Flavius Josephus: Eyewitness to Rome's First-Century Conquest to Judea, Mireille Hadas-Lebel, translated by Richard Miller, c. 1993.

Flavius Josephus: Eyewitness to Rome's First-Century Conquest to Judea, Mireille Hadas-Lebel, translated by Richard Miller, c. 1993. BJOS.

Wiki.

Flavius Josephus, c. AD 37 – c. 100, was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing The Jewish War, he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry.

He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in AD 67 to the Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat. 

Fascinating: Josephus claimed the Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor. In response, Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave and presumably interpreter. After Vespasian became emperor in AD 69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of Flavius. 

Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship. He became an advisor and friend of Vespasian's son Titus, serving as his translator when Titus led the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. Since the siege proved ineffective at stopping the Jewish revolt, the city's pillaging and the looting and destruction of Herod's Temple (Second Temple) soon followed.

Josephus recorded the Great Jewish Revolt (AD 66–70), including the siege of Masada. 

His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94). 

The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Greek and Roman audience. These works provide valuable insight into first century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity. 

Fascinating: Josephus's works are the chief source next to the Bible for the history and antiquity of ancient Israel, and provide a significant and independent extra-Biblical account of such figures as Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, John the Baptist, James the Just, and possibly Jesus of Nazareth.

So, now, we start to get an idea of where the stories of Pontius Pilate, et al, originated -- not just the Bible. 

So, I'm 70+ years old; raised in a Christian family; confirmed under a very, very rigorous religion program; an avid reader, and yet I completely missed this biography -- how can that happen?

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Josephus Genealogy

Father: a priestly line
Mother: royalty

Josephus: born in Jerusalem in 37 C.E.

Full name at birth: Josephus son of Matthias.

Later, Romanized by his benefactor, taking the name of his benefactor, as was common / the norm: Flavius Josephus.

Flavius Josephus: born a Jew; never renounced his birth or his faith, is regarded as a lost sheep, lost for having been suspected of treason, lost for having gone to Rome to dwell in the palace of his conqueror, lost for having published his work in Greek, lost for having been take up by the Christians from the very earliest days of the Church along with that other Jew, the philosopher Philo of Alexandria.

Lived during the time of, and served against / under the two Jerusalem-conquering generals in Judea, Vespasian and his son, Titus, who went on to head the Roman Empire.

His autobiography.

Priestly background:

• a cohen: the priests of Cohanim belonged to the tribe of Levi
• the tribe had been granted no territory in biblical times, for its mission was to be a higher one: the preservation of the Covenant
• notable members of the tribe: Aaron and Moses, the sonsof Amram, but only the progeny of Aaron, thhe eldest son, was to provide the high priests "anointed of the Lord," or allowed to boast the name and title of cohen.
• the source: biblical Book of Chronicles
• the tribe Levi divided into classes; Josephus born into the family of the first class

Josephus' father: Matthias

• from the city of Modin
• the sons of the priest Matthias particularly distinguished themselves in leading Judea to break free from the Seleucids, the Greek dynasty that had taken over Syria following the Alexandrian conquest
• Matthias was a descendant of Hasmon, whence the name "Hasmonean"
• five sons known as Maccabees
• three of the five sons were later to attain supreme power: 
• Judah, the leader of the nation;
• Jonathan, given the title of high priest
• Simon, inherited the title upon the death off his elder brother
• Hyrcanus succeeded his father, Simon
• the Jews were able to break free of Syria without the help of the Romans

Then, short "war" between brothers.

A son of one of the above priests (Hyrcanus?) Aristobulus, 104 to 103 BCE) declared himself king

• not allowed: priests could not become kings (Levi: priests)
• kings reserved for tribe of Judah
• so, Aristobulus, power-hungry, grandson (?) of Hyrcanus fought his ne'er-do-well brother Hrycanus II
• Hasmonean dynasty 

Rome took advantage of this brotherly war: 

• 63 B.C.E., Pompey with the help of Hyrcanus' troops laid siege to Jerusalem which was defended by Aristobulus
• story continues, p. 9
• story of Herod -- son of Antipater -- who first took advantage of the fight between the two brothers
• Herod: restored the Temple of Jerusalem at great cost

Royalty:

• the Herodian Dynasty
• Josephus claimed to be "of royal race" through his mother, but no connection with the usurper Herod, whose long reign, 37 BCE to 4 BCE, had left such a somber memory
• rather, Josephus claims royalty through the legitimate Hasmonean dynasty
• see long genealogy, page 10

So, Josephus: both "of royal race" and "of priestly line."

Levi: priestly
Judah: royal