Flavius Josephus, in the opening lines of his autobiography (probably written in the last decade of the 1st century AD), provides his genealogy in an apparent attempt to legitimize himself before his Roman audience. After describing his ancestry, Josephus concludes:
Thus have I set down the genealogy of my family as I have found it described in the public records, and so bid adieu to those who calumniate me [as of a lower original]. (Life 1.6)
Wait a minute! Did I just read that correctly? Did a text purporting to be written by an ancient Jew just use a French word? Well, clearly this text is a fraud, since everyone knows 1st century Jews didn’t speak French!
William Whiston, the alleged 18th century “translator” of this fraudulent text, should’ve known better. The game is up for Whiston. Clearly his “translation” is bogus.