Dreams and Dream Reports in the Writings of Josephus: A Traditio-Historical Analysis (review)

Abstract

134 SHOFAR Summer 2000 Vol. 18, NO.4 stock"), which reflects Isa. 11:1, a common messianic proof-text. He asserts that messianic expectation "came to be taken for granted in the [Dead Sea scroll] community, so that passing allusions to it would suffice" (p. 75). One wonders why the same argument cannot be applied more widely. Still, Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls is easily commended to scholars and laypersons alike. David S. Williams Department of Religion University of Georgia Dreams and Dream Reports in the Writings of Josephus: A Traditio-Historical Analysis, by Robert Karl Gnuse. Leiden: E. 1. Brill, 1996. 320 pp. $114.50. Professor Gnuse has gathered in this book a thorough exhibit of examples illustrating the topic advertised in the title. After an introductory chapter presenting general considerations, he states that Josephus believed the interpretation ofdreams was part of his prophetic responsibility. He was a man of his age, a mix of the Semitic and the Greek. The author's goal is to provide insight into Josephus' mind as well as into the literary genre of dream reports. The second chapter, nearly one hundred pages long, reviews how dreams were perceived in the ancient world, going far beyond Greek civilization to include Mesopotamian , Western-Semitic (Mari, Ebla, Ugarit, Deir 'AlIa), Hittite, and Egyptian evidence . He concludes that Josephus was heir to these traditions. Gnuse proposes: "Patterns which were born in the ancient Near East may have given rise to the many reports and customs observed in the later classical world" (p. 127, emphasis mine). The lines are unclear between these Near Eastern dream traditions and Josephus. Chapter Three is the heart of Gnuse's study. Here he examines 54 passages from Josephus' works in the order in which the works were written. He classifies dreams in four categories: 1) auditory message dreams, 2) visual symbolic dreams, 3) image dreams, and 4) psychological status dreams. A discussion follows each passage, among other things type-casting it in one of the four categories. In Chapter Two, Gnuse sets the stage for this study of dreams in Josephus by demonstrating how these various kinds of dreams and interpretations of dreams were represented in the ancient world. It would seem that the author's point is that if dreams may be categorized in these various ways in the ancient world, to discover these categories of dreams and interpretations in Josephus indicates a connection between dreams in other ancient literature and Josephus. And it is this correlation between old and new (Josephus) that constitutes the traditio-historical nature ofthe study. Ofcourse, the author does not demonstrate that Josephus was heir to any of these traditions. It is Book Reviews 135 useful to know there was a common interest in dreams in the world into which Josephus was born. Chapter Four performs a similar analysis of non-biblical dreams in Josephus' writings. Here Gnuse examines five passages with a two-fold purpose: a) "The literary and ideological origins ofeach dream report shall be hypothetically recovered," and b) "This will provide insight into the mind ofJosephus, his writing style, and unconscious presuppositions of his presentation" (p. 205). This part ofthe book seemed to me most pertinent to the author's objective because here he exhibits a more creative elementin Josephus' writing. He interacts thoughtfully with other modem scholars' musings on Josephus. The word "perhaps" appears frequently as Gnuse "plays" with the possibilities. He does not blush to admit that his conclusions are "subjective and debatable" (p.225). Gnuse concludes, as several others have, that Josephus saw his own ability to receive and interpret dreams as an important part of his prophetic identity. His dream reports fall into at least three of the four categories proposed in Chapter Three. His preference for auditory message dreams and visual symbolic dreams reflects his Jewish roots (p. 270). It was an unconscious effort on Josephus' part to conform to these types in writing ofdreams. Though the Semitic influence is most pronounced in Josephus, the Greek influence is also manifest. Professor Gnuse's book is useful in that he pulls together a lot of information. He was courageous to set forth so many possibilities. I confess I...