The Fate of Josephus’s Antiquitates Judaicae 13.171–173: Ancient Judean Philosophy in Context by Ken Penner Introduction The Problem Josephus is our main source of information about the Jewish sects in the Second Temple period. At various points in his writings we find the characteristics of individual sects described, but on three occasions he specifically includes a comparison of the three sects, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, and in all three instances, the views of Fate and Free Will are the distinguishing feature. 1 In fact in Antiquitates Judaicae 13.171173, the views of Fate are the only criterion by which the three philosophies are distinguished: 1 The three locations are B.J. 2.162166; A.J. 13.171173; A.J. 18.1215.