Those scholars who see Josephus as a quisling who wrote Bellum
judaicumas a lackey of Rome and Antiquitates judaicaeas an opportunistic
work of repentance or self-promotion, have a particularly hard time explain-
ing this extra expenditure of effort in the service of Judean tradition. Cohen
(1987b, 425) and Schwartz (1990, 23, 56n. 127) are forced to conclude that
Contra Apionemis not really a production of Josephus at all, but their pro-
posal is untenable. Again, the work is replete with Josephan language and
themes, and the author’s systematic refutation of slanders about Jewish
antiquity (summarized in C.Ap.2.228–290) was already woven into the
fabric of Antiquitates judaicae.
I would argue that both the form and the content of the tract, not to
mention the creative energy that it reflects, are best understood if Josephus
was here continuing his effort to further interest in Judean culture—includ-
ing a recommendation of conversion. Lacking space for an analysis of the
whole text, I will focus first on the preface and structure, then on a few key
passages, and finally on the question of genre.
Preface and Overview
Josephus dedicates Contra Apionem(1.1; 2.1, 196) to the patron of the Antiq-
uitates judaicaeandVita.Epaphroditus, a Gentile with a deep interest in
Judean culture, continues to serve as a paradigm of the implied reader.
That Josephus has such an image in mind is confirmed by his closing
address: “To you, Epaphroditus, who are a devoted lover of truth [cf. A.J.
1.12], and for your sake to any who, like you, may wish to know the facts
about our race” (C.Ap.2.196). Although Josephus complains about the fact
that certain people continue to slander Judean history in spite of his Antiq-
uitates judaicae,neither that work nor the present one were written for the
slanderers themselves; Josephus still expects a well-disposed and curious
Gentile audience.
As the older title of Contra Apionemsuggests (“Concerning the Antiq-
uity of the Judeans”; cf. Eusebius, Hist. eccl.3.9.4), this work shares the
same theme as Antiquitates judaicae.Josephus now summarizes the purpose
of that earlier work as having been threefold: to show the extreme antiq-
uity of the Judean race (over 5,000 years), its unique foundation and char-
acter, and the way in which it came to inhabit Judea (C.Ap.1.1). At least,
these are the aspects of Antiquitates judaicae,which Josephus now wishes to
develop further; if asked about that work in general, he might have said
more.
Although his audience and general theme remain the same, Josephus
changes his approach and genre. We have seen that Antiquitates judaicae
basically told the Judean story, Josephus occasionally punctuating the nar-
TheContra Apionemin Social and Literary Context 159