Thrones of Blood, A History of the Times of Jesus

By: Josephus

Narrated by: uncredited

The ancient historian Josephus is key to a proper understanding of the time of Christ and the early church era. This recording, an abridged paraphrase of two Josephus histories, will transport you back in time to the period 37 B.C. to A.D. 70, from the time Herod took Jerusalem to become "King of the Jews," to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.©1998 Barbour and Company, Inc.

A good Read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It gave me a much better understanding of that period of time.

What did you like best about this story?

The first person perspective.

Have you listened to any of the narrator’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He did well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Great little book

This book is only 1 hour 36 minutes long, but well worth it. I wish all of Josephus could be done like this. So much easier to understand in the paraphrase and modern language.

An Excellent Place to Start

For the average person interested in the background of the New Testament, or even simply the history of the first century, Josephus should be required reading. However, his style in the traditional English translation of 1739-41 seems to be so forbidding to many that they don't even make the attempt. "Thrones of Blood" is an excellent place to start because it combines the most pertinent material from two of Josephus' histories ("The Antiquities of the Jews" and "The Jewish War") into one continuous simplified narrative which "reads more like a novel than a history book." The English is paraphrased into modern style and is very easy to understand.

Listeners need to keep in mind, though, that a paraphrase is really an interpretation. In this case I have generally found it to be very accurate; but having heard what is has to say, it should be checked against a more literal translation if you want to be sure of the exact words of Josephus in any particular sentence. The narrator of the audiobook is pleasant to listen to, and although he sometimes mispronounces a few of the ancient names, that doesn't have to detract from the story (which is really quite gripping). The main drawback is that since the print version is already an abridgment of Josephus, the audiobook is an abridgment of an abridgment. This makes it more of a "scan," with the result that in a few places it becomes difficult to follow who was who. Repeated listenings should cure this problem, however.

All in all, I highly recommend "Thrones of Blood" as a place to start for everyone. It would also be great for someone simply wanting a refresher on Josephus, or even just a good read. It has rekindled my interest to read through the complete edition of Josephus. I hope it will do the same for you, too; but even if it doesn't, the "Thrones of Blood" audiobook will give you a wealth of background material for understanding where we are today.

I enjoyed this !

loved it! I listened several times. Well put together, very interesting and I learned alot. kudos to this audio book

Awesome

I think it was a good read even though Josephus Flavis was the biggest brown nosing traitor in history worse than Benedict Arnold a real live devil. I think for the scholars of Semitic history its a informative book that helps shed light on the story making of the Gospels and the paganism of the systematically Roman design of the Church.

quick accessible history of Israel just before it fell

seemingly neutral history of the Roman leaders, their appointees, the Jewish leaders, and the back and forth compliance and rebellion

Not worth a credit

Sounds like a 10th grade book report. the reading is only a few hours long.