Why This History Was Written

People who set out to write histories do not, I notice, all take on that labor for the same reason; they have many reasons, and very different ones. Some take up this branch of learning to show off their skill with words and win a reputation for fine writing. Others write history to gratify the people it happens to be about, and for that reason spare no pains, even going beyond their own abilities. Others again are driven by necessity and force to write history, because they took part in the events and cannot excuse themselves from putting them in writing for the benefit of those who come after. And many are moved by the sheer importance of useful matters lying in obscurity to bring their history out into the open for the common good. Of these reasons for writing history, I confess the last two were my own as well. Since I was myself involved in the war we Jews fought with the Romans, and knew its particular actions and how it ended, I was compelled to write its history, because I saw that others were perverting the truth of those events in their writings. [a]

I have now taken up the present work in the belief that all the Greeks will find it worth their study, for it will contain all our ancient history and the constitution of our government, translated out of the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, when I wrote about the war, I originally intended to explain who the Jews were from the beginning, what fortunes they had been through, under what lawgiver they had been trained in piety and in the practice of the other virtues, and what wars they had fought in remote ages, until they were unwillingly drawn into this last one with the Romans. But because that would take up a great deal of space, I made it a separate treatise, with a beginning and an ending of its own. In time, as usually happens to those who undertake great things, I grew weary and went on slowly; it is a large subject, and it is hard to translate our history into a foreign language we are not used to. [b]

However, there were some people who wanted to know our history and urged me to go on with it — above all Epaphroditus, a man who loves every kind of learning but takes his chief delight in history, since he has himself been involved in great affairs and many turns of fortune, and in all of them has shown remarkable strength of character and unshakable virtue. I yielded to the persuasion of this man, who always urges those with the ability to do something useful and worthwhile to join their efforts with his. I was also ashamed to let laziness have more hold on me than the pleasure of working hard at studies that are truly useful, so I roused myself and went on with the work more cheerfully. Besides these motives, I gave careful thought to two further questions: whether our forefathers had been willing to share such things with others, and whether any of the Greeks had been eager to learn about the affairs of our nation.

I found, then, that the second of the Ptolemies was a king exceptionally devoted to learning and to collecting books, and that he was especially eager to obtain a translation of our law, and of the constitution of government it contains, into Greek. And Eleazar the high priest, who was second to none who have held that office among us, did not begrudge the king a share in that benefit — which he would certainly have refused him, had he not known that it was our nation’s custom to keep back from others nothing that we value. So I thought it right for me both to imitate the generosity of our high priest and to suppose that even now there may be many lovers of learning like that king. For he did not obtain all our writings at that time: those who were sent to Alexandria as translators gave him only the books of the law, while our sacred books contain a vast number of other matters. They contain, in fact, the history of five thousand years, in which there were many strange happenings, many fortunes of war, great deeds of commanders, and changes in the form of our government. [f]

On the whole, anyone who reads this history may learn above all that things turn out well, beyond all belief, and that the reward of happiness is held out by God — but to those who follow his will and do not dare to break his excellent laws; and that to the extent people turn away from keeping them carefully, what was possible becomes impossible, and whatever they set out to do as a good thing turns into incurable disaster. So I urge all who read these books to turn their minds to God, and to test whether our lawgiver has not understood God’s nature in a way worthy of him, has not always ascribed to him actions that befit his power, and has not kept his writings free from the indecent myths others have made up — although, living at so great a distance in time, he could safely have invented such lies. For he lived two thousand years ago, a span of ages so vast that even the poets have not been bold enough to put the births of their gods back that far, much less the deeds of their men or their own laws. As I go on, then, I will describe accurately what is contained in our records, in its proper order of time — for I have promised to do so throughout this work — without adding anything to what is in them or taking anything away.

But since almost our whole constitution depends on the wisdom of Moses our lawgiver, I cannot avoid saying something about him first, though I will be brief. Otherwise readers of my book may wonder why my account, which promises laws and historical facts, contains so much philosophy. The reader should know, then, that Moses thought it absolutely necessary that anyone who would order his own life well, and give laws to others, should first of all consider the nature of God; and that by contemplating God’s works he should imitate the best of all patterns, as far as human nature can, and strive to follow it. Without such contemplation the lawgiver himself could not have a right mind, nor would anything he wrote lead his readers to virtue — unless, that is, they are taught first of all that God is the Father and Master of all things and sees all things, that he therefore gives a happy life to those who follow him, and that he plunges those who step outside the paths of virtue into great disasters. [h]

When Moses wanted to teach this lesson to his countrymen, he did not begin his laws the way other lawgivers did, with contracts and the other rights between one person and another. He began by lifting their minds upward to consider God and his making of the world, and by persuading them that we human beings are the most excellent of God’s creatures on earth. Once he had brought them to submit to religion, he easily persuaded them to submit in everything else. Other lawgivers followed myths, and in their writings transferred the most shameful of human vices to the gods, giving wicked men the most plausible excuses for their crimes. But our lawgiver, once he had shown that God possesses perfect virtue, held that people too should strive to share in it; and on those who did not think and believe this he inflicted the severest punishments.

I urge my readers, therefore, to examine this whole work from that point of view. They will then see that there is nothing in it unreasonable, and nothing out of keeping with the majesty of God or with his love for humankind, for everything here is related to the nature of the universe. Our lawgiver says some things wisely but in riddles, and others under a fitting allegory; but whatever required a direct explanation, he explains plainly and expressly. Those who wish to know the reasons for everything will find here a very curious philosophical theory. I will pass over its explanation for now; but if God gives me time, I will set about writing it after I have finished the present work. I will now turn to the history in hand, after first relating what Moses says about the creation of the world, which I find described in the sacred books as follows.