In the opening of the Jewish War, Josephus claims not only that his history represents the true and full account of the war, but that, in violation of Greek historiographical conventions, its language expresses his personal grief. Josephus’ expression of personal emotion differentiates him from the Greek tradition, in which lament is customarily expressed in other genres. Josephus borrows instead from the biblical tradition of lament to mourn the fall of Jerusalem. The concept of moral injury from trauma studies describes the psychological damage caused by betrayal in combat settings, a phenomenon which Josephus’ comments about the causes of the disaster resemble. This elucidates why Josephus emphasizes his emotions in his history, drawing on past Jewish responses to imperial-colonial encounters to shape his personalized response to the catastrophe of his own day.

在犹太战争的开始，约瑟夫斯（Josephus）不仅声称他的历史代表了这场战争的真实而完整的记载，而且还违反了希腊的历史学惯例，其语言表达了他的个人悲痛。约瑟夫斯对个人情感的表达使他有别于希腊传统，在希腊传统中，哀悼通常以其他流派来表达。约瑟夫斯取而代之的是借鉴圣经的哀悼传统，哀悼耶路撒冷的陷落。创伤研究中的精神伤害概念描述了战斗环境中背叛所造成的心理伤害，约瑟夫斯（Josephus）对灾难起因的评论与此现象相似。这阐明了约瑟夫斯为什么要强调自己在历史上的情感，并借鉴犹太人过去对帝国-殖民遭遇的反应来塑造他对当今灾难的个性化反应。