Opera quae extant omnia : nempe, Antiquitatum Judaicarum libri XX Sigismundo Gelenio interprete, De bello Judaico libri VII interprete Rufino Aquilejensi, Liber de vita sua cum interpretatione Gelenii, Adversus Apionem libri II cum versione antiqua à Gelenio emendata, & De Maccabaeis seu de imperio rationis liber cum paraphrasi Erasmi Roterodami : accedit index locupletissimus : juxta editionem Graeco-Latinam Genevensem ad manuscriptos Palatinae bibliothecae codices castigatam quae nunc à pluribus mendis expurgata & praeterea prolegomenis & appendice auctior redditur.
Cologne: Sumptibus Mauritii Georgii Weidmanni, 1691. Hardcover. Folio. [72], 1102, [8], 68, [28]. Contemporary vellum with brown lettering ["Flavii Josephi Opera"] Title in red and black with engraved printer's device./ Ornamental initials; head and tailpieces./ Latin and Greek in parallel columns./ "Ad Flavii Josephi Opera appendix, quae continentur Aristeas de LXX interpretibus ..., Ad epitomen Aristeae ... breves notae, .. Variae lectiones ex MSto Paulino collectae, Libelli de Maccabaeis versio latina auctore Francisco Combefis cum ejusdem animadversionibus, Fragmentum ex libro ... quondam a Davide Hoeschelio editum, cum versione Stephani le Moyne": 68 p. at end, with separate t.p. Woodcut illustrated title page. Contains all of Josephus' works. In two columns per page, the original Greek and Latin. In Greek and Latin.
Contents:
-Prolegomena [Foreword]
-Antiquit Judaicarum [Antiquities of the Jews], divided into 20 books
-De Bello Judaico [The Jewish War], divided into seven books
-Vita Josephi Per Ipsum Conscripta [The life of Josephus aka Autobiography]
-Contra Apionem [Against Apionem]
Library mark ["Judaica"] to spine. Head and tail of spine slightly bumped. Corners worn. Scuffing, rubbing, discoloration and staining to boards. Hinges starting. Minor worming and occasional foxing to pages, not affecting text. Four (unpaginated) pages in the beginning are loose but present. Library mark to inside of front board: "Gift of Mrs. Selah Merill. 1914." Loose front endpaper signed by different owners. In good condition. g. Item #14755
*Name of author as it appears in the book: [Phlabiou Iosepou Hierosolymitou hiereos Ta euriskomena (romanized form)] = Flavii Josephi Hierosolymitani sacerdotis
Flavius Josephus a.k.a. Joseph b. Matityahu was a first century Jewish historian and soldier. During the 66-70 C.E. Jewish revolt against Rome, he was made commander of Galilee. He surrendered to the Romans rather then commit suicide. After the war, Josephus spent the last three decades of his life living in a villa outside of Rome under imperial patronage and writing his histories. He authored The Jewish War, The Antiquities of the Jews, Against Apion and an autobiography.
Josephus' historical works are among the most valuable sources for the study of 1st century Judaism and the context for early Christianity. This is due, among other things to the fact that they are products of his firsthand experience and his peculiar position as a defender of Judaism and a supporter of Rome. While Josephus was ignored by Jewish tradition (the Talmud makes no mention of him), he was embraced by the Church. This was mainly because of the Testimonium Flavianum passage from the Antiquities Book 18, which refers to Jesus and even calls him the Messiah. (Whether or not this passage was all or in part added in by a Christian scribe is a matter of some debate among scholars.) Such Church Fathers as Origin, Jerome and Ambrose, as well as the early ecclesiastical historian Eusebius quote him in their work.
1) On Josephus:
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911)
Encyclopedia Judaica (1972)
2) On the different editions:
Heinz Schreckenberg: Bibliographie zu Flavius Josephus (Leiden: Brill. 1968)
Heinz Schreckenberg: Bibliographie zu Flavius Josephus. Supplementband mit Gesamtregister (Leiden: Brill. 1979)
Louis H. Feldmann: Josepus. A Supplementary Bibliography. (Garland: New York/London. 1986).
Price: $750.00