The Works of Josephus--; Containing Twenty Books of the Jewish Antiquities, Seven Books of the Jewish War, and the Life of Josephus Volume 1

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General Books, 2013 - 398 pages
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1835 edition. Excerpt: ... them, and then destroyed them: and when he had taken the other cities of th Ammonites by force, he treated them after the same manner. Chap. vni. How Absalom murdered Amnon, who had forced his own Sister; and how he was banished, and afterwards recalled by David. 1. When the king was returned to Jerusalem, a sad misfortune befel his house on the occasion following.--He had a daughter, who was yet a virgin, and verj handsome, insomuch that she surpassed all the most beautiful women; her nam was Tamar: she had the same mother with Absalom. Now Amnon, David'a eldest son, fell in love with her, and being not able to obtain his desires, on account of her virginity, and the custody she was under, was much out of order; nay, his grief so eat up his body, that he grew lean, and his colour was changed. Now there was one Jonadab, a kinsman and friend of his, who discovered this his passion, for he was an extraordinary wise man, and of great sagacity of mind. When, therefore, he saw that every morning Amnon was not in body as he ought to be, he came to trim, and desired him to tell him what was the cause of it: however, he said, that he guessed that it arose from the passion of love. Amnon confessed his passion, that he was in love with a sister of his, who had the same father with himself. So Jonadab suggested to him by what method and contrivance he might obtain his desires; for he persuaded him to pretend sickness, and bid him, when his father should come to him, to beg of him that his sister might come and minister to him, for if that were done, he should be better, and should quickly recover from his distemper. So Amnon lay down on his bed, and pretended to be sick, as Jonadab had suggested. When his father came, and inquired how...

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About the author (2013)

A member of a wealthy priestly family in Judea, Josephus was a Pharisee originally named Joseph ben Matthias. An active supporter of anti-Roman activity, he became governor of Galilee, a post he held with honor and valor until Galilee was taken by the Romans in a.d. 67. He won the favor of the Roman general Vespasian, whose name---Flavius---he took as his own and through whose patronage he later became a Roman citizen. Although often criticized for becoming a supporter of Rome, in his work Against Apion he passionately defends Jewish religion and culture. Josephus wrote both in Greek and in Hebrew. His writings are neither remarkably fine representatives of classical culture nor the product of deep learning in Jewish literature and history. They do, however, tell the reader a great deal not known from other sources. The Jewish War (75--79), based to a great extent on what Josephus himself saw, heard, and experienced, describes the tragic events of the Jewish revolt against Rome. Antiquities of the Jews (93) covers the history of the Jews from creation to the war with Rome, with special attention given to the Maccabees and the dynasty of Herod.

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