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யோவான் ஞானஸ்நானன்

Admin · Guru

லூக்கா1:11. அப்பொழுது கர்த்தருடைய தூதன் ஒருவன் தூபபீடத்தின் வலது பக்கத்திலே நின்று அவருக்குத் தரிசனமானான்.

12. சகரியா அவனைக்கண்டு கலங்கி, பயமடைந்தான்.

13. தூதன் அவனை நோக்கி: சகரியாவே, பயப்படாதே, உன் வேண்டுதல் கேட்கப்பட்டது, உன் மனைவியாகிய எலிசபெத்து உனக்கு ஒரு குமாரனைப் பெறுவாள், அவனுக்கு யோவான் என்று பேரிடுவாயாக.

14. உனக்குச் சந்தோஷமும் மகிழ்ச்சியும் உண்டாகும், அவன் பிறப்பினிமித்தம் அநேகர் சந்தோஷப்படுவார்கள்.

15. அவன் கர்த்தருக்கு முன்பாகப் பெரியவனாயிருப்பான், திராட்சரசமும் மதுவும் குடியான், தன் தாயின் வயிற்றிலிருக்கும் போதே பரிசுத்த ஆவியினால் நிரப்பப்பட்டிருப்பான்.

16. அவன் இஸ்ரவேல் சந்ததியாரில் அநேகரை அவர்கள் தேவனாகிய கர்த்தரிடத்திற்குத் திருப்புவான்.

17. பிதாக்களுடைய இருதயங்களைப் பிள்ளைகளிடத்திற்கும், கீழ்ப்படியாதவர்களை நீதிமான்களுடைய ஞானத்திற்கும் திருப்பி, உத்தமமான ஜனத்தைக் கர்த்தருக்கு ஆயத்தப்படுத்தும்படியாக, அவன் எலியாவின் ஆவியும் பலமும் உடையவனாய் அவருக்கு முன்னே நடப்பான் என்றான்.

18. அப்பொழுது சகரியா தேவதூதனை நோக்கி: இதை நான் எதினால் அறிவேன்; நான் கிழவனாயிருக்கிறேன்; என் மனைவியும் வயதுசென்றவளாயிருக்கிறாளே என்றான்.

லூக்கா 3:1. திபேரியுராயன் ராஜ்யபாரம் பண்ணின பதினைந்தாம் வருஷத்திலே, பொந்தியுபிலாத்து யூதேயாவுக்குத் தேசாதிபதியாயும், ஏரோது காற்பங்கு தேசமாகிய கலிலேயாவுக்கு அதிபதியாயும், அவன் சகோதரனாகிய பிலிப்பு காற்பங்கு தேசமாகிய இத்துரேயாவுக்கும், திராகொனித்தி நாட்டிற்கும் அதிபதியாயும், விசானியா காற்பங்கு தேசமாகிய அபிலேனேக்கு அதிபதியாயும்,

6. அவன் யோர்தான் நதிக்கு அருகான தேசமெங்கும் போய், பாவமன்னிப்புக்கென்று மனந்திரும்புதலுக்கேற்ற ஞானஸ்நானத்தைக் குறித்துப் பிரசங்கித்தான்.

7. அவன், தன்னிடத்தில் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெறும்படிக்குப் புறப்பட்டுவந்த திரளான ஜனங்களை நோக்கி: விரியன்பாம்புக்குட்டிகளே! வருங்கோபத்துக்குத் தப்பித்துக்கொள்ள உங்களுக்கு வகை காட்டினவன் யார்?

8. மனந்திரும்புதலுக்கு ஏற்ற கனிகளைக் கொடுங்கள்; ஆபிரகாம் எங்களுக்குத் தகப்பன் என்று உங்களுக்குள்ளே சொல்லத்தொடங்காதிருங்கள்; தேவன் இந்தக் கல்லுகளினாலே ஆபிரகாமுக்குப் பிள்ளைகளை உண்டுபண்ண வல்லவராயிருக்கிறார் என்று உங்களுக்குச் சொல்லுகிறேன்.

9. இப்பொழுதே கோடரியானது மரங்களின் வேர் அருகே வைத்திருக்கிறது; ஆகையால் நல்ல கனிகொடாத மரமெல்லாம் வெட்டுண்டு அக்கினியிலே போடப்படும் என்றான்.

10. அப்பொழுது ஜனங்கள் அவனை நோக்கி: அப்படியானால் நாங்கள் என்ன செய்யவேண்டும் என்று கேட்டார்கள்.

11. அவர்களுக்கு அவர் பிரதியுத்தரமாக: இரண்டு அங்கிகளையுடையவன் இல்லாதவனுக்குக் கொடுக்கக்கடவன்; ஆகாரத்தை உடையவனும் அப்படியே செய்யக்கடவன் என்றான்.

12. ஆயக்காரரும் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெறவந்து, அவனை நோக்கி: போதகரே, நாங்கள் என்ன செய்யவேண்டும் என்று கேட்டார்கள்.

13. அதற்கு அவன்: உங்களுக்கு கட்டளையிட்டிருக்கிறதற்கு அதிகமாய் ஒன்றும் வாங்காதிருங்கள் என்றான்.

14. போர்ச்சேவகரும் அவனை நோக்கி: நாங்கள் என்ன செய்யவேண்டும் என்று கேட்டார்கள். அதற்கு அவன்: நீங்கள் ஒருவருக்கும் இடுக்கண்செய்யாமலும் பொய்யாய்க் குற்றஞ்சாட்டாமலும், உங்கள் சம்பளமே போதுமென்றும் இருங்கள் என்றான்.

19. காற்பங்கு தேசாதிபதியாகிய ஏரோது தன் சகோதரனான பிலிப்புவின் மனைவி ஏரோதியாளினிமித்தமாகவும், தான் செய்த மற்றப் பொல்லாங்குகளினிமித்தமாகவும், யோவானாலே கடிந்துகொள்ளப்பட்டபோது,

20. தான் செய்த மற்றெல்லாப் பொல்லாங்குகளும் தவிர, யோவானையும் காவலில் அடைத்துவைத்தான்.

21. ஜனங்களெல்லாரும் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெற்றபோது, இயேசுவும் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெற்று, ஜெபம்பண்ணுகையில், வானம் திறக்கப்பட்டது;

Admin · Guru

மத்தேயு3:1. அந்நாட்களில் யோவான்ஸ்நானன் யூதேயாவின் வனாந்தரத்தில் வந்து:

2. மனந்திரும்புங்கள், பரலோகராஜ்யம் சமீபித்திருக்கிறது என்று பிரசங்கம் பண்ணினான்.

4. இந்த யோவான் ஒட்டகமயிர் உடையைத் தரித்து, தன் அரையில் வார்கச்சையைக் கட்டிக்கொண்டிருந்தான்; வெட்டுக்கிளியும் காட்டுத் தேனும் அவனுக்கு ஆகாரமாயிருந்தது.

5. அப்பொழுது, எருசலேம் நகரத்தாரும், யூதேயா தேசத்தார் அனைவரும், யோர்தானுக்கு அடுத்த சுற்றுப்புறத்தார் யாவரும் அவனிடத்திற்குப் போய்,

6. தங்கள் பாவங்களை அறிக்கையிட்டு யோர்தான் நதியில் அவனால் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெற்றார்கள்.

7. பரிசேயரிலும் சதுசேயரிலும் அநேகர் தன்னிடத்தில் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெறும்படி வருகிறதை அவன் கண்டு: விரியன் பாம்புக்குட்டிகளே! வருங்கோபத்துக்குத் தப்பித்துக்கொள்ள உங்களுக்கு வகைகாட்டினவன் யார்?

8. மனந்திரும்புதலுக்கு ஏற்ற கனிகளைக் கொடுங்கள்.

9. ஆபிரகாம் எங்களுக்குத் தகப்பன் என்று உங்களுக்குள்ளே சொல்லிக்கொள்ள நினையாதிருங்கள்; தேவன் இந்தக் கல்லுகளினாலே ஆபிரகாமுக்குப் பிள்ளைகளை உண்டுபண்ண வல்லவராயிருக்கிறார் என்று உங்களுக்குச் சொல்லுகிறேன்.

10. இப்பொழுதே கோடரியானது மரங்களின் வேர் அருகே வைத்திருக்கிறது. ஆகையால் நல்ல கனிகொடாத மரமெல்லாம் வெட்டுண்டு அக்கினியிலே போடப்படும்.

13. அப்பொழுது யோவானால் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெறுவதற்கு இயேசு கலிலேயாவைவிட்டு யோர்தானுக்கு அருகே அவனிடத்தில் வந்தார்.

Admin · Guru

மத்தேயு4:12. யோவான் காவலில் வைக்கப்பட்டான் என்று இயேசு கேள்விப்பட்டு கலிலேயாவுக்குப் போய்,

13. நாசரேத்தை விட்டு, செபுலோன் நப்தலி என்னும் நாடுகளின் எல்லைகளிலிருக்கும் கடற்கரைக்கு அருகான கப்பர்நகூமிலே வந்து வாசம்பண்ணினார்.

14. கடற்கரையருகிலும் யோர்தானுக்கு அப்புறத்திலுமுள்ள செபுலோன் நாடும் நப்தலி நாடும் ஆகிய புறஜாதியாருடைய கலிலேயாவிலே,

15. இருளில் இருக்கும் ஜனங்கள் பெரிய வெளிச்சத்தைக் கண்டார்கள்; மரண இருளின் திசையிலிருக்கிறவர்களுக்கு வெளிச்சம் உதித்தது என்று,

16. ஏசாயா தீர்க்கதரிசியினால் உரைக்கப்பட்டது நிறைவேறும்படி இப்படி நடந்தது.

Admin · Guru

மாற்கு2:18. யோவானுடைய சீஷரும் பரிசேயருடைய சீஷரும் உபவாசம் பண்ணிவந்தார்கள். அவர்கள் அவரிடத்தில் வந்து: யோவானுடைய சீஷரும் பரிசேயருடைய சீஷரும் உபவாசிக்கிறார்களே, உம்முடைய சீஷர் உபவாசியாமலிருப்பதென்னவென்று கேட்டார்கள்.

லூக்கா7:33. எப்படியெனில், யோவான்ஸ்நானன் அப்பம் புசியாதவனும் திராட்சரசம் குடியாதவனுமாய் வந்தான்; அதற்கு நீங்கள்: அவன் பிசாசு பிடித்திருக்கிறவன் என்கிறீர்கள்.

34. மனுஷகுமாரன் போஜனபானம்பண்ணுகிறவராய் வந்தார்; அதற்கு நீங்கள்: இதோ, போஜனப்பிரியனும் மதுபானப்பிரியனுமான மனுஷன், ஆயக்காரருக்கும் பாவிகளுக்கும் சிநேகிதன் என்கிறீர்கள்

மத்தேயு11:1. ஸ்திரீகளிடத்திலே பிறந்தவர்களில் யோவான்ஸ்நானனைப் பார்க்கிலும் பெரியவன் ஒருவனும் எழும்பினதில்லை; ஆகிலும், பரலோகராஜ்யத்தில் சிறியவனாயிருக்கிறவன் அவனிலும் பெரியவனாயிருக்கிறானென்று உங்களுக்கு மெய்யாகவே சொல்லுகிறேன்.

12. யோவான்ஸ்நானன் காலமுதல் இதுவரைக்கும் பரலோகராஜ்யம் பலவந்தம் பண்ணப்படுகிறது; பலவந்தம் பண்ணுகிறவர்கள் அதைப் பிடித்துக்கொள்ளுகிறார்கள்.

13. நியாயப்பிரமாணமும் தீர்க்கதரிசிகள் யாவரும் யோவான்வரைக்கும் தீர்க்கதரிசனம் உரைத்ததுண்டு.

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யோவான்3:22. இவைகளுக்குப்பின்பு, இயேசுவும் அவருடைய சீஷரும் யூதேயா தேசத்திற்கு வந்தார்கள்; அங்கே அவர் அவர்களோடே சஞ்சரித்து, ஞானஸ்நானங்கொடுத்துவந்தார்.

23. சாலிம் ஊருக்குச் சமீபமான அயினோன் என்னும் இடத்திலே தண்ணீர் மிகுதியாயிருந்தபடியினால், யோவானும் அங்கே ஞானஸ்நானங்கொடுத்துவந்தான்; ஜனங்கள் அவனிடத்தில் வந்து ஞானஸ்நானம் பெற்றார்கள்.

24. அக்காலத்தில் யோவான் காவலில் வைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கவில்லை.

25. அப்பொழுது யோவானுடைய சீஷரில் சிலருக்கும் யூதருக்கும் சுத்திகரிப்பைக் குறித்து வாக்குவாதமுண்டாயிற்று.

26. அவர்கள் யோவானிடத்தில் வந்து: ரபீ, உம்முடனேகூட யோர்தானுக்கு அக்கரையில் ஒருவர் இருந்தாரே; அவரைக் குறித்து நீரும் சாட்சிகொடுத்தீரே, இதோ, அவர் ஞானஸ்நானங் கொடுக்கிறார், எல்லாரும் அவரிடத்தில் போகிறார்கள் என்றார்கள்.

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மத்தேயு11:1. இயேசு தம்முடைய பன்னிரண்டு சீஷர்களுக்கும் கட்டளைகொடுத்து முடித்தபின்பு, அவர்களுடைய பட்டணங்களில் உபதேசிக்கவும் பிரசங்கிக்கவும் அவ்விடம் விட்டுப் போனார்.

2. அத்தருணத்தில் காவலிலிருந்த யோவான் கிறிஸ்துவின் கிரியைகளைக்குறித்துக் கேள்விப்பட்டு, தன் சீஷரில் இரண்டு பேரை அழைத்து:

3. வருகிறவர் நீர்தானா? அல்லது வேறொருவர் வரக்காத்திருக்கவேண்டுமா? என்று அவரிடத்தில் கேட்கும்படி அனுப்பினான்.

4. இயேசு அவர்களுக்குப் பிரதியுத்தரமாக: நீங்கள் கேட்கிறதையும் காண்கிறதையும் யோவானிடத்தில் போய் அறிவியுங்கள்;

7. அவர்கள் போனபின்பு, இயேசு யோவானைக்குறித்து ஜனங்களுக்குச் சொன்னது என்னவென்றால்: எதைப் பார்க்க வனாந்தரத்திற்குப் போனீர்கள்? காற்றினால் அசையும் நாணலையோ?

8. அல்லவென்றால், எதைப் பார்க்கப்போனீர்கள்? மெல்லிய வஸ்திரந்தரித்த மனுஷனையோ? மெல்லிய வஸ்திரந்தரித்திருக்கிறவர்கள் அரசர் மாளிகைகளில் இருக்கிறார்கள்.

9. அல்லவென்றால், எதைப் பார்க்கப்போனீர்கள்? தீர்க்கதரிசியையோ? ஆம், தீர்க்கத்தரிசியைப்பார்க்கிலும் மேன்மையுள்ளவனையே என்று உங்களுக்குச் சொல்லுகிறேன்.

10. அதெப்படியெனில், இதோ, நான் என் தூதனை உமக்கு முன்பாக அனுப்புகிறேன்; அவன் உமக்கு முன்னே போய் வழியை ஆயத்தம் பண்ணுவான் என்று எழுதிய வாக்கியத்தால் குறிக்கப்பட்டவன் இவன்தான்.

11. ஸ்திரீகளிடத்திலே பிறந்தவர்களில் யோவான்ஸ்நானனைப் பார்க்கிலும் பெரியவன் ஒருவனும் எழும்பினதில்லை; ஆகிலும், பரலோகராஜ்யத்தில் சிறியவனாயிருக்கிறவன் அவனிலும் பெரியவனாயிருக்கிறானென்று உங்களுக்கு மெய்யாகவே சொல்லுகிறேன்.

12. யோவான்ஸ்நானன் காலமுதல் இதுவரைக்கும் பரலோகராஜ்யம் பலவந்தம் பண்ணப்படுகிறது; பலவந்தம் பண்ணுகிறவர்கள் அதைப் பிடித்துக்கொள்ளுகிறார்கள்.

13. நியாயப்பிரமாணமும் தீர்க்கதரிசிகள் யாவரும் யோவான்வரைக்கும் தீர்க்கதரிசனம் உரைத்ததுண்டு.

14. நீங்கள் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள மனதாயிருந்தால், வருகிறவனாகிய எலியா இவன்தான்.

15. கேட்கிறதற்கு காதுள்ளவன் கேட்கக்கடவன்.

யோவான்1:19. எருசலேமிலிருந்து யூதர்கள் ஆசாரியரையும் லேவியரையும் யோவானிடத்தில் அனுப்பி: நீர் யார் என்று கேட்டபொழுது,

20. அவன் மறுதலியாமல் அறிக்கையிட்டதுமன்றி, நான் கிறிஸ்து அல்ல என்றும் அறிக்கையிட்டான்.

21. அப்பொழுது அவர்கள்: பின்னை யார்? நீர் எலியாவா என்று கேட்டார்கள் அதற்கு: நான் அவன் அல்ல என்றான். நீர் தீர்க்கதரிசியானவரா என்று கேட்டார்கள். அதற்கும்: அல்ல என்றான்.

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John the Baptist

and

Josephus

by G. J. Goldberg

A Baptism of Repentance
    Mark 1:4-9
    Lk 3:3-3:18 (Matthew 3:1-12)
Herod, Herodias, Salome and the Head of John the Baptist
    Lk 3:19
    Lk 9:7-8 (Mark 6:14-16)
    Mk 6:17-29 (Matt. 14:1-12)
Josephus
A Baptism of Purification
Herodias and Salome
Herod and Herodias and Herod's First Wife and Aretas
Josephus in the Desert

Comment
The Popularity of John the Baptist
A Baptism of Repentance
Essenes
Herod's Marriage to Herodias
Salome
The Dating of John According to Josephus
       The Argument of Saulnier

The New Testament

A Baptism of Repentance
Mark 1:4-9
    John the baptizer appeared in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Lk 3:3-3:18 (Matthew 3:1-12)
    In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius...the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...'"
    John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance...."
    And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?" In reply he said, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."

Herod, Herodias, Salome and the Head of John the Baptist

Lk 3:19
    But Herod the Tetrarch, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
Lk 9:7-8 (Mark 6:14-16)
    Now Herod the Tetrarch heard about all that had taken place, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he tried to see him.
Mk 6:17-29 (Matt. 14:1-12)
    For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him.
    When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Josephus

A Baptism of Purification

Antiquities 18.5.2 116-119

     Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and was a very just punishment for what he did against John called the baptist [the dipper]. For Herod had him killed, although he was a good man and had urged the Jews to exert themselves to virtue, both as to justice toward one another and reverence towards God, and having done so join together in washing. For immersion in water, it was clear to him, could not be used for the forgiveness of sins, but as a sanctification of the body, and only if the soul was already thoroughly purified by right actions. And when others massed about him, for they were very greatly moved by his words, Herod, who feared that such strong influence over the people might carry to a revolt -- for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise -- believed it much better to move now than later have it raise a rebellion and engage him in actions he would regret.
    And so John, out of Herod's suspiciousness, was sent in chains to Machaerus, the fort previously mentioned, and there put to death; but it was the opinion of the Jews that out of retribution for John God willed the destruction of the army so as to afflict Herod.

Herodias and Salome
Antiquities 18.5.3 136
    Herodias was married to Herod, the son of Herod the Great by Mariamme the daughter of Simon the high priest. They had a daughter Salome, after whose birth Herodias, taking it into her head to flout the way of our fathers, married Herod the Tetrarch, her husband's brother by the same father, who was tetrarch of Galilee; to do this she parted from a living husband.
Herod and Herodias and Herod's First Wife and Aretas
Antiquities 18.5.1 109-115
(This paragraph immediately precedes the one about John.)
      About this time Aretas, the king of Petra, and Herod the Tetrarch had a quarrel on account of the following. Herod the tetrarch had married the daughter of Aretas and had lived with her a great while; but once when he was on his way to Rome he lodged with his half-brother, also named Herod but who had a different mother, the high priest Simon's daughter. There he fell in love with Herodias, this latter Herod's wife, who was the daughter of their brother Aristobulus and the sister of Agrippa the Great.
    This man ventured to talk to her about a marriage between them; she accepted, and an agreement was made for her to come to him as soon as he should return from Rome, one condition of this marriage being that he should divorce Aretas's daughter. So when he had made this agreement, he sailed to Rome; but when he had finished there and returned again, his wife, having discovered the agreement he had made with Herodias, and before he knew that she knew of the plan, asked him to send her to Machaerus, a place on the border between the territories of Aretas and Herod, without informing him of any of her intentions.
    Accordingly Herod sent her there, thinking his wife had not perceived anything. But she had sent messages a good while before to Machaerus, which had been under the control of her father, and so all things necessary for her escape were made ready for her by the general of Aretas's army. By that means she soon came into Arabia, under the conduct of the several generals, who carried her from one to another successively; and soon she came to her father and told him of Herod's intentions.
    Aretas made this the start of his enmity toward Herod. He also had a quarrel with him about their boundaries in the area of Gabalis. So they raised armies on both sides and prepared for war, sending their generals to fight instead of themselves. And when they had joined battle, all Herod's army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip and joined the army, betrayed him. So Herod wrote about these affairs to Emperor Tiberius, who was very angry at the attempt made by Aretas and wrote to Vitellius to make war upon him and either to take him alive, and bring him in chains, or to kill him, and send him his head. This was the command that Tiberius gave to the governor of Syria.

Josephus in the Desert

Life 2
When I was about sixteen years old I had a mind to make a trial of the several sects that were among us. There are three of these, that of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the third that of the Essenes, as we have frequently told you. I thought that being acquainted with them all I could choose the best.
So I consigned myself to hardship, and underwent great difficulties, and went through them all. Nor did I content myself with the trying of these three only, for when I was informed that one whose name was Banus lived in the desert, and used no other clothing than what grew upon trees, and had no other food than what grew of its own accord, and bathed himself in cold water frequently, both night and day, to purify himself, I imitated him in those things, and continued with him three years.

Comment

The Popularity of John the Baptist
    Both the New Testament and Josephus depict John the Baptist has having a more powerful influence on the majority of the people of the time than did Jesus. Josephus' description of John is more detailed than his account of Jesus, and John's death is, in the people's view, avenged afterward by Heaven with real actions, but Josephus mentions no such divine support for Jesus.
    In contrast with his usual attitude toward popular leaders, Josephus is sympathetic towards John the Baptist. One wonders what the difference is between John and the men whom Josephus disparages as "deceivers" (apateônes) and "enchanters" (goêtes), such as Theudas and the Egyptian. It isn't simply that John did not represent a direct threat to Rome -- Josephus always stresses the folly of those who do oppose Rome -- as many of the others also seemed apolitical. All of these, including John, seemed to be killed solely because they had a large following, which in itself was seen as a threat to those in power: there was room for only one crowd and only one leader. We are left to conclude that Josephus himself was touched favorably by the philosophy of John, just as many of his countrymen were. While he was probably working from a source that was itself positive toward John, his choice of that source would have reflected his own attitude.

A Baptism of Repentance
    Josephus seems genuinely intrigued by the notion of baptism and tries to explain it in terms his audience can understand. (The word derives from the Greek baptô, "dip".) He understands it first as a purification of the body, playing the same role as the traditional mikvah. The spiritual question involved is whether John has the power to forgive sins, perhaps with the aid of water that has mystical properties. Josephus strongly denies that John claimed any such power: the washing was a physical manifestation of a spiritual commitment to performing good works.
    In the New Testament John gives a "baptism of repentance," and insists angrily to those who come to him that they must "bear fruits worthy of repentance," an attitude which accords with Josephus' description. But he is also seen as providing "forgiveness of sins" after the repentance has been made, and the religious authorities, particularly in the Book of John, are suspicious that he is taking upon himself a divine role. His follower Jesus is more directly accused of this in the other Gospels.
    Josephus does not hint that John was announcing the imminent coming of the Messiah, as the New Testament does. But throughout his works Josephus deliberately hides references to the Messiah (for example, in his account of Moses he leaves out Deuteronomy 18) -- except to describe the notion as a primary cause of the war with Rome, which was evidently well known to his non-Jewish audience (the Roman historian Tacitus also mentions it), which is reason enough for him to not want to provoke his audience by presenting the idea positively. Yet it is difficult to understand the excitement of the people in response to John simply based on the description of his philosophy as given by Josephus.

Essenes
    Modern scholars see a similarity between John and the sect that wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, who are usually taken to be the Essenes described by Josephus. John may have once been an Essene who developed a following of his own.
    This may explain Josephus' favorable view of John, for the Essenes are described in very much greater detail than the other two major Jewish philosophies. Moreover, in his autobiography, Josephus tells us that when he was a teenager he spent three years in the desert with a man named Banus who resembles John in behavior (as in Mark's description). This Banus clothed himself using only trees, ate only food that was found in the wild, and bathed himself in cold water several times a day. Yet this Banus was not an Essene, but a unique individual. This experience seems to have given Josephus a lasting sympathy for people who led this way of life, which is quite probably why he speaks so favorably of John the Baptist.

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Herod's Marriage to Herodias

The gospel of Mark states that John criticized the marriage of Herod the Tetrarch to Herodias, and it was this criticism that led to John's arrest and execution by Herod. Josephus does not say that the marriage had anything to do with Herod's action. But there is an implied connection between the two -- this is found in Josephus' account of the destruction of Herod's army.

Herod the Tetrarch did illegally marry Herodias, Josephus tells us. Herodias was a grandchild of Herod the Great and Mariamme the Hasmonean, through Mariamme's son Aristobulus. Her grandfather had arranged her marriage while she was still a child to her cousin, his son Herod, the one whose mother was daughter of the priest Simon. (It much less confusing for us if everyone weren't named Herod.) This arranged marriage apparently wasn't satisfactory, as she left her "living husband" to marry her husband's step-brother, Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee.

Whether she simply left her first husband unofficially, thus committing polyandry, or whether she "divorced" him on her own initiative, the action was contrary to Jewish law, as a woman was, and still is not in Orthodox Judaism, allowed to divorce her husband without his written consent -- i.e., he must divorce her.

The story does not end there. Josephus tells us that this marriage of Herod the Tetrarch and Herodias led directly to war with the neighboring Arab king, King Aretas; for Herod had been married to Aretas' daughter. Whatever circumspection he had planned to gently divorce her without angering Aretas was thwarted when his wife got wind of his plans and prematurely fled to her father. This, coupled with a dispute over borders, led to the battle that destroyed Herod's army.

It was this battle that the Jews of Galilee associated with Herod's treatment of John the Baptist, says Josephus. Why would they make such a connection? There are two possibilities. One is a simple chronological proximity: if the army's defeat occurred immediately after Herod's execution of John, the people would have made a direct link between the two events. But the other possibility is conceptual: if John had been killed by Herod some time earlier because he criticized Herod's marriage to Herodias, then seeing the army destroyed as the direct result of this marriage must have looked like a just punishment indeed.

So even if Josephus does not say so, it is a plausible conjecture, even if we did not have the New Testament sources, that John had indeed criticized Herod's marriage and was executed for it.

(Incidentally, this King Aretas is the same one mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:32.)

Salome

       A widely-known story is that of Salome, Herod's daughter who danced so well that he promised to give her anything she asked for, whereupon she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
        However, in the New Testament Herod's daughter is not named. Then why is it that everyone who's heard the story knows the name Salome?
        We know it not from the New Testament, but from Josephus, in the passage cited above. Salome was the daughter of Herodias by her first marriage, to Herod-the-son-of-the-daughter-of-Simon-the-high-priest. Mark actually identifies Herodias' first husband as another of Herod the Tetrarch's brothers, Philip. Modern scholars assume this is a mistake, and a natural one, as Philip was, of course, also named Herod. Still, the error indicates that this part of Mark was not written by contemporaries of John, who would certainly have known who married whom.

The Dating of John According to Josephus

    A puzzle for readers is that Josephus' description of John the Baptist occurs several paragraphs after his description of Jesus (18.5.2 116 compared to 18.3.3 63), implying that John came later in time; but it is important in the gospels that John appeared before Jesus so as to announce him. When, exactly, does Josephus state that John arose?
    He is not at all clear, as is often the case for events that occurred before his time. Even when Josephus is precise about dates he can frequently shown to be somewhat off (as when he gives the length of the reigns of Roman emperors). So any conclusions about John from this passage must be taken cum grano salis.
    Having said that, it does appear that Josephus is giving John's death as occurring in 36 CE, which is at least 6 years later than what is expected from the New Testament, and after the crucifixion of Jesus. This date is seen as follows. Herod's battle with Aretas appears to have broken out soon after Herod's first wife, Aretas's daughter, left him. If so, then John did not have much time between the moment people were aware Herod was remarrying and the start of the battle with Aretas, for John was already dead before the battle. Josephus gives several indications that the battle occurred in 36 CE:

He states that the quarrel with Aretas sprang up "about the time" (Ant. 18.5.1. 109) that Herod's brother Philip died in 34 CE (Ant. 18.4.6 106).
During this time Herod's brother Agrippa had gone to Rome "a year before the death of Tiberius" (Ant18.5.3 126), which places Agrippas's departure in 36 CE.
Soon after the battle, the Syrian commander Vitellius was ordered by Tiberius to attack Aretas, whereupon Vitellius marched through Judea with his army, pausing in Jerusalem to placate the Jews and to sacrifice at a festival (probably Passover). On the fourth day of his stay in Jerusalem he learned of the death of Tiberius, which had occurred on March 16 37 CE (and it could have taken up to a month for Jerusalem to get the news). This puts the battle in the winter of 36/37 CE.
Vitellius' action against Aretas must have occurred between his action against the Parthians, under Tiberius' orders, and the death of Tiberius. The Parthian war occurred in 35 and 36 CE, as indicated both by Josephus and by the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius. (Herod the Tetrarch assisted Vitellius in negotiations between Tiberius and the Parthian king.)

The only question, then, is whether Josephus is misleading when he implies that the battle with Aretas came immediately after Herod separated from Aretas' daughter.
So when did Herod marry Herodias? The only hint Josephus gives is that the pair first met when Herod was on his way to Rome, but unfortunately the only such journey we know about was when Herod visited Augustus to receive his inheritance in 6 CE. This is not very helpful. So the evidence of Josephus is that John the Baptist was executed in 36 CE, well after the time indicated by the gospels - but, it should be noted, still within the governorship of Pontius Pilate.

The Argument of Saulnier

    However, the scholar Christiane Saulnier published a paper in 1984 arguing that the marriage can be placed in 24 to 28 CE using evidence from Josephus, an argument that Murphy-O'Connor, who is quite careful about dates, accepts in his book Paul: A Critical Life. So let us examine Saulnier's paper (C. Saulnier, "Herode Antipas et Jean le Baptiste: Quelques remarqes sur les confusions chronlogiques do Flavius Josephus," Revue Biblique 91:362-376 (1984)).
       To establish the earliest date we can know they were wed, Saulnier points out the passage at Antiquities 18.6.2 148 which refers to "Herodias, the wife of Herod the Tetrarch." The task is to date this passage. We know it could not be describing a time prior to 23 CE, and Saulnier votes for a time close to that date.
        The date is derived from the travails of Agrippa the First, the brother of Herodias. According to Antiquities 18.6.1-4, Agrippa had been living in Rome since before the death of his father Herod the Great (4 BCE), and had become well acquainted with the family of the Emperor Tiberius. But when Agrippa's mother Berenice died he lost her sensible control over his free-spending nature and also her connections with the imperial family. In consequence he quickly ended up in debt. Agrippa had also lost his friend Drusus, Tiberius' only son, who had been poisoned in 23 CE, and Tiberius, out of his grief, cut off contact with his son's old companions. Agrippa quickly spent his money trying to keep close to the emperor and soon found himself in debt with no one to help him.
        As a result, he left Rome to seek help with his family in Judea. But he grew suicidal, and only through the intervention of his wife Cypros and his sister Herodias was he persuaded to live on.. It is here that the reference to Herodias as wife of Herod the Tetrarch appears; the latter gives Agrippa an allowance for living expenses and a profitable job as a local director of commerce.
     Agrippa was now resourceful, and eventually became solvent again. When he did, he sailed back to Rome, in 36 CE, and once again made the acquaintance of Tiberius.
      So the remark about Herodias can be placed between 23 and 36 CE. But where in this range? Saulnier attributes Agrippa's departure from Rome as due to the death of Drusus. But it is the death of his mother Berenice that caused Agrippa his money problems, and we do not have a date for her demise. The death of Drusus could have occurred years before, and Josephus might be mentioning it at this point only because it is logical, not chronological. We simply don't know the time between Drusus' death and Agrippa's departure from Rome.
    Saulnier offers a number of speculations about Herod's unexplained trip to Rome, the source of his enmity with Agrippa, etc. These do not, however, provide any new evidence that can be used for a chronology.
    What we do know (Ant. 18.6.2 150) is that "no great while" after Herod the Tetrarch gave Agrippa an allowance and a job, Agrippa attempted to alleviate his money woes by dealing with the Roman governor Flaccus; and that Flaccus was in power from 32 to 35 CE. This again supports the idea that it was the early 30's (31-35) when Agrippa came to Judea in debt, and so there is no evidence Herodias' marriage took place much earlier.
    The event that limits the latest possible marriage date, the battle between Aretas and Herod, is then addressed by Saulnier. Josephus implied this battle occurred fairly soon after Herod's separation from Aretas' daughter; in between these two events, John was executed (assuming he did criticize the new marriage as the gospels relate). Thus, Saulnier asks whether the date of this battle might have been well before the year 36 CE in which Josephus places it.
    If we put aside more speculations, the concrete proposal Saulnier makes is that Josephus has confused the occasion of Vitellius' presence in Jerusalem for the Passover of 37 CE, when the news of Tiberius' death was received. Josephus states Vitellius was marching to attack Aretas on Tiberius orders following the battle with Herod; but Saulnier asks why Vitellius, stationed in Damascus, would march through Jerusalem to attack an Arab leader headquartered in Petra (Jordan)? Perhaps this is explained by the exact point of attack, which is unknown, but probabilities dictate that this point has some weight. Instead, suggests Saulnier, Vitellius was in Jerusalem to keep control of matters after his removal of Pilate , which evidently occurred in February or early March of that same year 37 (because Tiberius had died by the time Pilate arrived in Rome).
    To support this, Saulnier points out that Josephus records two visits by Vitellius to Jerusalem during a Passover, once when Pilate was removed (Ant. 18.4.3 90) and once when he was marching against Aretas. But these would have been the same Passover: both events are dated by Tiberius' death in 37. He suggests Josephus separated a single event into two and was incorrect about the timing of Vitellius' attack against Aretas, which occurred, by this reasoning, prior to the Parthian war. The confusion is made plausible by Josephus' lack of good sources for the period and his general laxness with identifying the proper synchronicity and ordinality of events.
    Against this idea of the mistaken Passover there are the following points:

Josephus says that Vitellius "sent Marcellus to take charge of affairs in Judea" when Pilate was removed, not that Vitellius went himself. We will have to suppose that this statement is inaccurate, too.
A different report of Vitellius visiting Jerusalem (Ant. 15.11.4 405) seems to have been confused with the visit at Pilate's removal, as both involve the possession of the high priest's garments. So although there is an obvious confusion in the text, there are other resolutions than the suggested one: the visit at the time of Pilate's removal could have been confused with an earlier visit in 36 (as described in Louis Feldman's footnote in the Loeb edition). Saulnier has a rejoinder ready: that Vitellius was too busy with the Parthian war of 35-36 to make two visits to Jerusalem. In response to that, one can note that war was waged in summer months, so there was time in the winter for Vitellius to look over his territories.
It is not impossible that two things occurred at the same time: the attack on Aretas and the removal of Pilate. If Saulnier wishes to argue that Vitellius could go to Jerusalem to take care of matters after removing Pilate, it seems one can further argue that he can combine two goals in one, by marching on Aretas through Judea. Perhaps that actually is the explanation for Vitellius' route against Aretas.
The year 37, or 38, was Josephus' birth year. He might have known something from his parents about what was going on in Jerusalem at this time. (On the other hand, such memories can also be the source of errors that one is most blind to.)

Conclusions about Saulnier's Discussion

Considering the arguments as a whole, Saulnier does propose a possible way in which Josephus' chronology can be reconciled with the gospels'. For believers in the basic accuracy of the gospels, that is enough. But if one regards the gospels' dating as suspect and solely works from Josephus' text, then Saulnier's discussion pushes the date back some but does not produce any firm evidence identifying the date of Herodias' marriage as occurring before the early 30's CE. The reader can choose between these alternatives according to his or her own predisposition.

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How old was John the Baptist when he died?

In: John the Baptist

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_old_was_John_the_Baptist_when_he_died#ixzz1ujOC5JcO

First we need to establish in what year John the Baptist died.

According to the canonical Gospels, John died shortly after Jesus began his ministry. According to tradition, this would place his death about 29 or 30 CE. However, the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, seems to place his death much later, at about 36 CE. ⁽¹⁾

Luke says that John was born a little before Jesus. In turn, Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod the Great, 4 BCE or earlier. In fact, Matthew seems to think that Jesus was born some years before the death of Herod.

Based on the above information, John was certainly at least 34 years old, probably at least 41 and possibly much older.

⁽¹⁾ Evidence from Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews Book XVIII)

Josephus places the marriage of Antipas to his brother's former wife, Herodias, at the same time as, or shortly after, the death of Philip II, who he says died in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius (34 CE). John was highly critical of this marriage, causing Antipas to fear that he would cause an insurrection:

Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death.

Josephus makes it clear that Antipas intended to execute John, and it seems most improbable that he would long delay the execution if he feared an insurrection by John's supporters. The execution would have quickly followed the imprisonment.

Additionally, King Aretas attacked and defeated Antipas in 36 CE in revenge for the slight to his daughter, whom Antipas divorced in order to marry Herodias. We can expect a one or two year delay during which the news reached Aretas and he considered a diplomatic solution or demanded compensation, then raised an army, but an angry father is not likely to have waited ten years to take action.

Some of the Jews believed that Antipas' defeat was divine retribution for his execution of John:

Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him.

This association makes it most likely that John's death was a quite recent event at the time of the defeat - closer in time to the battle than to the wedding, and certainly not something that occurred 8 or 10 years earlier.

Answer

Firstly, it must be understood that Josephus makes no statements about the date of Jesus' death.

Secondly, it must also be understood that the majority scholarly view is that Herod Antipas married Herodias around 28 AD.

Thirdly, the statements made by Josephus actually do not disagree with what the Bible states but actually support it. On example is that John the Baptist is regarded by both the Bible and Josephus as having been executed wrongfully by Herod.

Fourthly, Josephus adds the additional detail that the military defeat of Herod, known to have occurred in 36 AD was seen by many Jews as a direct punishment by God for Herod's execution of John. Obviously there is not sufficient time for Jesus to have been crucified in 36 as well as this defeat. History shows that both Pilate and Herod had other things going on in 36 which indicate the crucifixion was in the past by a number of years.

In the light of these known facts, together with the Gospel record, it would seem likely that John was indeed around 36 or possibly even 39 years of age when he was executed in the year 32 AD, since we also know John was born before Jesus, who was born before 4 BC possibly down to 6 BC.

Josephus also does not draw the specific connection between the ministry of John and the ministry of Jesus as do the Gospel writers. Nor do his statements about John contain some of the specific details contained in the Gospels. He thus demonstrates his being further removed from the history of John.

Summary: John was likely around 36 to 38 (a more likely age) when he was executed

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John the Baptist

and

Josephus

by G. J. Goldberg

Contents

The New Testament

Josephus

Comment

The New Testament

Josephus

Antiquities 18.5.2 116-119

Comment

The Popularity of John the Baptist

A Baptism of Repentance

Essenes

Herod's Marriage to Herodias

Salome

The Dating of John According to Josephus

Conclusions about Saulnier's Discussion

How old was John the Baptist when he died?

(1) Evidence from Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews Book XVIII)

Answer

⁽¹⁾ Evidence from Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews Book XVIII)