'Against Caesar's wishes': Flavius Josephus as a Source for the Burning of the Temple

Abstract

Since Bernays in 1861, scholars have disputed Josephus’ account in Bell. Iud . 6.252 that a Roman soldier during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE acted on ‘some supernatural impulse’ when he threw a piece of burning wood into the Temple, thus starting the fire that destroyed it. The vast majority of scholars have followed Bernays in giving more credence to the account of the Christian chronographer Sulpicius Severus, who in his Chronica reports that Titus ordered that the Temple be burned. Many a priori assumptions have come into play when examining Josephus’ narrative, which instead appears unequivocally clear, consistent and substantially trustworthy.

Impact of destruction – Introduction to the Josephus Seminar, Theological University Kampen

“…Is Josephus's statement that the Temple was set on fire against Caesar's wishes reliable? It has been argued that this is not the case and that it is more reasonable to assume that the decision to destroy the Temple had been taken before the final confrontation (Pucci Ben Zeev 2011; for a different view, see Leoni 2007). Undoubtedly, a more comprehensive view of Josephus's ideas about the Temple helps in making a decision in this respect.…”