The Jewish War and the Roman civil war of 68–69 C.E.: Jewish, pagan, and Christian perspectives

Van Kooten examines how Jewish, Roman and Christian writings connect the revolt against Rome with the civil war of 68–69 CE. He discusses book 4 of the Sibylline Oracles, Tacitus and Josephus, then 2 Thessalonians, Revelation and Mark, before assessing Josephus' treatment of Nero. The passages are read against reports by ancient historians and interpretations by modern scholars, with Roman monuments and routes, the Templum Pacis and the Via Egnatia, as context for how the wars were tied to imperial politics and to movement between east and west.

The argument

Van Kooten argues that the Jewish war was presented as part of Rome's political crisis. He reads the Sibylline Oracles alongside Tacitus and Josephus, including the association of the destruction of Jerusalem with Nero's flight and the civil war; the prophecies of the oracle extend to Cyprus and the eastern provinces. In his account the Templum Pacis represented the restoration of Roman peace through the end of Nero's rule, the civil war and the Jewish war (pp. 420–426).

Van Kooten argues that the Christian writings place the prospect of Nero's return at the centre of their treatment of events. In 2 Thessalonians and Revelation the Jewish war is a secondary concern within a wider fear of Nero's return from the east. Mark gives more attention to Jerusalem and developments in Judaea, and Van Kooten argues that it also reflects expectations about Nero's presence in the temple. For Mark he sets the warning to flee Jerusalem beside Josephus' account of the siege, the escape routes and the Roman circumvallation wall (pp. 427–444).

Josephus on Nero

Van Kooten compares Josephus' accounts of Nero's appointments and decisions with episodes involving Poppaea, Jewish priests and the Jerusalem temple. He concludes that Josephus presents Nero in a largely neutral or positive manner, while Christian writers were especially concerned about his past persecution of Christians and his possible return. These differing perspectives, he argues, help explain why Christian writings give early accounts of the Jewish war and still place it within the political crisis of Nero's last years (pp. 445–450).

Dating

Van Kooten proposes that 2 Thessalonians was written during the first year of Nero's disappearance, between June 68 and July 69 CE. For Mark he endorses a date before May–June 70 CE, and he also discusses Hengel's proposed range of winter 68/69 to winter 69/70 (pp. 428–440).