Księga Estery w Dawnych dziejach Izraela Józefa Flawiusza na podstawie wybranych fragmentów

Mariola Trojanowska

doi:10.26142/stgd-2022-019

Published: 2022-12-30

Vol. 51 (2022)

The Book of Esther Through the Eyes of Flavius Josephus Based on Selected Passages

Mariola Trojanowska

Gdańsk Studies

Section: Artykuły

https://doi.org/10.26142/stgd-2022-019

Abstract

Flavius Josephus' interpretation of the biblical books is one of the most famous and model ancient examples of rewriting biblical stories in a new historical and cultural context. This is done in a way that does not alter their deepest meaning, and at the same time may better serve the immediate aims of an author writing for a specific audience and taking into account their political situation. An excellent illustration of this way of translating a text is the story of the biblical Esther as described in the Antiquities of the Jews. This article presents a comparison between the text of an ancient Jewish historian and the Bible. In doing so, it focuses on four selected passages of the narrative in which the changes made, although they may seem insignificant, emphatically demonstrate this way of rewriting biblical stories. Notably, one can observe Josephus' tendency to emphasize the role of Mordecai and to correct the harsh image of the Persian king. This corresponds perfectly with the role and position occupied by the historian himself in the Roman court of Emperor Vespasian.

Keywords:

The Book of Esther, Flavius Josephus, similarities, differences

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Trojanowska, M. (2022). The Book of Esther Through the Eyes of Flavius Josephus Based on Selected Passages. Gdańsk Studies, 51, 47–59. https://doi.org/10.26142/stgd-2022-019

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