It turns out, they often are. And that's precisely what Flavius Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, points out in his work, Against Apion. He's making a case for the antiquity and reliability of Jewish history, and he does so by bringing in some surprising witnesses.
Specifically, he calls upon Berosus, a Chaldean priest and historian who lived in the 3rd century BCE. Berosus wrote a history of Babylonia for the Greeks, and Josephus is keen to show how Berosus's account aligns with the Hebrew Bible. He emphasizes that Berosus "was by birth a Chaldean, well known by the learned, on account of his publication of the Chaldean books of astronomy and philosophy among the Greeks." This wasn't some fringe figure; he was a respected scholar in his own right.
What's fascinating is that Berosus, according to Josephus, corroborates the story of the great flood. He "gives us a history of the deluge of waters that then happened, and of the destruction of mankind thereby, and agrees with Moses's narration thereof." Here's a historian from a completely different culture, writing about a cataclysmic event that resonates so strongly with the story of Noah and the ark that we all know. Berosus even mentions the ark landing on the "highest part of the Armenian mountains," just like in the biblical account! And he continues with "a catalogue of the posterity of Noah," tracing the lineage of humanity forward.
But the parallels don't stop there. Berosus also recounts the rise of Nebuchadnezzar (Nabolassar in Berosus’s account), the Babylonian king who conquered Jerusalem and exiled the Jewish people. Josephus quotes Berosus directly, "'When Nabolassar, father of Nabuchodonosor, heard that the governor whom he had set over Egypt, and over the parts of Celesyria and Phoenicia, had revolted from him, he was not able to bear it any longer; but committing certain parts of his army to his son Nabuchodonosor, who was then but young, he sent him against the rebel.'" This echoes the biblical narrative in the books of Kings and Chronicles, where we read about the Babylonian conquest and the destruction of the First Temple.
Berosus vividly describes Nebuchadnezzar's military campaigns, noting he "conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phoenicia, and Arabia, and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him in Babylon and Chaldea." And most importantly, Berosus confirms the exile: Nebuchadnezzar "removed our people entirely out of their own country, and transferred them to Babylon; when it so happened that our city was desolate during the interval of seventy years, until the days of Cyrus king of Persia." The seventy-year exile is a crucial period in Jewish history, and here it is, independently verified by a Babylonian historian!
Josephus goes on to detail Nebuchadnezzar's building projects, including the magnificent temple of Belus and the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Berosus says that Nebuchadnezzar "adorned the temple of Belus, and the other temples, after an elegant manner, out of the spoils he had taken in this war. He also rebuilt the old city, and added another to it on the outside...". He even built the Hanging Gardens "to please his queen, because she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous situation." These details paint a picture of a powerful and ambitious ruler, much like the Nebuchadnezzar we encounter in the Bible.
So, what does all this mean? Josephus isn't just name-dropping Berosus to impress his readers. He's making a powerful argument: that Jewish history is not some isolated, self-contained narrative. It's part of a larger tapestry of ancient Near Eastern history, and its key events are corroborated by independent sources. It suggests that these stories weren't just made up; they reflected real events that left a lasting impact on the world. And isn't that a comforting thought? That our stories, our struggles, our triumphs, resonate beyond our own community, echoing through the corridors of time.
19. I will now relate what hath been written concerning us in the
Chaldean histories, which records have a great agreement with our books in oilier things also. Berosus shall be witness to what I say: he was by birth a Chaldean, well known by the learned, on account of his publication of the Chaldean books of astronomy and philosophy among the
Greeks. This Berosus, therefore, following the most ancient records of that nation, gives us a history of the deluge of waters that then happened, and of the destruction of mankind thereby, and agrees with
Moses's narration thereof. He also gives us an account of that ark wherein Noah, the origin of our race, was preserved, when it was brought to the highest part of the Armenian mountains; after which he gives us a catalogue of the posterity of Noah, and adds the years of their chronology, and at length comes down to Nabolassar, who was king of
Babylon, and of the Chaldeans. And when he was relating the acts of this king, he describes to us how he sent his son Nabuchodonosor against
Egypt, and against our land, with a great army, upon his being informed that they had revolted from him; and how, by that means, he subdued them all, and set our temple that was at Jerusalem on fire; nay, and removed our people entirely out of their own country, and transferred them to Babylon; when it so happened that our city was desolate during the interval of seventy years, until the days of Cyrus king of Persia. He then says, "That this Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and
Phoenicia, and Arabia, and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him in Babylon and Chaldea." A little after which Berosus subjoins what follows in his History of Ancient Times. I will set down
Berosus's own accounts, which are these: "When Nabolassar, father of
Nabuchodonosor, heard that the governor whom he had set over Egypt, and over the parts of Celesyria and Phoenicia, had revolted from him, he was not able to bear it any longer; but committing certain parts of his army to his son Nabuchodonosor, who was then but young, he sent him against the rebel: Nabuchodonosor joined battle with him, and conquered him, and reduced the country under his dominion again. Now it so fell out that his father Nabolassar fell into a distemper at this time, and died in the city of Babylon, after he had reigned twenty-nine years. But as he understood, in a little time, that his father Nabolassar was dead, he set the affairs of Egypt and the other countries in order, and committed the captives he had taken from the Jews, and Phoenicians, and Syrians, and of the nations belonging to Egypt, to some of his friends, that they might conduct that part of the forces that had on heavy armor, with the rest of his baggage, to Babylonia; while he went in haste, having but a few with him, over the desert to Babylon; whither, when he was come, he found the public affairs had been managed by the Chaldeans, and that the principal person among them had preserved the kingdom for him.
Accordingly, he now entirely obtained all his father's dominions. He then came, and ordered the captives to be placed as colonies in the most proper places of Babylonia; but for himself, he adorned the temple of
Belus, and the other temples, after an elegant manner, out of the spoils he had taken in this war. He also rebuilt the old city, and added another to it on the outside, and so far restored Babylon, that none who should besiege it afterwards might have it in their power to divert the river, so as to facilitate an entrance into it; and this he did by building three walls about the inner city, and three about the outer.
Some of these walls he built of burnt brick and bitumen, and some of brick only. So when he had thus fortified the city with walls, after an excellent manner, and had adorned the gates magnificently, he added a new palace to that which his father had dwelt in, and this close by it also, and that more eminent in its height, and in its great splendor. It would perhaps require too long a narration, if any one were to describe it. However, as prodigiously large and as magnificent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. Now in this palace he erected very high walks, supported by stone pillars, and by planting what was called a pensile paradise, and replenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect an exact resemblance of a mountainous country. This he did to please his queen, because she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous situation."
