← All book guidesRead Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion) in Books →
At a glance
- Traditional author
- Attributed to Joseph ben Gorion traditions
- Traditional date
- Medieval Hebrew historical work; Ethiopic Christian reception
- Traditional audience
- EOTC Old Testament enumeration (official item 46)
Listed in: Ethiopian 81.
Meaning of Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion)
Included on the published EOTC 81-book OT list as Josephas the Son of Bengorion. Western canons do not include it.
Traditional understanding
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes Josippon (Zena Ayhud, "History of the Jews") among its Old Testament books: a history of the Jewish people through the Second Temple's fall, attributed to Joseph son of Gorion. It is distinct from the Greek works of Flavius Josephus.
Historical context
Jewish history retold for later readers; counted in broader EOTC OT.
Setting of the writing
Medieval historical compilation received as Ethiopic-canonical history.
Literary shape
Historical narrative often described in about eight parts.
Themes
- Jewish history
- providence
- kingdom memory
Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion) chapter by chapter
Josippon
Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion) 1 — Origins and early kingdoms
Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion / Yosef wäldä Koryon) retells Jewish history for later readers. Ethiopic Christian reception counts it as the last of the broader EOTC Old Testament’s forty-six books. It is not identical to Flavius Josephus’s Greek corpus.
Meaning: The published church list includes this historical narrative as Scripture for the Tewahedo OT enumeration, even though Western canons do not.
Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion) 2 — Temple, kings, and crisis
Middle parts follow the fortunes of Judah’s kingdom, temple, and foreign rule. The tone is historical memory more than law or prophecy, a chronicle of providence and loss.
Meaning: Josippon teaches a people to read their past as under God without confusing this medieval compilation with the first-century Greek Josephus.
Josippon (Josephas the Son of Bengorion) 3 — Memory for a later church
Later parts carry Jewish history toward the eras Ethiopic readers needed to remember. The work functions as counted OT history on the locked 81-book list.
Meaning: Keep the badge EOTC 81 visible: this is canonical by that church’s published broader list, not by the Western 66.