Abstract
ABSTRACT Translation according to Flavius Josephus As a contribution to the clarification of the identity of Flavius Josephus, the present material aims to elucidate what role Josephus played as a translator of the Holy Scriptures. For this purpose, we take as a basis the Jewish Antiquities, since it is in its first ten books that Josephus translates the contents of the Bible. In order to understand what attitude this author took to the text, it is necessary to know what he understood by ‘translation’. Such an investigation is necessary given the confusion caused, on the one hand, by Josephus’ own stance towards the sacred texts and, on the other hand, by his manipulation of these texts. The study of the Greek word μεθερμηνεύω sheds light on the matter, for although it literally means ‘to translate’, the translation to which Josephus alludes is different from the one we know today. An examination of the word shows that, in antiquity, the ἑρμηνεύς was an interpreter rather than a translator. And in accordance with this idea, Josephus seems to fit the term ἑρμηνεύς, since he interprets the Bible and makes use of various models in order to give us a work as complete as possible.