4 h 38 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a people’s past is dismissed—and a historian answers with records, witnesses, and a defense of their faith?
In Against Apion, Flavius Josephus answers critics who call the Jews a recent, unimportant people. A Jewish priest and historian living in Rome, he defends the history he presents in Jewish Antiquities. His question is direct: does silence in Greek histories mean a people has no ancient past?
In this work, Josephus moves from the care of Jewish records to testimony from Egyptian, Babylonian, and Phoenician sources. He then confronts Apion’s accusations about Jewish origins and worship. Alongside these replies, he presents Jewish law as a whole way of life, comparing Moses with Greek lawgivers and thinkers.
What you’ll discover
- A past under challenge Follow Josephus as he challenges the claim that Greek silence settles Jewish history.
- Records kept with care Explore his account of priests preserving scriptures and guarding the memory of their people.
- Witnesses beyond Greece Meet the outside sources Josephus calls upon to support his argument for Jewish antiquity.
- Prejudice meets an answer Watch Josephus take on Apion’s charges, turning accusation into a pointed debate about identity.
- Law in daily life Discover how Josephus presents Jewish law, worship, and authority through his portrait of Moses.
Who will love it
For readers who love ancient history, Jewish and early Christian studies, or exploring the roots of prejudice and how people answered it. Josephus offers a defense of Jewish history, identity and faith through records, arguments and a portrait of Jewish law.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Greek Historians Are Younger Than Jewish Records
- Priests Guarded the Jewish Scriptures With Care
- Foreign Writers Confirm the Jews Are Ancient
- Apion's Slanders Are Answered One by One
- The Jewish Law Shapes a Whole Way of Life
- Moses Outdoes the Greek Philosophers
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Contra Apión
by Flavio Josefo · 97
Josephus confronts slanders against his people with ancient records and a defense of Jewish law and faith.
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In short
Against Apion is a defense of the Jewish people, written in Greek by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish priest and historian who lived in Rome. It comes in two books and is also known by the title On the Antiquity of the Jews.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Greek Historians Are Younger Than Jewish Records
Josephus begins by facing the main complaint. Critics said that no Greek historian mentioned the Jews, so they must be a recent people. He replies that this proves little. The Greeks, he says, were late to writing and to careful history. Their oldest authors came long after the great kingdoms of the East had already kept records for centuries.
He points out how often Greek historians disagree with each other. They quarrel over the same wars, the same dates and the same founders, and some openly call their rivals liars. Josephus argues that a people who cannot agree about their own past are poor judges of anyone else's. Many Greek writers, he says, cared more for style and for pleasing a crowd than for truth.
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What is Against Apion about?
It is a two part defense of the Jews by Josephus. He shows that Jewish history is ancient and well recorded, answers slanders by Apion and others, and describes Jewish law and belief as a sound way of life.
Who was Apion?
Apion was a scholar and teacher from Alexandria in Egypt who wrote against the Jews. He repeated stories that they were descended from lepers, worshipped an ass's head and kept hostile customs. Josephus answers him in the second book.
Why did Josephus write Against Apion?
He wanted to answer critics who called the Jews a recent and unimportant people, and to refute slanders about their origins. He addressed it to a patron named Epaphroditus as a follow up to Jewish Antiquities.
The author
Flavius Josephus
37–100 · Ancient Jewish historian
Roman–Jewish historian and military leader.
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