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Re: orion-list Investigates the 3 Sects, Invests 3 Years, Joins the Pharisees
I am caught between a rock and a hard place in personal and academic terms
on this one. In personal terms, Morton Smith was my teacher; Steve Mason
was my student. In academic terms, I think both of them were wrong about
Josephus on the Pharisees. Smith sees a shift from the earlier to later
works. I find a remarkable consistency of terminology from War to Life.
Mason thinks that Josephus was consistently hostile to the Pharisees. This
is an exaggeration, at best, in my opinion. I have not yet been able to
figure out some simple formula that explains the twists and turns I see in
Josephus' remarks on the Pharisees. I guess that makes me an agnostic of
some sort. For that reason, however, I feel comfortable recommending both
Mason and Schwartz. Each has merits and has contributed important insights
of which discussants on this list should be aware.
Al Baumgarten
Bar Ilan University
For private reply, e-mail to Albert Baumgarten <baumgaa@mail.biu.ac.il>
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