Une crux dans le texte de Flavius Josèphe (BJ 4.164) : le sacrifice de sa vie par le grand-prêtre Ananos

Abstract We revisit the well-known crux affecting Flavius Josephus BJ 4.164 and propose a new solution based on a very close study of the subtle reasoning of the high priest Ananos in his discourse. In the process we shed light on Josephus’ complex portrayal of a character who plays an important part in the narrative of the Jewish War . The suggested new solution implies the loss of two lines in an antigraphon; unraveling the priest’s reasoning, we state what we think was meant in the presumably lost lines and, using Josephus’ phraseology, we offer a tentative restitution of what stood there.