WWW.AENT.

ORG
sin is the servant of sin. And a servant does not remain forever in the house, but the Son remains
forever. If therefore the Son should free you, truly you will be free men (Yochanan 8:20-25).

Josephus the Netzari

So the Word of Elohim spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,
and a large number of kohenim became obedient to the faith. Acts 6:7
Throughout the Gospels, we are told of prominent members of the Jewish aristocracy, particularly
from the Sanhedrin Council, who were secret followers of Yshua Mashiyach (John 12:42,
19:38). Two men who are directly mentioned by name are Joseph of Ramtha and Nicodemus,
but there can be little doubt that there were many others. Here we will examine the possibility
of another such man, descended by his own account from both priests and kings. His name was
Yoseph bar Matthias, better known as the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.

AR
EN A
M
G
W TE N L AI
W S E IS C
W TA W H
.A M
EN E
T. NT
O
R
G

In the two millennia since his death, the writings of Josephus have become one of the foremost
focal points in the Jewish Christian divide and debate. His works are among the only surviving
sources for documenting the trials and tribulations of First Century Israel. While some would add
Philo of Alexandria to this short list as well (although he visited Israel just once), Josephus was
a long-time resident who was an eyewitness to events like the Jewish War and the destruction of
the Second Temple, which makes Josephus an even more critical witness than his Alexandrian
counterpart and literally puts him in a category all by himself.
Josephus also emerges as a huge enigma when we consider how different groups have portrayed
him over the centuries. In Rabbinic circles, he is largely looked upon as a traitor, because by
Josephus own account, he had surrendered to the Romans after commanding Galilean forces in
the Jewish War. He then switched sides interpreting for the Romans the Hebrew laments of his
brothers while living the last quarter century of his life in Gentile splendor. The fact that Josephus
gives approval to Yshua and his early followers surely did not help curry favor with his brethren.
In addition, Josephus the Pharisee provides a fair amount of negative appraisals of the key tenets
of that sect, and it is from the Pharisees that we get the Rabbinics of today.
On the other hand, Josephus account of the Second Temples destruction and other key aspects of
Jewish history have never been successfully refuted by the Rabbinics either, so like it or not, they
admit Josephus is generally reliable. The modern state of Israel in fact uses the story of Masada
as a major symbol of their national identity, and this is in spite of the fact that Josephus is the
sole source for this event. Generally speaking, the grudgingly difficult but rock solid consensus
is that Josephus is overall considered one of the greatest and most accurate historians the world
has ever known. So while many Rabbinics accuse Josephus of abandoning them, they have not
altogether abandoned Josephus.
But if the Rabbinic response to Josephus appears to be confusing, the Christian version of this
could well be considered downright schizophrenic as Christians have actually attempted to add
to his writing for credibility. And, while accepting as a normative fact Josephus love of Torah
and status as a Pharisaic leader, they have also suggested that his positive portrayals of the early
Nazarenes pointed to the historian as an early Bishop of Jerusalem! All these centuries later, we
may well look at such an idea as Christian fable, but the fact remains that even many of the most
fantastic legends have some basis in real history. But the question is: What are the facts behind this
theory? Is it possible that Josephus was an early follower of Yshua, and that this formed the basis
of Christian legend about him? If so, can we demonstrate from the historical record how Josephus
genuine beliefs may have been morphed for their purposes? At the end of the day, can we say
with any certainty that the most famous Jewish historian of them all was really a Nazarene Jew?
In order to find out, we will need to answer a series of progressively interesting and difficult
questions, starting with the easiest one first:

WWW.AENT.ORG

869

WWW.AENT.ORG

From Publication to Masorah and Liturgy:

Where Do We Go From Here?
Its the text
As youve sojourned through these pages youve noticed suggestions and ideas some gentle,
some not which dealt with a wide variety of historical and spiritual traditions that surround, or
have been in opposition to, this text. You have seen critiques against Rabbinic Judaism, ancient
Gnosticism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Greeks in Jewish Clothing, just to name a
few. However, let it not be said that one group hath escaped the sharpened quill, we of the Netzari
Faith ourselves!
The fact is, there is no place on Earth, not one solitary kehillath (assembly) in which all the
optimum requirements are being met for worship. Yes, obviously some assemblies are quite
close, but all are lacking in elements which are just as critical as the ones they have embraced
and adopted.

AR
EN A
M
G
W TE N L AI
W S E IS C
W TA W H
.A M
EN E
T. NT
O
R
G

Picture this if you will: It is Shavuot, and the whole Netzarim congregation is rejoicing in the
Ruach haKodesh, in Mashiyach and in the giving of Torah. As the Torah is being carried about
and rejoiced over there is dancing, singing and aliyahs, blessings upon the opening and closing
of the ark that contains the precious word of YHWH inscribed in the Set Apart Hebrew language.
It is certainly a great honor for each of us to be part of such a community of worshippers. And
then, to climax all of this, many will read from their source of ultimate halakha, the teachings of
YHWHs Son, the Living Torah, from a Greek translation? And without a scroll?
Whats worse, many cant even agree on which version to learn from! Is it the Greek from
Western, Alexandrian or Byzantine text families? Is Matthew to be read from these or from one
of three late medieval copies written in Hebrew? Are the rest of the Gospels coming from the
Greek, Peshitta or Old Syriac? Or maybe we should targum by the seat of our pants, becoming
Nazarene Pentecostals speaking in strange tongues and cobble together readings from a
particular Semitic Buffet Line?
Can we not see the disconnect here dear brethren? Why are Scriptures treated and handled
differently because of what part of the Word they come from?
Are we never to do an aliyah reading from the scroll that has the first five books of the Renewed
Covenant in Aramaic, as we do from the five books of Torah that were given by the One True
Lawgiver?
Why then you may ask, did we not put this diglot into Hebrew rather than English? As mentioned
earlier it is vital that we all share in the preservation of the Aramaic language. Now everyone can
see the text and analyze it for themselves regardless of their Hebrew or Aramaic language skills.
But for the Netzarim community there must be a wider purpose, even to standardize and reinvigorate the kind of Jewish learning infrastructure that existed in the days of the Shlichim when
the Temple stood and in the centuries immediately following with the establishment of the Tiberian
style yeshivas. For this, we must read from all Set Apart texts in a unified manner. The rabbis
of the period ascertained that standardizing and stabilizing canon lists, liturgy and the readings
themselves was critical to keeping their culture alive. Hebrew and Hebrew literature had to have
a base which everyone agreed on, at least as a foundational starting point for scholarship and
prayer. Should not this same wisdom be applied to the Renewed Covenant writings as well?
The writings of the Renewed Covenant are just as worthy as Tanakh, and should be venerated
and preserved in the exact manner as Tanakh, including production by a scribal hand on animal
skins and using a counting method of the letter values of each line to ensure one hundred percent
accuracy. But we cant make that kind of guarantee if we dont know what the text that we are
reproducing actually is!
1060

WWW.AENT.ORG