That’s the situation the historian Josephus found himself in, and it led him to write one of his most passionate works, Against Apion.

He begins this work by addressing a man named Epaphroditus. Now, there's some debate about who this Epaphroditus actually was. Dr. Hudson points out that it's unlikely to be the Epaphroditus who was Nero's secretary, as he was killed before Josephus finished writing. More likely, it was another Epaphroditus, a freedman and procurator of Trajan, as Grotius suggests.

Josephus had previously written his Antiquities of the Jews, a massive work detailing five thousand years of Jewish history, translated into Greek from our sacred texts. He tells Epaphroditus that in Antiquities, he demonstrated the great antiquity of the Jewish nation and how we came to live in the land we inhabit. But despite this monumental effort, the slanders persisted.

Why? Because some people, fueled by malice, refused to believe him. They pointed to the fact that prominent Greek historians hadn't mentioned the Jews, seeing this as proof that we were a relatively new people. Sound familiar?

Josephus felt compelled to respond. He saw it as his duty to "convict those that reproach us of spite and voluntary falsehood, and to correct the ignorance of others, and withal to instruct all those who are desirous of knowing the truth of what great antiquity we really are." He sets out to prove our ancient roots, using witnesses respected by the Greeks themselves.

Think about that for a moment. He's not just relying on our own tradition, but appealing to the standards and authorities of the very people questioning our existence.

Josephus promises to expose the lies and demonstrate why Greek historians may have overlooked us. He even pledges to highlight the Greek writers who did acknowledge Jewish history, for those who are genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance.

It’s a powerful mission statement, isn't it? A commitment to truth, a defense against prejudice, and a testament to the enduring strength of the Jewish people. And it all starts with the simple, yet profound, act of telling our story, over and over again, until it can no longer be ignored. What does it mean for us today, when we face similar challenges of misinformation and prejudice, to tell our story with the same courage and conviction as Josephus?