PROPHECIES AND PRINCESSES: MOSES IN EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA ACCORDING TO JOSEPHUS

Abstract

Josephus’ account of Moses’ birth and upbringing in the Jewish Antiquities includes much extra-biblical material, including an extended account of his military campaign in Ethiopia. This material has often been studied as independent episodes, particularly with a view to finding Josephus’ sources. By reading the preliminary stages of Moses’ life together, this article shows that Josephus’ narrative is well-integrated in its themes and structure, as well as revealing the historian’s core concerns about Moses’ perceived ethnicity and capacity to be a loyal member of a foreign court, both reflecting Josephus’ own writing context and immediate audience among the Greek speakers in Flavian Rome.