Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database

1162

Anon., Letter Of Aristeas, 302
nan was placed at their disposal. So they set to work comparing their several results and making them agree, and whatever they agreed upon was suitably copied out under the direction of Demetrius.

Intertexts (texts cited often on the same page as the searched text):

10 results
1. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), None (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
2. Septuagint, Judith, 12.7-12.8 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE) 12.7. So Holofernes commanded his guards not to hinder her. And she remained in the camp for three days, and went out each night to the valley of Bethulia, and bathed at the spring in the camp. 12.8. When she came up from the spring she prayed the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the raising up of her people.
3. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.591-3.593 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE) 3.591. But when from Italy shall come a man 3.592. A spoiler, then, Laodicea, thou 3.593. Beautiful city of the Carian
4. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 2.2, 2.25-2.40, 2.47, 2.51, 2.290 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE) 2.2. For some persons say, and not without some reason and propriety, that this is the only way by which cities can be expected to advance in improvement, if either the kings cultivate philosophy, or if philosophers exercise the kingly power. But Moses will be seen not only to have displayed all these powers--I mean the genius of the philosopher and of the king--in an extraordinary degree at the same time, but three other powers likewise, one of which is conversant about legislation, the second about the way of discharging the duties of high priest, and the last about the prophetic office; 2.25. And that beauty and dignity of the legislation of Moses is honoured not among the Jews only, but also by all other nations, is plain, both from what has been already said and from what I am about to state. 2.26. In olden time the laws were written in the Chaldaean language, and for a long time they remained in the same condition as at first, not changing their language as long as their beauty had not made them known to other nations; 2.27. but when, from the daily and uninterrupted respect shown to them by those to whom they had been given, and from their ceaseless observance of their ordices, other nations also obtained an understanding of them, their reputation spread over all lands; for what was really good, even though it may through envy be overshadowed for a short time, still in time shines again through the intrinsic excellence of its nature. Some persons, thinking it a scandalous thing that these laws should only be known among one half portion of the human race, namely, among the barbarians, and that the Greek nation should be wholly and entirely ignorant of them, turned their attention to their translation. 2.28. And since this undertaking was an important one, tending to the general advantage, not only of private persons, but also of rulers, of whom the number was not great, it was entrusted to kings and to the most illustrious of all kings. 2.29. Ptolemy, surnamed Philadelphus, was the third in succession after Alexander, the monarch who subdued Egypt; and he was, in all virtues which can be displayed in government, the most excellent sovereign, not only of all those of his time, but of all that ever lived; so that even now, after the lapse of so many generations, his fame is still celebrated, as having left many instances and monuments of his magimity in the cities and districts of his kingdom, so that even now it is come to be a sort of proverbial expression to call excessive magnificence, and zeal, for honour and splendour in preparation, Philadelphian, from his name; 2.30. and, in a word, the whole family of the Ptolemies was exceedingly eminent and conspicuous above all other royal families, and among the Ptolemies, Philadelphus was the most illustrious; for all the rest put together scarcely did as many glorious and praiseworthy actions as this one king did by himself, being, as it were, the leader of the herd, and in a manner the head of all the kings. 2.31. He, then, being a sovereign of this character, and having conceived a great admiration for and love of the legislation of Moses, conceived the idea of having our laws translated into the Greek language; and immediately he sent out ambassadors to the high-priest and king of Judea, for they were the same person. 2.32. And having explained his wishes, and having requested him to pick him out a number of men, of perfect fitness for the task, who should translate the law, the high-priest, as was natural, being greatly pleased, and thinking that the king had only felt the inclination to undertake a work of such a character from having been influenced by the providence of God, considered, and with great care selected the most respectable of the Hebrews whom he had about him, who in addition to their knowledge of their national scriptures, had also been well instructed in Grecian literature, and cheerfully sent them. 2.33. And when they arrived at the king's court they were hospitably received by the king; and while they feasted, they in return feasted their entertainer with witty and virtuous conversation; for he made experiment of the wisdom of each individual among them, putting to them a succession of new and extraordinary questions; and they, since the time did not allow of their being prolix in their answers, replied with great propriety and fidelity as if they were delivering apophthegms which they had already prepared. 2.34. So when they had won his approval, they immediately began to fulfil the objects for which that honourable embassy had been sent; and considering among themselves how important the affair was, to translate laws which had been divinely given by direct inspiration, since they were not able either to take away anything, or to add anything, or to alter anything, but were bound to preserve the original form and character of the whole composition, they looked out for the most completely purified place of all the spots on the outside of the city. For the places within the walls, as being filled with all kinds of animals, were held in suspicion by them by reason of the diseases and deaths of some, and the accursed actions of those who were in health. 2.35. The island of Pharos lies in front of Alexandria, the neck of which runs out like a sort of tongue towards the city, being surrounded with water of no great depth, but chiefly with shoals and shallow water, so that the great noise and roaring from the beating of the waves is kept at a considerable distance, and so mitigated. 2.36. They judged this place to be the most suitable of all the spots in the neighbourhood for them to enjoy quiet and tranquillity in, so that they might associate with the laws alone in their minds; and there they remained, and having taken the sacred scriptures, they lifted up them and their hands also to heaven, entreating of God that they might not fail in their object. And he assented to their prayers, that the greater part, or indeed the universal race of mankind might be benefited, by using these philosophical and entirely beautiful commandments for the correction of their lives. 2.37. Therefore, being settled in a secret place, and nothing even being present with them except the elements of nature, the earth, the water, the air, and the heaven, concerning the creation of which they were going in the first place to explain the sacred account; for the account of the creation of the world is the beginning of the law; they, like men inspired, prophesied, not one saying one thing and another another, but every one of them employed the self-same nouns and verbs, as if some unseen prompter had suggested all their language to them. 2.38. And yet who is there who does not know that every language, and the Greek language above all others, is rich in a variety of words, and that it is possible to vary a sentence and to paraphrase the same idea, so as to set it forth in a great variety of manners, adapting many different forms of expression to it at different times. But this, they say, did not happen at all in the case of this translation of the law, but that, in every case, exactly corresponding Greek words were employed to translate literally the appropriate Chaldaic words, being adapted with exceeding propriety to the matters which were to be explained; 2.39. for just as I suppose the things which are proved in geometry and logic do not admit any variety of explanation, but the proposition which was set forth from the beginning remains unaltered, in like manner I conceive did these men find words precisely and literally corresponding to the things, which words were alone, or in the greatest possible degree, destined to explain with clearness and force the matters which it was desired to reveal. 2.40. And there is a very evident proof of this; for if Chaldaeans were to learn the Greek language, and if Greeks were to learn Chaldaean, and if each were to meet with those scriptures in both languages, namely, the Chaldaic and the translated version, they would admire and reverence them both as sisters, or rather as one and the same both in their facts and in their language; considering these translators not mere interpreters but hierophants and prophets to whom it had been granted it their honest and guileless minds to go along with the most pure spirit of Moses. 2.47. Again, the historical part may be subdivided into the account of the creation of the world, and the genealogical part. And the genealogical part, or the history of the different families, may be divided into the accounts of the punishment of the wicked, and of the honours bestowed on the just; we must also explain on what account it was that he began his history of the giving of the law with these particulars, and placed the commandments and prohibitions in the second order; 2.51. For both in his commandments and also in his prohibitions he suggests and recommends rather than commands, endeavouring with many prefaces and perorations to suggest the greater part of the precepts that he desires to enforce, desiring rather to allure men to virtue than to drive them to it, and looking upon the foundation and beginning of a city made with hands, which he has made the commencement of his work a commencement beneath the dignity of his laws, looking rather with the most accurate eye of his mind at the importance and beauty of his whole legislative system, and thinking it too excellent and too divine to be limited as it were by any circle of things on earth; and therefore he has related the creation of that great metropolis, the world, thinking his laws the most fruitful image and likeness of the constitution of the whole world. 2.290. These things, therefore, are wonderful; and most wonderful of all is the end of his sacred writings, which is to the whole book of the law what the head is to an animal.
5. Philo of Alexandria, Against Flaccus, 39 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE) 39. Then from the multitude of those who were standing around there arose a wonderful shout of men calling out Maris; and this is the name by which it is said that they call the kings among the Syrians; for they knew that Agrippa was by birth a Syrian, and also that he was possessed of a great district of Syria of which he was the sovereign;
6. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 12.101, 12.103, 12.107-12.108 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) 12.101. 13. And while not the king only, but the philosopher Menedemus also, admired them, and said that all things were governed by Providence, and that it was probable that thence it was that such force or beauty was discovered in these men’s words, they then left off asking any more such questions. 12.103. Accordingly, when three days were over, Demetrius took them, and went over the causeway seven furlongs long: it was a bank in the sea to an island. And when they had gone over the bridge, he proceeded to the northern parts, and showed them where they should meet, which was in a house that was built near the shore, and was a quiet place, and fit for their discoursing together about their work. 12.107. Now when the law was transcribed, and the labor of interpretation was over, which came to its conclusion in seventy-two days, Demetrius gathered all the Jews together to the place where the laws were translated, and where the interpreters were, and read them over. 12.108. The multitude did also approve of those elders that were the interpreters of the law. They withal commended Demetrius for his proposal, as the inventor of what was greatly for their happiness; and they desired that he would give leave to their rulers also to read the law. Moreover, they all, both the priest and the ancientest of the elders, and the principal men of their commonwealth, made it their request, that since the interpretation was happily finished, it might continue in the state it now was, and might not be altered.
7. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 16.22 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) 16.22. Ifany man doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come,Lord!
8. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) 3a. בנס היו עומדין,אין מהוה הוו ולא הוו ידעי הי באמצע תיבה והי בסוף תיבה ואתו צופים ותקינו פתוחין באמצע תיבה וסתומין בסוף תיבה,סוף סוף אלה המצות שאין נביא עתיד לחדש דבר מעתה אלא שכחום וחזרו ויסדום,וא"ר ירמיה ואיתימא רבי חייא בר אבא תרגום של תורה אונקלוס הגר אמרו מפי ר' אליעזר ור' יהושע תרגום של נביאים יונתן בן עוזיאל אמרו מפי חגי זכריה ומלאכי ונזדעזעה ארץ ישראל ארבע מאות פרסה על ארבע מאות פרסה יצתה בת קול ואמרה מי הוא זה שגילה סתריי לבני אדם,עמד יונתן בן עוזיאל על רגליו ואמר אני הוא שגליתי סתריך לבני אדם גלוי וידוע לפניך שלא לכבודי עשיתי ולא לכבוד בית אבא אלא לכבודך עשיתי שלא ירבו מחלוקת בישראל,ועוד ביקש לגלות תרגום של כתובים יצתה בת קול ואמרה לו דייך מ"ט משום דאית ביה קץ משיח,ותרגום של תורה אונקלוס הגר אמרו והא אמר רב איקא בר אבין אמר רב חננאל אמר רב מאי דכתיב (נחמיה ח, ח) ויקראו בספר תורת האלהים מפורש ושום שכל ויבינו במקרא ויקראו בספר תורת האלהים זה מקרא מפורש זה תרגום,ושום שכל אלו הפסוקין ויבינו במקרא אלו פיסקי טעמים ואמרי לה אלו המסורת שכחום וחזרו ויסדום,מאי שנא דאורייתא דלא אזדעזעה ואדנביאי אזדעזעה דאורייתא מיפרשא מלתא דנביאי איכא מילי דמיפרשן ואיכא מילי דמסתמן דכתיב (זכריה יב, יא) ביום ההוא יגדל המספד בירושלם כמספד הדדרימון בבקעת מגידון,ואמר רב יוסף אלמלא תרגומא דהאי קרא לא ידענא מאי קאמר ביומא ההוא יסגי מספדא בירושלים כמספדא דאחאב בר עמרי דקטל יתיה הדדרימון בן טברימון ברמות גלעד וכמספדא דיאשיה בר אמון דקטל יתיה פרעה חגירא בבקעת מגידו,(דניאל י, ז) וראיתי אני דניאל לבדי את המראה והאנשים אשר היו עמי לא ראו את המראה אבל חרדה גדולה נפלה עליהם ויברחו בהחבא מאן נינהו אנשים אמר ר' ירמיה ואיתימא רבי חייא בר אבא זה חגי זכריה ומלאכי,אינהו עדיפי מיניה ואיהו עדיף מינייהו אינהו עדיפי מיניה דאינהו נביאי ואיהו לאו נביא איהו עדיף מינייהו דאיהו חזא ואינהו לא חזו,וכי מאחר דלא חזו מ"ט איבעיתו אע"ג דאינהו לא חזו מזלייהו חזו,אמר רבינא שמע מינה האי מאן דמיבעית אע"ג דאיהו לא חזי מזליה חזי מאי תקנתיה ליקרי ק"ש ואי קאים במקום הטנופת לינשוף מדוכתיה ארבע גרמידי ואי לא לימא הכי עיזא דבי טבחי שמינא מינאי:,והשתא דאמרת מדינה ומדינה ועיר ועיר לדרשה משפחה ומשפחה למאי אתא אמר רבי יוסי בר חנינא להביא משפחות כהונה ולויה שמבטלין עבודתן ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה,דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב כהנים בעבודתן ולוים בדוכנן וישראל במעמדן כולן מבטלין עבודתן ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה,תניא נמי הכי כהנים בעבודתן ולוים בדוכנן וישראל במעמדן כולן מבטלין עבודתן ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה מכאן סמכו של בית רבי שמבטלין תלמוד תורה ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה קל וחומר מעבודה ומה עבודה שהיא חמורה מבטלינן תלמוד תורה לא כל שכן,ועבודה חמורה מתלמוד תורה והכתיב (יהושע ה, יג) ויהי בהיות יהושע ביריחו וישא עיניו וירא והנה איש עומד לנגדו [וגו'] וישתחו (לאפיו),והיכי עביד הכי והאמר רבי יהושע בן לוי אסור לאדם שיתן שלום לחבירו בלילה חיישינן שמא שד הוא שאני התם דאמר ליה כי אני שר צבא ה',ודלמא משקרי גמירי דלא מפקי שם שמים לבטלה,אמר לו אמש בטלתם תמיד של בין הערבים ועכשיו בטלתם תלמוד תורה אמר לו על איזה מהן באת אמר לו עתה באתי מיד (יהושע ח, ט) וילן יהושע בלילה ההוא בתוך העמק אמר רבי יוחנן 3a. bstood by way of a miracle? /b,The Gemara answers: bYes,two forms of these letters bdid existat that time, bbutthe people bdid not know whichone of them was to be used bin the middle of the word and which at the end of the word, and the Seers came and establishedthat bthe openforms are to used be bin the middle of the word and the closedforms bat the end of the word. /b,The Gemara asks: bUltimately,however, doesn’t the phrase b“these are the commandments”(Leviticus 27:34) indicate bthat a prophet is not permitted to initiate any matterof ihalakha bfrom now on? Rather,it may be suggested that the final letters already existed at the time of the giving of the Torah, but over the course of time the people bforgot them,and the prophets bthencame and breestablished them. /b,§ The Gemara cites another ruling of Rabbi Yirmeya or Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba. bRabbi Yirmeya said, and some saythat it was bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abbawho said: bTheAramaic btranslation of the Torahused in the synagogues bwas composed by Onkelos the convert based onthe teachings of bRabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. TheAramaic btranslation of the Prophets was composed by Yonatan ben Uzziel based ona tradition going back to the last prophets, bHaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.The Gemara relates that when Yonatan ben Uzziel wrote his translation, bEretz Yisrael quakedover an area of bfour hundred parasangs [ iparsa /i] by four hundred parasangs,and ba Divine Voice emerged and said: Who is this who has revealed My secrets to mankind? /b, bYonatan ben Uzziel stood up on his feet and said: I am the one who has revealed Your secrets to mankindthrough my translation. However, bit is revealed and known to You that I did this not for myown bhonor, and not for the honor of the house ofmy bfather, but ratherit was bfor Your honorthat bI did this, so that discord not increase among the Jewish people.In the absence of an accepted translation, people will disagree about the meaning of obscure verses, but with a translation, the meaning will be clear., bAndYonatan ben Uzziel balso sought to reveal a translation of the Writings,but ba Divine Voice emerged and said to him: It is enough for youthat you translated the Prophets. The Gemara explains: bWhat is the reasonthat he was denied permission to translate the Writings? bBecause it has in ita revelation of bthe end,when the bMessiahwill arrive. The end is foretold in a cryptic manner in the book of Daniel, and were the book of Daniel translated, the end would become manifestly revealed to all.,The Gemara asks: bWas the translation of the Torahreally bcomposed by Onkelos the convert? Didn’t Rav Ika bar Avin saythat bRav Ḥael saidthat bRav said: What isthe meaning of that bwhich is writtenwith respect to the days of Ezra: b“And they read in the book, the Torah of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, and they caused them to understand the reading”(Nehemiah 8:8)? The verse should be understood as follows: b“And they read in the book, the Torah of God,” this is thescriptural btext; “distinctly,” this is the translation,indicating that they immediately translated the text into Aramaic, as was customary during public Torah readings., b“And they gave the sense,” these arethe divisions of the text into separate bverses. “And they caused them to understand the reading,” these are the cantillation notes,through which the meaning of the text is further clarified. bAnd some saythat bthese are theMasoretic btraditionswith regard to the manner in which each word is to be written. This indicates that the Aramaic translation already existed at the beginning of the Second Temple period, well before the time of Onkelos. The Gemara answers: bTheancient Aramaic translation bwas forgotten and thenOnkelos came and breestablished it. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat is differentabout the translation of Prophets? Why is it that when Onkelos revealed the translation bof the Torah,Eretz Yisrael bdid not quake, andwhen he revealed the translation bof the Prophets, it quaked?The Gemara explains: bThemeaning of bmattersdiscussed bin the Torah is clear,and therefore its Aramaic translation did not reveal the meaning of passages that had not been understood previously. Conversely, in bthe Prophets, there are matters that are clear and there are matters that are obscure,and the Aramaic translation revealed the meaning of obscure passages. The Gemara cites an example of an obscure verse that is clarified by the Aramaic translation: bAs it is written: “On that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon”(Zechariah 12:11)., bAndwith regard to that verse, bRav Yosef said: Were it not for theAramaic btranslation of this verse, we would not have known what it is saying,as the Bible does not mention any incident involving Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. The Aramaic translation reads as follows: bOn that day, the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Ahab, son of Omri, who was slain by Hadadrimmon, son of Tavrimon, in Ramoth-Gilead, and like the mourning for Josiah, son of Amon, who was slain by Pharaoh the lame in the valley of Megiddon.The translation clarifies that the verse is referring to two separate incidents of mourning, and thereby clarifies the meaning of this verse.,§ The Gemara introduces another statement from the same line of tradition. The verse states: b“And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great trembling fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves”(Daniel 10:7). bWho were these men?The term “men” in the Bible indicates important people; who were they? bRabbi Yirmeya said, and some saythat it was bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abbawho said: bThese arethe prophets bHaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. /b,The Gemara comments: In certain ways bthey,the prophets, bwere greater than him,Daniel, and in certain ways bhe,Daniel, bwas greater than them. They were greater than him, as they were prophets and he was not a prophet.Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were sent to convey the word of God to the Jewish people, while Daniel was not sent to reveal his visions to others. In another way, however, bhe was greater than them, as he sawthis vision, band they did not seethis vision, indicating that his ability to perceive obscure and cryptic visions was greater than theirs.,The Gemara asks: bSince they did not seethe vision, bwhat is the reason that they were frightened?The Gemara answers: bEven though they did not seethe vision, btheir guardian angels sawit, and therefore they sensed that there was something fearful there and they fled., bRavina said: Learn fromthis incident that with regard to bone who is frightenedfor no apparent reason, balthough he does not seeanything menacing, bhis guardian angel seesit, and therefore he should take steps in order to escape the danger. The Gemara asks: bWhat is his remedy? He should recite iShema /i,which will afford him protection. bAnd if he is standing in a place of filth,where it is prohibited to recite verses from the Torah, bhe should distance himself four cubits from hiscurrent blocationin order to escape the danger. bAnd ifhe is bnotable to do so, blet him say the followingincantation: bThe goat of the slaughterhouse is fatter than I am,and if a calamity must fall upon something, it should fall upon it.,§ After this digression, the Gemara returns to the exposition of a verse cited above. bNowthat byou have saidthat the phrases b“every province” and “every city”appear bforthe purposes of midrashic bexposition, for whatexposition do the words b“every family”appear in that same verse (Esther 9:28)? bRabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said:These words come bto include the priestly and Levitical families,and indicate bthat they cancel their servicein the Temple band come to hear the reading of the Megilla. /b, bAs Rav Yehuda saidthat bRav said: The priests at theirTemple bservice, the Levites on their platformin the Temple, where they sung the daily psalm, band the Israelites at their watches,i.e., the group of Israelites, corresponding to the priestly watches, who would come to Jerusalem and gather in other locations as representatives of the entire nation to observe or pray for the success of the Temple service, ball cancel their service and come to hear the reading of the Megilla. /b, bThis is also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThe priests at their service, the Levites on the platform, and the Israelites at their watches, all cancel their service and come to hear the reading of the Megilla.The Sages of bthe house of RabbiYehuda HaNasi breliedupon the ihalakhastated bhereand determined bthat one cancels his Torah study and comes to hear the reading of the Megilla.They derived this principle by means of ban ia fortiori /iinference bfrom theTemple bservice: Just asone who is engaged in performing bservicein the Temple, bwhich isvery bimportant, cancelshis service in order to hear the Megilla, is it bnot all the more soobvious that one who is engaged in bTorah studycancels his study to hear the Megilla?,The Gemara asks: bIs theTemple bservice more important than Torah study? Isn’t it written: “And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood over against himwith his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went over to him and said to him: Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, No, but I am captain of the host of the Lord, I have come now. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, band bowed down”(Joshua 5:13–14).,The Gemara first seeks to clarify the incident described in the verse. bHow didJoshua bdo this,i.e., how could he bow to a figure he did not recognize? bDidn’t Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi say: It is prohibited for a person to greet his fellow at nightif he does not recognize him, as bwe are concerned that perhaps it is a demon?How did Joshua know that it was not a demon? The Gemara answers: bThere it was different, asthe visitor bsaid to him: But I am captain of the host of the Lord. /b,The Gemara asks: bPerhapsthis was a demon band he lied?The Gemara answers: It bis learnedas a tradition that demons bdo not utter the name of Heaven for naught,and therefore since the visitor had mentioned the name of God, Joshua was certain that this was indeed an angel.,As for the angel’s mission, the Gemara explains that the angel bsaid toJoshua: bYesterday,i.e., during the afternoon, byou neglected the afternoon daily offeringdue to the impending battle, band now,at night, byou have neglected Torah study,and I have come to rebuke you. Joshua bsaid to him: For which of thesesins bhave you come? He said to him: I have come now,indicating that neglecting Torah study is more severe than neglecting to sacrifice the daily offering. Joshua bimmediatelydetermined to rectify the matter, as the verses states: b“And Joshua lodged that night”(Joshua 8:9) b“in the midst of the valley[iha’emek/b]” (Joshua 8:13), and bRabbi Yoḥa said: /b
9. Eusebius of Caesarea, Preparation For The Gospel, 9.38 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
10. Anon., Letter of Aristeas, None 1. Since I have collected Material for a memorable history of my visit to Eleazar the High priest of the Jews, and because you, Philocrates, as you lose no opportunity of reminding me, have set great store upon receiving an account of the motives and object of my mission, I have attempted to draw up a clear exposition of the matter for you, for I perceive that you possess a natural love of learning

Subjects of this text:

subject	book bibliographic info
(great) library of alexandria	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 54, 59
agent	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
alexandria	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148, 149; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 72, 435
allegorical interpretation/allegory	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 440
alphabet	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
aramaic	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
aristeas	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20; Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148, 149
aristeas (narrator)	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 72
ben sira/sirach	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
boundary	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148, 149
canonization	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
castle	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
city	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
city of alexandria, great lighthouse	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 57
city of alexandria, heptastadium	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 56
city of alexandria, island of pharos	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 56, 57, 59
country	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
court, royal/ptolemaic	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 433, 440
court	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
culture	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
cyprus	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
demetrius of phalerum	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 54, 56, 57, 59, 200; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 433, 435, 440
deputation to eleazar	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
digressions	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
dorotheus, servant	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 433
egypt	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
eleazar, high priest	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 72
emendation	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 434
environment, cultural	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
epilogue	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
ethnic boundaries/identity/markers	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
eusebius of caesarea	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34
exodus paradigm	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
ezekiel the tragedian	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
frame narrative/story	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
fringes	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
genre	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108, 433
gifts, royal	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
god, of the jews	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 72, 434, 440
government	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
greek, culture/religion	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
greek, literature/sources	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
greek	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 72, 108, 433, 435
hebrew, etymologies	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 273
hebrew, script	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 200
hebrew	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
hebrew bible, translation of	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
hellenism/hellenistic culture	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
hero-agent	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
homer	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 435
honor	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 149
house v	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
identity, construction of	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
identity, jewish/ethnic	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
interpretation	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34
islam	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165
jerusalem, as imagined in the letter of aristeas	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 54, 56
jerusalem, temple	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 54
jerusalem	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223; Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148, 149; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 108
jews, alexandrian	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
jews in alexandria, jewish district/delta quarter	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 59
josephus	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 57; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 434, 440
judaeans, of alexandria	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
judaism, alexandrian	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 72
judea	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
judeans	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
justice	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
king	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 72, 433, 434, 435, 440
kingship	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
law, jewish/of moses	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 72, 108
legislation, jewish/moses	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72, 108, 440
legislator/lawgiver	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 440
letter of aristeas, translation of the hebrew scripture	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 54
letter of aristeas	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165
love	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 433
love of learning	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 433
menedemus	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 434
moses	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72, 108, 435
museum/mouseion	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 54
narrative	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
narrative (διήγησις)	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 72, 108, 434, 435
narrator (aristeas, gentile)	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 72, 433
nomos, law of the judaeans	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
offering	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
order	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
peace	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
pentateuch	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
pharos	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108, 435
philo, descriptions of the city of alexandria	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 57
philo, education in hebrew/aramaic	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 273
philo, on the septuagint	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 273
philo of alexandria	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108, 435
philocrates	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108, 433, 440
physis, as natural law	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
polis	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
politeia, of judaeans	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
polybius	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 108
prayer	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 434, 440
priesthood, judaean	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
ps.-aristeas	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 72, 108, 433, 435, 440
ptolemaic king	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
ptolemaios ii	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
ptolemy i	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 59
ptolemy ii	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 56, 59, 273
ptolemy ii philadelphus	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 72, 433
reading	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 434
representation	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
rhetoric/rhetorical	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 433
ring composition	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
ritual, prayer	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 434, 440
ritual, washing	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 434, 440
ritual	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34
sacred scripture/s	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
scholarship, homeric'	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
scripture	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
separation, jewish	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
septuagint, initiative for translation of hebrew scripture	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 273
septuagint/lxx	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72, 435
septuagint	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165; Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 273
seventy languages	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165
space v	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148, 149
strabo	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 435
superiority, jewish	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
symposium/symposia	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 433, 434, 440
syria	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 273
temple, jewish, water system	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34
temple	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
temple v	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148
theodectus the tragedian	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
theodektes	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55
theopompus	Niehoff, Jewish Exegesis and Homeric Scholarship in Alexandria (2011) 20
torah	Fraade, Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism: Before and After Babel (2023) 165; Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 149; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 55, 108
transcription	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 434
translation, literal	Stavrianopoulou, Shifting Social Imaginaries in the Hellenistic Period: Narrations, Practices and Images (2013) 223
translation	Weissenrieder, Borders: Terminologies, Ideologies, and Performances (2016) 148, 149; Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 72, 433, 435, 440
translators, jewish	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 55, 72, 108, 433, 434, 435, 440
travelogue	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34
values, moral	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 72
washing, judean ritual	Wright, The Letter of Aristeas: 'Aristeas to Philocrates' or 'On the Translation of the Law of the Jews' (2015) 34, 434, 440
yahwism, scriptures	Schliesser et al., Alexandria: Hub of the Hellenistic World (2021) 200