfect or used the words "doer of wonders." In fact, the word "Christ" is simply a name, the only known to the Romans that Joseph could not refrain. Serge Bardet said it was probably worth controversy: the term , "anointed" but also "coat", applied outside of Judeo-Christianity, as a wall, as in Suetonius , Chresto, "good" is "probably a nickname like servile.
- The words' it appeared to them after the third day, living again, the divine prophets had said these things and ten thousand other marvels about him. "Is the relationship of what the Christians say, explaining that their group had" not gone away. "
- There is an "extreme difficulty" Assumption of transcription errors
It is the marginal hypothesis of Herman Somers , a psychologist who became interested in Flemish connections between psychology and religion. The word "man" was repeated instead of the word "wise" and the original text would have content and not . On the other hand, the Greek word , it would have been confused with , the latter, which would have led to a change in meaning of the text which would have originally contained "Towards those days a wise man is born, if we call it wise. He performed such acts weird and became a teacher for people who really accepted him with enthusiasm. And he managed to convince many Jews and Greeks that Christ was him. "
References
Notes
Related articles
External Links
- The Testimonium Flavianum reconsidered (H. Somers)
- (In) Complete site on the subject - in archive
- (In) The Testimonium Flavianum Controversy from Antiquity to the Present. Alice Whealey
- (In) Analysis with the location estimated by interpolation partial philologists
Bibliography
- Serge Bardet : The Testimonium Flavianum, Historical Review, historiographical considerations, with an afterword by Peter Geoltrain. Cerf 2002. The author analyzes the arguments in favor of alternative assumptions, then it looks in the new issue to find in favor of authenticity.
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