August 18, 2025 • 13 mins
Discover the fascinating insights of Josephus in this collection, featuring three compelling parts. (1) Against Apion serves as a robust two-volume defense of Judaism, contrasting its ancient roots with the more recent traditions of the Greeks. Josephus tackles anti-Judean claims made by the Greek writer Apion and addresses myths attributed to Manetho. (2) Discourse To The Greeks Concerning Hades explores Josephuss perspectives on the afterlife, countering the predominant beliefs of his Greco-Roman contemporaries. This discourse, while traditionally linked to Josephus, has been more accurately reassigned to the church father Hippolytus in later scholarship. (3) The Life of Josephus, penned around 94-99 CE, offers an autobiographical glimpse into the authors life, revisiting pivotal events of the War in response to criticisms from Justus of Tiberias. Immerse yourself in this rich tapestry of history, philosophy, and personal reflection.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
An extract out of Josephus's Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. An ex tract out of Josephus's
Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades by Flavius Josephus, translated
(00:23):
by William Wiston. Now, as to Hades, wherein the souls
of the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it is necessary
to speak of Hades is a place in the world
not regularly finished, a subterraneous region wherein the light of
this world does not shine. From which circumstance that in
(00:47):
this region the light does not shine, it cannot be,
but there must be in it perpetual darkness. This region
is allotted as a place of custody for souls, in
which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who would
distribute to them temporary punishments agreeable to every one's behavior
and manners. In this region, there is a certain place
(01:11):
set apart as a lake of unquenchable fire, whereinto we
suppose no one have hitherto been cast, but it is
prepared for a day afore determined by God, in which
one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men.
When the unjust, in those that have been disobedient to
(01:31):
God and have given honor to such idols as have
been the vain operations of the hands of men as
to God himself, shall be adjudged to this everlasting punishment,
as having been the causes of defilement, while the just
shall obtain an incorruptible and never failing kingdom. These are
(01:52):
now indeed confined in hades, but not in the same
place wherein the unjust are confined. For their is one
descent in this region at whose gait we believe their stands,
and are changel with the host which gait. When those
pass through that are conducted down by the angels appointed
over souls, they do not go the same way, but
(02:15):
the just are guided to the right hand and are
led with hymns sung by the angels appointed over that place.
Unto a region of light in which the just have
dwelt from the beginning of the world, not constrained by necessity,
but ever enjoying the prospect of the good things. They see,
(02:36):
and rejoicing in the expectation of those new enjoyments which
will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming
those things beyond walk we have here with whom there
is no place of boil, nor burning heat, nor piercing hold,
nor are any briars there, but the countenance of the
fathers and of the Just, which they see always smile
(03:00):
upon them, while they wait for the rest and eternal
new life in Heaven, which is to succeed this region,
this place we call the bosom of Abraham. But as
to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the
left hand by the angels allotted for punishment, no longer
going with a good will, but as prisoners driven by violence,
(03:24):
to whom are sending angels appointed over them, to reproach
them and threaten them with their terrible looks, and to
thrust them still downwards. Now, these angels that are set
over these souls, drag them into the neighborhood of Hell itself, who,
when they are hard by it, continually hear the noise
(03:45):
of it, and do not stand clear of the hot
vapor itself. But when they have a near view of
this spectacle as of a terrible and exceeding great prospect
of fire. They are struck with a fearful expectation of
a few judgment, and in effect punish thereby. Not only so,
but where they see the place or choir of the
(04:07):
fathers and of the just, even hereby are they punished,
for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them,
insomuch that a just man that have compassion upon them
cannot be admitted, nor can one that is unjust, if
he were bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.
This is the discourse concerning Hades, wherein the souls of
(04:31):
all men are confined until a proper season, which God
hath determined, when he will make a resurrection of all
men from the dead, not procuring a transmigration of souls
from one body to another, but raising again those very
bodies which you Greeks seem to be dissolved. Do not
(04:52):
believe the resurrection, but learn not to disbelieve. For while
you believe that the soul is created, and yet is
made more oh by God according to the doctrine of Plato,
and this in time, be not incredulous, but believe that
God is able, when he hath raised life, that body,
which was made as a compound of the same elements
(05:14):
to make it immortal. For it must never be said
of God that he is able to do some things
and unable to do others. We have therefore believed that
the body will be raised again, for although it be dissolved,
it is not perished. For the earth receives its remains
and preserves them. And while they are like seed and
(05:35):
are mixed among the more fruitful soil, they flourish, and
what is sown as indeed sown bare grain. But at
the mighty sound of God, the Creator, it will sprout
up and be raised in a clothed and glorious condition,
though not before it has been dissolved and mixed with
the earth. So that we have not rashly believed the
(05:57):
resurrection of the body. For although it be dissolved for
a time, on account of the original transgression, it exists
still and is cast into the earth as into a
potter's furnace, in order to be formed again, not in
order to rise again such as it was before, but
in a state of purity, and so as never to
(06:18):
be destroyed any more. And to everybody shall its own
soul be restored and when it hath clothed itself with
that body, it will not be subject to misery, but
be in itself pure. It will continue with its pure
body and rejoice with it with which it having walked
righteously now in this world, and never having it as
(06:39):
a snare, it will receive it again with great gladness.
But as for the unjust, they will receive their bodies
not changed, not freed from diseases or distempers nor may glorious,
but with the same diseases wherein they died, and such
as they were in a belief, the same shall they
be when they shall be faithfully judged. For all men,
(07:03):
the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought
before God the word, For to him hath the Father
committed all judgment, and he, in order to fulfill the
will of his Father, shall come as judge, whom we
call Christ. For Minas and Rhodamanthus are not the judges,
as you Greeks do suppose, but he whom God and
(07:25):
the Father have borified, concerning whom we have elsewhere given
a more particular account for the sake of those who
seek after truth. This person exercising the rightiest judgment of
the Father towards all men, hath prepared a just sentence
for every one, according to his works, at whose judgment seat,
(07:47):
when all men and angels and demons shall stand, they
will send forth one voice and say, just is thy judgment,
the rejoinder to which will bring a just sentence upon
both parties, by giving justly to those who have done
well and ever lest in fruition, but allotting to the
(08:07):
lovers of wicked work eternal punishment. To these belong the
unquenchable fire, and that without end, and a certain fiery worm,
never dying, and not destroying the body, but continuing its
eruption out of the body, with never seizing grief. Neither
will sleep give ease to these men, nor will the
(08:30):
knight affore them comfort. Death will not free them from
their punishment, nor will the interceding prayers of their kindred
profit them. For the just are no longer seen by them,
nor are they thought worthy of remembrance. But the just
shall remember only their righteous actions, whereby they have attained
(08:51):
the heavenly kingdom, in which there is no sleep, no sorrow,
no corruption, no care, no night, no day measured by time,
no sun driven in his horse along the circle of
heaven by necessity, and measuring out the bounds and conversions
of the seasons for the better illumination of the life
(09:12):
of men. No moon decreasing and increasing, or introducing a
variety of seasons, Nor will she then moisten the earth.
No burning sun, no bear turning round the pole, no
orient to rise, no wondering of innumerable stars. The earth
will not then be difficult to be passed over, nor
(09:34):
will it be hard to find out the court of Paradise,
nor will there be any fearful roaring of the sea
forbidding the passengers to walk on it. Even that will
be made easily passable to the just, though it will
not be void of moisture. Heaven will not then be
uninhabitable by men, and it will not be impossible to
(09:55):
discover the way of ascending thither. The earth will not
then be uncultivated nor require too much labor of men,
but will bring forth its fruits of its own accord,
and will be well adorned with them. There will be
no more generations of wild beasts, nor will the substance
of the rest of the animals shoot out any more,
(10:17):
for it will not produce men, But the number of
the rieties will continue and never fail, together with righteous
angels and spirits of God, and with His word as
a choir of righteous men and women that never gill
wold and continue in an incorruptible state singing hymns to God,
will have advanced them to that happiness by the means
(10:39):
of a regular institution of life, with whom the whole
creation also will lift up a perpetual hymn from corruption
to incorruption, as glorified by a splendid and pure spirit.
It will not then be restrained by a bond of necessity,
but with a lively freedom, shall offer up a voluntary hymn,
(11:02):
and shall praise Him that made them, together with the
angels and spirits and men, now freed from all bondage.
And now, if you gentiles, will be persuaded by these motives,
and leave your vain imaginations about your pedigrees and gaining
of riches and philosophy, and will not spend your time
(11:23):
about subtleties of words, and thereby lead your minds into error.
And if you will apply your ears to the hearing
of the inspired prophets, the interpreters both of God and
of His word, and will believe in God. You shall
both be partakers of these things and obtain the good
things that are to come. You shall see the as
(11:45):
scent into the immense heaven plainly, and that kingdom which
is there. For what God hath now concealed in silence
will be then made manifest what neither I have seen,
nor year hath heard, nor have that entered into the
heart of men, the things that God hath prepared for
them that love Him. In whatsoever ways I shall find
(12:09):
you in them, shall I judge you entirely. So cry
is the end of all things. And he who hath
at first lived a virtuous life, but towards the letter
end falls into vice. These labors by him before endured
shall be altogether vain and unprofitable, even as in the
plague brought to when you look catastrophe. Whosoever shall have
(12:32):
lived wickedly and luxuriously may repent. However, there will be
need of much time to conquer an evil habit, and
after repentance his whole life must be guarded with great
care and diligence. After the manner of a body which,
after he had been a long time afflicted with a
distemper requires a stricter diet and method of living. For
(12:55):
though it may be possible, perhaps to break off the
chain of our irregular affections at once, yet our amendment
cannot be secured without the grace of God, the prayers
of good men, the help of the brethren, and our
own sincere repentance and constant care. It is a good
thing not to sin at all. It is all to
(13:18):
good having sinned, to repent, as it is best to
have health always. But it is a good thing to
recover from a distemper. To God be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen, And of an extract out of
Josephus's discourse to the Greeks concerning hates
An extract out of Josephus's Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. An ex tract out of Josephus's
Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades by Flavius Josephus, translated
(00:23):
by William Wiston. Now, as to Hades, wherein the souls
of the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it is necessary
to speak of Hades is a place in the world
not regularly finished, a subterraneous region wherein the light of
this world does not shine. From which circumstance that in
(00:47):
this region the light does not shine, it cannot be,
but there must be in it perpetual darkness. This region
is allotted as a place of custody for souls, in
which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who would
distribute to them temporary punishments agreeable to every one's behavior
and manners. In this region, there is a certain place
(01:11):
set apart as a lake of unquenchable fire, whereinto we
suppose no one have hitherto been cast, but it is
prepared for a day afore determined by God, in which
one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men.
When the unjust, in those that have been disobedient to
(01:31):
God and have given honor to such idols as have
been the vain operations of the hands of men as
to God himself, shall be adjudged to this everlasting punishment,
as having been the causes of defilement, while the just
shall obtain an incorruptible and never failing kingdom. These are
(01:52):
now indeed confined in hades, but not in the same
place wherein the unjust are confined. For their is one
descent in this region at whose gait we believe their stands,
and are changel with the host which gait. When those
pass through that are conducted down by the angels appointed
over souls, they do not go the same way, but
(02:15):
the just are guided to the right hand and are
led with hymns sung by the angels appointed over that place.
Unto a region of light in which the just have
dwelt from the beginning of the world, not constrained by necessity,
but ever enjoying the prospect of the good things. They see,
(02:36):
and rejoicing in the expectation of those new enjoyments which
will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming
those things beyond walk we have here with whom there
is no place of boil, nor burning heat, nor piercing hold,
nor are any briars there, but the countenance of the
fathers and of the Just, which they see always smile
(03:00):
upon them, while they wait for the rest and eternal
new life in Heaven, which is to succeed this region,
this place we call the bosom of Abraham. But as
to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the
left hand by the angels allotted for punishment, no longer
going with a good will, but as prisoners driven by violence,
(03:24):
to whom are sending angels appointed over them, to reproach
them and threaten them with their terrible looks, and to
thrust them still downwards. Now, these angels that are set
over these souls, drag them into the neighborhood of Hell itself, who,
when they are hard by it, continually hear the noise
(03:45):
of it, and do not stand clear of the hot
vapor itself. But when they have a near view of
this spectacle as of a terrible and exceeding great prospect
of fire. They are struck with a fearful expectation of
a few judgment, and in effect punish thereby. Not only so,
but where they see the place or choir of the
(04:07):
fathers and of the just, even hereby are they punished,
for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them,
insomuch that a just man that have compassion upon them
cannot be admitted, nor can one that is unjust, if
he were bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.
This is the discourse concerning Hades, wherein the souls of
(04:31):
all men are confined until a proper season, which God
hath determined, when he will make a resurrection of all
men from the dead, not procuring a transmigration of souls
from one body to another, but raising again those very
bodies which you Greeks seem to be dissolved. Do not
(04:52):
believe the resurrection, but learn not to disbelieve. For while
you believe that the soul is created, and yet is
made more oh by God according to the doctrine of Plato,
and this in time, be not incredulous, but believe that
God is able, when he hath raised life, that body,
which was made as a compound of the same elements
(05:14):
to make it immortal. For it must never be said
of God that he is able to do some things
and unable to do others. We have therefore believed that
the body will be raised again, for although it be dissolved,
it is not perished. For the earth receives its remains
and preserves them. And while they are like seed and
(05:35):
are mixed among the more fruitful soil, they flourish, and
what is sown as indeed sown bare grain. But at
the mighty sound of God, the Creator, it will sprout
up and be raised in a clothed and glorious condition,
though not before it has been dissolved and mixed with
the earth. So that we have not rashly believed the
(05:57):
resurrection of the body. For although it be dissolved for
a time, on account of the original transgression, it exists
still and is cast into the earth as into a
potter's furnace, in order to be formed again, not in
order to rise again such as it was before, but
in a state of purity, and so as never to
(06:18):
be destroyed any more. And to everybody shall its own
soul be restored and when it hath clothed itself with
that body, it will not be subject to misery, but
be in itself pure. It will continue with its pure
body and rejoice with it with which it having walked
righteously now in this world, and never having it as
(06:39):
a snare, it will receive it again with great gladness.
But as for the unjust, they will receive their bodies
not changed, not freed from diseases or distempers nor may glorious,
but with the same diseases wherein they died, and such
as they were in a belief, the same shall they
be when they shall be faithfully judged. For all men,
(07:03):
the just as well as the unjust, shall be brought
before God the word, For to him hath the Father
committed all judgment, and he, in order to fulfill the
will of his Father, shall come as judge, whom we
call Christ. For Minas and Rhodamanthus are not the judges,
as you Greeks do suppose, but he whom God and
(07:25):
the Father have borified, concerning whom we have elsewhere given
a more particular account for the sake of those who
seek after truth. This person exercising the rightiest judgment of
the Father towards all men, hath prepared a just sentence
for every one, according to his works, at whose judgment seat,
(07:47):
when all men and angels and demons shall stand, they
will send forth one voice and say, just is thy judgment,
the rejoinder to which will bring a just sentence upon
both parties, by giving justly to those who have done
well and ever lest in fruition, but allotting to the
(08:07):
lovers of wicked work eternal punishment. To these belong the
unquenchable fire, and that without end, and a certain fiery worm,
never dying, and not destroying the body, but continuing its
eruption out of the body, with never seizing grief. Neither
will sleep give ease to these men, nor will the
(08:30):
knight affore them comfort. Death will not free them from
their punishment, nor will the interceding prayers of their kindred
profit them. For the just are no longer seen by them,
nor are they thought worthy of remembrance. But the just
shall remember only their righteous actions, whereby they have attained
(08:51):
the heavenly kingdom, in which there is no sleep, no sorrow,
no corruption, no care, no night, no day measured by time,
no sun driven in his horse along the circle of
heaven by necessity, and measuring out the bounds and conversions
of the seasons for the better illumination of the life
(09:12):
of men. No moon decreasing and increasing, or introducing a
variety of seasons, Nor will she then moisten the earth.
No burning sun, no bear turning round the pole, no
orient to rise, no wondering of innumerable stars. The earth
will not then be difficult to be passed over, nor
(09:34):
will it be hard to find out the court of Paradise,
nor will there be any fearful roaring of the sea
forbidding the passengers to walk on it. Even that will
be made easily passable to the just, though it will
not be void of moisture. Heaven will not then be
uninhabitable by men, and it will not be impossible to
(09:55):
discover the way of ascending thither. The earth will not
then be uncultivated nor require too much labor of men,
but will bring forth its fruits of its own accord,
and will be well adorned with them. There will be
no more generations of wild beasts, nor will the substance
of the rest of the animals shoot out any more,
(10:17):
for it will not produce men, But the number of
the rieties will continue and never fail, together with righteous
angels and spirits of God, and with His word as
a choir of righteous men and women that never gill
wold and continue in an incorruptible state singing hymns to God,
will have advanced them to that happiness by the means
(10:39):
of a regular institution of life, with whom the whole
creation also will lift up a perpetual hymn from corruption
to incorruption, as glorified by a splendid and pure spirit.
It will not then be restrained by a bond of necessity,
but with a lively freedom, shall offer up a voluntary hymn,
(11:02):
and shall praise Him that made them, together with the
angels and spirits and men, now freed from all bondage.
And now, if you gentiles, will be persuaded by these motives,
and leave your vain imaginations about your pedigrees and gaining
of riches and philosophy, and will not spend your time
(11:23):
about subtleties of words, and thereby lead your minds into error.
And if you will apply your ears to the hearing
of the inspired prophets, the interpreters both of God and
of His word, and will believe in God. You shall
both be partakers of these things and obtain the good
things that are to come. You shall see the as
(11:45):
scent into the immense heaven plainly, and that kingdom which
is there. For what God hath now concealed in silence
will be then made manifest what neither I have seen,
nor year hath heard, nor have that entered into the
heart of men, the things that God hath prepared for
them that love Him. In whatsoever ways I shall find
(12:09):
you in them, shall I judge you entirely. So cry
is the end of all things. And he who hath
at first lived a virtuous life, but towards the letter
end falls into vice. These labors by him before endured
shall be altogether vain and unprofitable, even as in the
plague brought to when you look catastrophe. Whosoever shall have
(12:32):
lived wickedly and luxuriously may repent. However, there will be
need of much time to conquer an evil habit, and
after repentance his whole life must be guarded with great
care and diligence. After the manner of a body which,
after he had been a long time afflicted with a
distemper requires a stricter diet and method of living. For
(12:55):
though it may be possible, perhaps to break off the
chain of our irregular affections at once, yet our amendment
cannot be secured without the grace of God, the prayers
of good men, the help of the brethren, and our
own sincere repentance and constant care. It is a good
thing not to sin at all. It is all to
(13:18):
good having sinned, to repent, as it is best to
have health always. But it is a good thing to
recover from a distemper. To God be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen, And of an extract out of
Josephus's discourse to the Greeks concerning hates
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