Flavius Josephus

Definition: Flavius Josephus (Joseph Ben Matthias) was a first century Jewish historian whose writing includes a History of the Jewish War (75 – 79) and Antiquities of the Jews (93), which includes references to a man named Jesus.

Josephus son of Matthias was born to an aristocratic priestly family in Jerusalem who joined the Pharisees. In A.D. 64 Josephus was sent to Rome to try to bring back Jewish priests held as prisoners. There he met Nero's wife, Poppaea Sabina.
In the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66, Josephus was appointed military commander of Galilee. Josephus held the fortress at Jotapata for 47 days when the Flavian emperor Vespasian attacked. Unlike most of the Jews at Jotapata, Josephus did not commit suicide, but was taken prisoner and brought in chains before the general. Josephus predicted Vespasian would become emperor. When his prophecy came true, Vespasian released Josephus who then attached himself to Vespasian's family and took the family name Flavius. In A.D. 70, under Titus, Josephus attempted to intercede between the Jews of Jerusalem and the Romans, but the Jews distrusted him for his apostasy and he did no good. Following the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, Josephus returned to Rome. His dates are not known but are thought to have been approximately A.D. 37-100.

Occupation: Historian

Examples: Flavius Josephus is considered the best non-Christian near-contemporary source on Jesus.