I enjoy to inquiry on different hypotheses, and it would be intellectually dishonest by you to ignore this point in order to raise that kind of criticism.Guiseppe's effort to remove Jesus from the time of Pilate has been based on his interpretation of Greek and/or on a different and contradictory interpretation of Hebrew,
and on an effort to date Jesus earlier, to the era of Jannaeus (a well-known error)
and, on an effort, contradictorily, to date Jesus later, to the war with Rome.
Note that the parallelism between the "scandal" by John the Baptist in *Ev 7:17-18 and the angry reaction by John of Gischala at the Josephus's news may even be evidence of a Gospel midrash from Josephus, under the traditional dating of Paul in 50-60 CE.
Afterall, we have already at least another example of a Gospel midrash from Josephus's Vita:
After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers
(Luke 2:46-47)
...was based on Josephus's Life 2:
...and I made mighty proficiency in the improvements of my learning; and appeared to have both a great memory, and understanding. Moreover, when I was a child, and about fourteen years of age, I was commended by all for the love I had to learning; on which account the High Priests, and principal men of the city came then frequently to me together, in order to know my opinion about the accurate understanding of points of the law.
Returning to the topic:
I wonder if the event that triggered the "scandal" by John the Baptist in *Ev 7:17 (that in Matthew is omitted as effect of an editorial fatigue, pace Olson), i.e. the miracle of raising the widow's son from the dead in the town of Nain, was based (not only on a midrash from Elijah but also) on the healing of Josephus in Caphar-nain, i.e. "Caphar-naum". If so, Josephus would figure partially in the episode about the John the Baptist being "scandalized" at the Jesus's news.
COROLLARY:
If the reason "John the Baptist" is, as Greg has argued, a fusion of stories about John Hyrcanus II and John of Gischala, then the reason the marcionite Jesus exalted John the Baptist as the more great "among the born by woman" is not more, contra Bruno Bauer, the fact that *Ev assumed the knowledge of a previous gospel with the baptism of Jesus by John, but simply the assumption of the persistent fame of John of Gischala.
Statistics: Posted by Giuseppe — Tue Apr 30, 2024 10:20 pm