Gelenius’ revisions to the Latin Bellum
Josephus’ account of Pompey’s capture of the Temple (Bellum Judaicum 1.148–153) illustrates how the Latin text changed in print. Edward Cardwell’s 1837 edition descends indirectly from Sigismund Gelenius’ 1534 revision, which drew on Greek manuscripts. Froben’s 1524 edition predates that revision, and Bernd Bader’s 2019 critical edition draws on the Latin manuscript tradition.
In 1.148, Cardwell reads ceremoniarum where Froben and Bader have de superstitionis suae ritu. In 1.151, Cardwell and Froben both read occubuerunt, while Bader prints oppetierunt.
Select a highlight to compare its readings.
Method and editions
The comparison keeps the capitalization, punctuation, spelling, spacing, and section markers of the project transcriptions. To align the texts, it ignores capitalization, punctuation, and Niese section numbers and treats & and et as equivalent. The variant table separates differences in wording from spelling and accents.
The section divisions follow the numbered Cardwell and Bader transcriptions. Froben’s section openings were matched by their wording. The comparison groups related differences where the word order changes, as in the instructions for cleansing the Temple at 1.153.
- Froben, Flavii Iosephi Opera (Basel, 1524), pp. 606–607.
- Edward Cardwell, ed., Flavii Josephi De bello Judaico libri septem (Oxford, 1837). Digitised Latin volume.
- Bernd Bader, ed., Josephus Latinus: De Bello Iudaico. Buch 1 (Stuttgart, 2019). Critical edition and commentary.
For the 1534 edition and the Greek manuscripts Gelenius consulted, see the University Library of Basel’s catalogue entry.