Flavius Josephus, a Jew, was born about the year 37 A.D. and died about 95 A.D. He is the one secular historian whose writings had great importance in perpetuating the knowledge of the Jewish history throughout later classical and mediæval times. Indeed, thanks to the subject upon which he wrote, Josephus has continued to be better known to the general public than almost any other classical author. Josephus, though a Jew, spent most of his life in Rome, and he appears to have taken it as his mission to justify his race to his western associates. As is well known, the Jews were not favourably regarded among the Greeks and Romans; hence the character of the narrative of Josephus. His chief work on the history of the Jews is based very manifestly upon the sacred records of his people. It is, in short, in the main a bald transcript, with certain additions and omissions, of the biblical record. It can hardly be maintained that the transcript was made with entire candour and honesty. In the nature of the case, these merits were hardly to be expected of Josephus. He was a Jew, a member of a despised and insignificant race, striving to prove to the most cultured people in the world that the contempt in which they held his compatriots was not merited. His whole effort, therefore, is to magnify the importance of the Jews, to minimise their faults. It is true he introduces into his narrative, here and there, much matter that is not to be found in the Bible records. To a certain extent such matter may be drawn from other Jewish sources that have not come down to us; but it is quite impossible to draw the line between such matter and other matter which the imagination of Josephus may have invented, not indeed as to bald facts, but as to the elaboration of details. The work of Josephus has an added importance in that it brings the history of his race down to his own time; that is to say, to the latter part of the first century A.D. For later events, in some of which the author himself participated as a military leader, the work of Josephus is the highest, if not indeed the sole authority, and we have quoted from him frequently. For the earlier period, Josephus depended upon the traditions of his race.
Jost, Israel Marcus, Geschichte der Israeliten, Berlin, 1820-1847, 12 vols.; Allgemeine Geschichte des israelitischen Volkes, Leipsic, 1850; Geschichte des Judentums und seiner Sekten, Leipsic, 1857-1889, 3 vols.—Justinius, Historiæ Philippicæ et totius Mundi Origenes et Terræ Situs, Venice, 1470.—Jungfer, H., Die Juden unter Friedrich dem Grossen, Leipsic, 1880.—Justi, F., Geschichte der altorientalischen Völker im Altertum, St. Petersburg, 1884.
Kahn, L., Histoire de la communauté israélite à Paris, Paris, 1894.—Kalischer, E., Parabel und Fabel bei den alten Hebräern, Berlin, 1894.—Kamphausen, A., Das Lied Moses, Leipsic, 1862; Das Gebet des Herrn, Elberfeld, 1866; Die Chronologie der hebräischen Könige, Bonn, 1883; Das Buch Daniel und die neuere Geschichtsforschung, Leipsic, 1893; Bleek’s Einleitung ins Alte Testament, Berlin, 1870.—Karpeles, G., A Sketch of Jewish History, Philadelphia, 1897; Jewish Literature and Other Essays, Philadelphia, 1895.—Kautzsch, An Outline of the History of the Literature of the Old Testament, New York, 1899.—Keil, Handbuch der biblischen Archæologie, Frankfurt, 1875.—Kellner, Max, The Assyrian Monuments (illustrating the Sermons of Isaiah), Boston, 1900.—Kellogg, S. H., The Jews, or Prediction and Fulfilment, New York, 1883.—Kennard, H. M., Philistines and Israelites: A New Light on the World’s History, London, 1895.—Kent, C. F., A History of the Hebrew People, New York, 1896; A History of the Jewish People during the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek Periods, New York, 1899.—Kirkpatrick, A. F., The Doctrine of the Prophets, London, 1897.—Kittel, R., Die Anfänge der hebräischen Geschichtsschreibung im Alten Testament, Leipsic, 1895; Geschichte der Hebräer, Gotha, 1884.—Klostermann, Geschichte des Volkes Israel bis zur Restauration unter Esra und Nehemia, München, 1896.—Koehler, A., Lehrbuch der Geschichte des Alten Bundes, Erlangen, 1875-1881.—Kohlbauer, A., Geschichte des alttestamentlichen Bundesvolkes, Regensburg, 1886.—König, Ed., Einleitung in das Alte Testament mit Einschluss der Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testamentes, Bonn, 1893.—Kosters, W. H., Die Wiederherstellung Israels (in der Pers. Studie), Heidelberg, 1895.—Kuehnen, A., Gottesdienst von Israel, Haarlem, 1869-1870; Hist. critisch onderzoek naar het ontstaan en de verzameling van de boeken des ouden Verbonds. 2 uitgave. Leyden, 1885-1893; Die Profeten und die Profetie in Israel, Leyden, 1875, 2 vols.; Volksreligion und Weltreligion, Berlin, 1883; Skizzen aus der Geschichte Israels, Nimwegen, 1882-1892, 2 vols.; Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur biblischen Wissenschaft, Freiburg, 1894.—Kurtz, J. H., Geschichte des alten Bundes, Berlin, 1848-1855, 2 vols.
Landau, R., Geschichte der jüdischen Ärzte, Berlin, 1895.—Laroche, E., Chronologie des Israélites, Angers, 1892.—Latimer, Judæa: from Cyrus to Titus, 537 B.C.-70 A.D., London, 1894.—Lazarus, M., Die Ethik des Judentums, Frankfurt, 1898.—Leathes, S., The Law in the Prophets, London, 1894.—Ledrain, E., L’histoire d’Israël, avec append. par J. Oppert, Paris, 1879.
Eugène Ledrain was born at St. Suzanne (Mayenne), France, in 1844. Professor Ledrain is a distinguished member of that large coterie of French scholars who have devoted their lives to the study of biblical history. His works have for some reason not been translated, and his name is therefore not very familiar to the English reader. His particular field has been the history of the Jews in all its phases. His industry is illustrated not only by the long list of his writings, but particularly by the fact that these included a new translation of the Bible. So much said, it is clear that his investigations have been of a kind to give him the fullest familiarity with his subject, and it is no surprise to find that he is able to present his knowledge in an acceptable form.
Leitner, F., Die prophetische Inspiration, Freiburg, 1894.—Lidzbarski, Handbuch der nordsemitischen Epigraphik nebst ausgew. Inschrift., Weimar, 1898.—Lieblein, J., L’exode des hébreux (in Proc. Soc. of Bibl. Archæol., Vol. XX, p. 277; Vol. XXI, p. 53, London, 1898).—Lincke, V., Die Entstehung des Judentums (in Ztschr. für Wissenschaftl. Theologie, Jahrg. 44, p. 481 et seq., Leipsic, 1901).—Linden, G. v., Der Sieg des Judentums über das Germanentum, Leipsic, 1879.—Lindo, E. H., History of the Jews of Spain and Portugal, London, 1848.—Lippe, Ch. D., Biblisches Lexicon der gesammten jüd. Litteratur der Gegenwart, Wien, 1881.—Löhr, M., Geschichte des Volkes Israel, Strassburg, 1900.—Lotz, W., Geschichte und Offenbarung im Alten Testament, Leipsic, 1894.—Löwenstein, L., Beiträge zur Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, Frankfurt, 1895.—Lury, I., Geschichte der Edomiter im biblischen Zeitalter, Bern, 1897.—Lyon, Sketch of Babylonian and Assyrian History with special reference to Palestine (in Bibl. World, 7, II, Chicago, 1896).
McCurdy, F. F., History, Prophecy, and the Monuments to the Fall of Nineveh, London, 1894; To the Downfall of Samaria, London, 1894.—MacDonald, M., Harmony of Ancient History and Chronology of the Egyptians and the Jews, Philadelphia, 1891.—Magdeleine, J. de, La France catholique et la France juive, Paris, 1888.—Magnus, Lady Philip, Outlines of Jewish History, London, 1892.—Mally, J., Historia sacra antiqui Testamenti, Strigonii, 1890.—Margoliouth, G., Hebrew-Babylonian Affinities, London, 1899.—Marquart, J., Fundamente israelitischer und jüdischer Geschichte, Göttingen, 1896.—Marti, K., Geschichte der israelitischen Religion, Strassburg, 1897.—Masse, E., La Révolution française et la Rabbinat, Paris, 1890.—Mayers, M., The History of the Jews: from their Origin to their Ultimate Dispersion, London, 1824.—Mears, J. W., From Exile to Overthrow: a History of the Jews from Babylonian Captivity, Philadelphia, 1881.—Ménard, L. N., Histoire des Israélites, Paris, 1883; Histoire des anciens peuples de l’Orient, Paris, 1883.
Louis Nicolas Ménard was born at Paris, October 15, 1822. The celebrated French professor of art is better known to the general public through his historical writings than through those that pertain to his own speciality. But, indeed, it would be perhaps keeping in too narrow a vein to speak of Ménard as pre-eminently a specialist in the field of art, for his interests are cosmopolitan, and he is quite as much at home in the field of history pure and simple as in that of his favourite study. As a writer, Ménard has the merit of comprehensiveness of view and of unusual felicity of presentation. His history of the Israelites is, on some accounts, the best brief popular presentation of the subject that has been written in any language. It is at once free from the idolatrous prejudice which has marred the works of certain historians, and from the iconoclastic prejudice which has disfigured certain others. It is a work, therefore, which every earnest student of ancient history who would wish to view the Israelites in their proper historic perspective, may read with interest and profit.
Mendelssohn, M., Jerusalem, Berlin, 1783.—Merx, Adalbert, Zur Geschichte des Stammes Levi, 1870.—Meyer, Ed., Die Entstehung des Judentums, Halle, 1896; Geschichte des Altertums, Stuttgart, 1884-1902, 5 vols.—Mills, A., The ancient Hebrews, New York and Chicago, 1874.—Milman, H. H., The History of the Jews from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, London, 1878.—Moabite Stone. (For numerous translations see Christian D. Ginsburg.)—Moebius, H., Die Kinder Israel nie in Ägypten, Ilmenau, 1884.—Monasch, M., Geschiedenis van het volk Israel, Amsterdam, 1891.—Montefiore, C. G., Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews (Hibbert Lectures, 1892), London, 1893 (2nd edition).—Montet, J., Le Deutéronome et la question de l’Hexateuque, Paris, 1895.—Morrison, W. D., The Jews under Roman rule, London, 1890.—Moulton, H. G., The Literary Study of the Bible, London, 1895.—Munk, Salomon, La Palestine, Paris, 1845.