Menahem Stern - Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, Volume 1 From Herodotus to Plutarch 1989

7/30/2019 Menahem Stern - Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, Volume 1 From Herodotus to Plutarch 1989

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P U B L I C A T I O N S O FT H E I S R A E L A C A D E M Y O F S C I E N C E S

A N D H U M A N I T I E SS E C T I O N O F H U M A N I T I E S

F O N T E S A D R E S J U D A I C A S S P E C T A N T E SGreek and Latin Authors

on Jews and JudaismV o l u m e O n e

F R O M H E R O D O T U S T O P L U T A R C H


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G R E E K A N D L A T I N A U T H O R SO N JE W S A N D J U D A I S M

Edited with Introductions, Translationsand Commentary

byM E N A H E M S T E R N

V o l u m e O n eF R O M H E R O D O T U S T O P L U T A R C H

Jerusalem 1976The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities


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I S B N 9 6 5 - 2 0 8 - 0 3 5 - 79 6 5 - 2 0 8 - 0 3 6 - 5

T h e I s r ae l A c a d e m y o f S c i e n c e s a n d H u m a n i t i e s , 1 9 7 4First Published in 1974Second Printing, 1976Third Printing, 1981

P r i n t e d i n I s r a e la t M o n s o n P r e s s , J e r u s a l e m


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Memoriae Johannis LewySacrum


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P R E F A C E

S I N C E T H E E A R L Y N I N E T E E N T H C E N T U R Y scholars have recognized the need to assemble a col lect ion of Greek and Latin l i teraturerelat ing to Jews and Juda ism in ancient t imes . Att em pts at suc h anundertaking were made in both Germany 1 a n d E n g l a n d , 2 beginningin 1832. These first efforts were eclipsed by the remarkable achievementof the Jewish-French scholar Theodore Reinach, who publ i shed hisTextes d'auteurs grecs et latins relatifs au Juifs et Judaisme in 1895.An outstanding his tor ian of ancient t imes and profoundly interestedin the Jew ish past , Rein ach's work com prised m ost of the imp ortant texts , French translat ions made by two assistants under hissupervision, and brief notes .This work marked an immense advance over that of hi s predecessors; i t also gave great impetus to the study of Jewish history inHel lenis t ic t imes and under the Roman Empire . However , Reinach'swork was not wi thout omiss ions . Among these are the main passagesof the Autobiography of Nicolaus of Damascus , bearing on the his toryof Judaea; a famous chapter of Taci tus (Annates, XII , 54) , deal ingwith the Roman procurator ia l regime in that country; the discuss ionof Moses in Galenus; and many texts from later Ant iqui ty . Cri t icspo inted out some o f the omiss ions , 3 and, in his great work, JeanJuster emphasized the need for a more comprehens ive col lect ion. 4In spite of Reinach's great achievement, i t became apparent thathis work was no longer adequate for the modern s tudent; subsequent edit ions of the ancient writers and the general progress ofhis tor ical and phi lo logical scholarship demanded a new col lect ionand a more comple te commentary .I t was Hans (Johanan) Lewy (1901-1945) who embarked on a newedi t ion of the texts . A s tudent of Ed. Norden in Germany, and latera lecturer in Latin l i terature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,1 . S e e F . C . M e i e r , Judaica seu veterum scriptorum profanorum de rebus Judaicis

fragmenta, J e n a 1 8 3 2 .2 . S e e J . G i l l , Notices of the Jews and their Coun try by the Classic Writers of Anti

quity, L o n d o n 1 8 7 2 ; S c h ii r er , H I , p . 1 5 0 , n . l .3 . S e e H . W i l l r i c h , Berliner philologische Wo chensch rift, 1 8 9 5 , p p . 9 8 7 f l f .4 . See Juster , I , pp . 31 f .


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Lewy was deeply imbued wi th knowledge of ancient l i terature ,thought and rel igion. His main f ields of research were Jewish-Hel lenist ic l i terature and the rel igious syncret ism of the RomanEm pire. A s a kin d o f preliminary work , he pub lished art icles inGerman (on Hecataeus) , in Engl i sh (on Clearchus) and in Hebrew(on Cicero, Tacitus and Jul ian) .Lewy's unt imely death prevented him from going on wi th theproject . He left notes in his private copy of Reinach, as wel l as acol lect ion of material and German translat ions of some of the texts .These were al l put at my disposal in 1959 by Professor GershomScholem, Lewy's fr iend and now Pres ident of the Israel Academyof Sc iences and Humanit ies .I have worked on the principle that the present corpus of Graeco-Latin fragments on Jews and Judaism should include al l referencesto these subjects in ancient pagan literature, as well as all passagesrelat ing to the country of Judaea. This , of course, raises the quest ionwh ich area of Palest ine ma y be denned as Judaea, because bou ndarieschanged over the course of t ime. I have general ly elected passageswhich refer to or were written at a time when a specific part of thecountry was ruled or inhabited mainly by Jews. I have also includedtexts referring to Jewish individuals act ive in a non-Jewish environm ent an d fragments relating to Sam aritans.I have exc luded some texts incorporated by Reinach, when theconnect ion wi th Jews and Judaism seemed to me highly improbable(e.g. Choiri lus, Thrasyl lus) . I also differ from Reinach in that I havenot separated Lat in and Greek authors , but have fo l lowed a chronological order.At the beginning of each fragment I have g iven the name of theeditor of one of the main crit ical edit ions, where the reader mayfind information on the manuscript tradit ion together with the keyto the sigla.In this f i rs t volume, which covers authors from Herodotus toPlutarch, I have endeavoured to take into consideration scholarlywork publ i shed by 1971, and only some of the work which appearedin 1972, as the book went to press in that year. 5 The second vo lumewil l contain writ ings from Tacitus to later Antiquity.5 . A n e w p a p y r u s ( P . O x y . , X L I , N o . 2 9 4 4 ) c o n s t i t u t e s a t a l e o f a j u d g e m e n t

( q u o t e d b y P h i l i s c u s o f M i l e t u s , a p u p i l o f I s o c r a t e s ) w h i c h i s i d e n t i c a l w i t ht h a t o f S o l o m o n ( I K i n g s i i i : 1 6 ff.). I t s h o u l d b e n o t e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t n e i t h e rS o l o m o n n o r t h e J e w s a r e m e n t i o n e d i n t h i s p a p y r u s .


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M y thank s are due t o Professors G. Scho lem and Ch . W irszubski,who suggested that I undertake the work; to my friends ProfessorA. Fuks, who offered me continual encouragement during al l stagesof i t s preparat ion, and D r D . R ok eah , wh o helped m e read theproof s .I also wish to acknowledge my debt to the indefat igable staff of theIsrael Academy of Sc iences and Humanit ies .I am grateful to Harvard University Press for permission to reprintmany translat ions published by them in their edit ion of the LoebClassical Library, and to Cambridge University Press for al lowingme to use their translat ions of two fragments.Final ly, I would l ike to thank the National and University Libraryin Jerusalem for their assistance to me during the preparation ofthe work.

Menahem SternT h e H e b r e w U n i v e r s i t y o f J e r u s a l e m , 1 9 7 4


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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Preface viiLis t of Ab brev iat ions xvHerodotus 1Aristot le 6Theophrastus 8H ierony m us of Cardia 18Hec ataeus of Ab dera 20Megas thenes 45Clearchu s of Sol i 47Euhemerus 53Berossus 55M a n e t h o 6 2X e n o p h i l u s 8 7Eratosthenes 89Aris tophanes 91Herm ippus of Smyrna 93M nase as of Patara 97Po lem o o f I l ium ? 102Agatharch ides of Cnidus 104Polybius 110Ap ol lodoru s o f Athen s 117M enan der of Eph esus 119Dius 123Theophi lus 126Laetus 128Ocel lus Lu canu s 131Timochares 134Schoinom etres is Syriae (Xe no ph on of Lam psacu s?) 137Meleager 139Posidonius 141


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A p o l l o n i u s M o l o n 14 8Alexander Polyhis tor 157Teu cer of Cy zicus 165Diodorus 167Lucret ius 190Cicero 193Varro 207As in ius Po l l i o 213Castor of Rh od es 215Crinagoras of M yti lene 217Hypsicrates 220Timagenes 222N i c o l a u s o f D a m a s c u s 2 2 7Strabo of Am aseia 261Virgil 316Tibul lus 318Horace 321Livy 328Pom peius Trogus 332Vitruvius 344Ovid 347C o n o n 3 5 0C on on the M ythographer 352Ptolem y the Histor ian 355Valer ius M axim us 357T h e A n o n y m o u s A u t h o r o f De Sublimitate (Pseudo-

Longinus) 361Seneca the Rh etor 366Co rnel ius Celsus 368P o m p o n i u s M e l a 3 7 0Sext ius Nig er 373Ph il ip of Th essalon ica 375Scribon ius Largus 377Pto l emy o f M endes 379


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Lysimachus 382A p i o n 3 8 9Chaeremon 417Dioscor ides 422Columel la 426Seneca the Ph i losopher 429Persius 435Lucanus 438Petronius 441Erot ianus 445Curt ius Rufus 447Zopyr ion 450Hermogenes 452T h e A n o n y m o u s A u t h o r s o n t he W a r b e t w e e n

the R om an s and the Jews 455A nto niu s Jul ianus 458M em no n o f Herac l eia 462Pliny the Elder 465Valerius Flac cus 502Silius Italicus 506Front inus 509Quint i l ian 512Statius 515Martial 521Damocr i tus 530Nicarchus 532Claudius Io laus 534An tonius D iog enes 536D i o C h r y s o s to m 5 3 8Epictetus 541Plutarch 545


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L I S T O F A B B R E V I A T I O N S

AASO R Annual of the American Schools of Oriental ResearchA b e l F . M . A b e l , Geog raphic de la Palestine, I - I I , P a r i s

1 9 3 3 - 1 9 3 8AJA American Journal of ArcheologyAJP American Journal of PhilologyA l t A . A l t , Kleine Schriften zur Geschich te des Volkes Israel,

I - I I I , M u n i c h 1 9 5 3 - 1 9 5 9BASO R Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental ResearchB e n g t s o n H . B e n g t s o n , Die Strategic in der hellenistischen Zeit,

I - I I I , M u n i c h 1 9 3 7 - 1 9 5 2B e r n a y s J . B e r n a y s , Gesammelte Abhandlungen, I - I I , B e r l i n 1 8 8 5BGU Aegyptische Urkunden aus den Koniglichen Museen zu

Berlin, B e r l i n 1 8 9 5 \ - >B i d e z & C u m o n t J . B i d e z & F . C u m o n t , Les mages hellenises, I - I I , P a r i s

1 9 3 8BIFA O Bulletin de Pins tit ut francais d*arche ologie orientateB o h l F . M . T . d e L i a g r e B o h l , Opera Minora, G r o n i n g e n -

D j a k a r t a 1 9 5 3CAH The Cambridge Ancient History, I - X H , C a m b r i d g e

1 9 2 3 - 1 9 3 9C i c h o r i u s C . C i c h o r i u s , Romische Studien, L e i p z i g - B e r l i n 1 9 2 2CII J . B . F r e y , Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaicarum, I - I I , R o m e -

P a r i s 1 9 3 6 - 1 9 5 2CIL Corpus Inscriptionum LatinarumCPJ V . A . T c h e r i k o v e r , A . F u k s & M . S t e r n , Corpus Papy-

rorum Judaicarum, I - I I I , C a m b r i d g e ( M a s s . ) 1 9 5 7 - 1 9 6 4CQ The Classical QuarterlyD e r e n b o u r g J . D e r e n b o u r g , Essai sur Vhistoire et la geograph ic de la

Palestine, P a r i s 1 8 6 7F. Gr. Hist, F . J a c o b y , Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker,

B e r l i n - L e i d e n 1 9 2 3 - >FHG C . & T . M u t t e r , Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum,

I - VF r a s e r P . M . F r a s e r , Ptolemaic Alexandria, I - I I I , O x f o r d 1 9 7 2F r e u d e n t h a l J . F r e u d e n t h a l , Hellenistische Studien, l - I I , Alexander

Polyhistor und die von ihm erhaltenen Reste judischer unJsamaritanischer Geschichtswerke, B r e s l a u 1 8 7 4 - 1 8 7 5

F r i e d l a n d e r L . F r i e d l a n d e r , Darstellunge n aus der SittengeschichteRoms in der Zeit von Augustus bis zum Ausgang derAntonine, L e i p z i g , I - I I , 1 9 2 2 ; H I , 1 9 2 3 ; I V , 1 9 2 1

G a b b a E . G a b b a , Iscrizioni g reche e latine per lo studio deltaBibbia, T u r i n 1 9 5 8


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Gager J. G. Gag er, Moses in Greco-Roman Paganism, Nashvi l le ,1972

Geyer P. Geyer, Itinera Hierosolymitana Saeculi, IIII-VIII,Prague-Vienna-Leipzig 1898

Ginzberg L . Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jew s, I - V H ,Philadelphia 1925-1938

Good enough E. R. Good enough, Jewish Symbo ls in the Greco-Rom anPeriod, I -X II , New York 1953-1965

Gutschm id A . v. Gutschm id, Kleine Schriften, I-V, Leipzig 1889-1894

Hengel M . Hengel , Judentum und Hellenismus Studien zuihrer Begegnung unter besonderer Berucksichtung PaldS"Unas bis zur M itte des 2 Jh. v. Chr., Tubingen 1969

HTR The Harvard Theological ReviewHUC A Hebrew Union College AnnualIEJ Israel Exploration JournalI G Inscriptiones GraecaeIL S H. De ssau , Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, I-T&, Berlin

1892-1916J AOS Journal of the Am erican Oriental SocietyJBL Journal of Biblical LiteratureJEA The Journal of Egyptian ArcheologyJeremias J. Jerem ias, Jerusalem zur Zeit Jesu 3, Gottingen 1962JHS The Journal of Hellenic StudiesJNE S Journal of Near Eastern StudiesJQR The Jewish Quarterly ReviewJR Journal of ReligionJRS The Journal of Roman StudiesJTS The Journal of Theological StudiesJuster J. Juster, Les Juifs dans Vempire Romain, I-II, Paris 1914Kahrstedt U . Kahrstedt, Syrische Territorien in hellenistischerZeit, Berlin 1926TheoL Worterbuch G. Kittel (ed.), Theologisches Worterbuch zum Neuen

Testament, Stuttgart 1933 ->LCL The Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge (Mass.)-LondonLeon H . J. Leon , The Jews of Ancient Rom e, Philadelphia 1960E d. Meyer E. M eyer, Ursprung und Anfange des Christentums, IIII,

Stuttgart-Berlin 1921-1923MG WJ M onatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Juden-

turnsMom igliano A . Mo migliano, Ricerche sulV organizzazione dellaGiudea sotto il dominio roma no (An nali della R. ScuolaNorm ale Su periore de Pisa), Series II, Vol. Ill (1934)

Miiller J. G . M uller, Des Flavius Josephus Schrift gegen denApion, Basel 1877

Niese B. Niese , Geschichte der griechischen und makedonischenStaaten seit der Schlacht bei Chaeronea, IIII, Gotha1893-1903


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NNM Num ismatic Notes and MonographsNorden E. Norden, Kleine Schriften zum klassischen Altertum,

Berlin 1966OGIS W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae t

I-II, Leipzig 1903-1905Otto W. Otto, Herodes Beitrage zur Geschichte des letzten

jiidischen Konigshauses, Stuttgart 1913PAAJR Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish ResearchP. Columbia Zenon W. L. Westermann et al., Zenon papyri Business

Papers in the Third Century B. C. dealing with Palestineand Egypt (Columbia Papyri, Greek Series, Nos. 3-4),I-II, New York 1934-1940

PCZ C. C. Edgar, Zenon Papyri, I-IV, Cairo 1925-1931PG Patrologia GraecaPIR 2 Prosopographia Imperii Romani Saeculi I. II. Ill, editio

altera, Berlin-Leipzig 1933 ->PL Patrologia Latina ->P. Lond Greek Papyri in the British Museum, London 1893>P. Oxy. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, London 1898 ->PSI Papiri greci e latini Pubblicazion i della Societd italiana

pe r la ricerca dei Papiri greci e latini in Egitto, Florence1912->

P. Tebtunis The Tebtunis Paypri, I-III, London- New York-California 1902-1938

PW Pauly-Wissowa, ReaUencyclopadie der classischen Alter-tumswissenschaft, Stuttgart 1893 ->

R T. Reinach, Textes d'auteurs grecs et romains relatifs auJudalsme, Paris 1895

Radin M. Radin, The Jews among the Greeks and Romans,Philadelphia 1915

RB Revue bibliqueREA Revue des etudes anciennesREG Revue des etudes grecquesReinach (Bude) Flavius Josephe, Contre Apion, texte etabli et annot6 par

T. Reinach, Collection de FAssociation Guillaume Bude,Paris 1930

REJ Revue des etudes juivesRhein. Museum Rheinisches Museum fur PhilologieRHR Revue de Vhistoire des religionsRID A Revue internationale des droits de VantiquiteSEHHW M. Rostovtzeff, Social and Economic History of the Hellen

istic World, I-III, Oxford 1953Schanz & Hosius M. Schanz & C. Hosius, Geschichte der romischen Litera-

tur, I-II*, Munich 1927-1935Schmid & Stahlin, II Wilhelm von Christs Geschichte der griechischen Litter-

atur, sechste Auflage unter Mitwirkung von O. Stahlinbearbeitet von Wilhelm Schmid, Part II, Munich1920-1924


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Schurer E. Schiirer, Geschichte des jiidischen Volkes im ZeitalterJesu Christi, I-III, Leipzig 1901-1909

SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden 1923 ->StaMielin F. Stahelin, Der Antisemitismus des Altertums,

Basel 1905Strack &Billerbeck H. L. Strack, P. Billerbeck & J. Jeremias, Kommentar

zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, I-VI,Munich 1922-1961

Susemihl F. Susemihl, Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur inder Alexandrinerzeit, I-II, Leipzig 1891-1892

SVF J. [H.] de Arnim, Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta, I-IV,Leipzig 1903-1924

Sylloge W. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, I-IV,Leipzig 1915-1924

TAP A Transactions and Proceedings of the American PhilologicalAssociation

Tcherikover V. Tcherikover, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews,Philadelphia 1959

YCS Yale Classical StudiesZA W Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche WissenschaftZDMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen morgenldndischen GesellschaftZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen PaldstinavereinsZNTW Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft


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I. H E R O D O T U SF i f t h c e n t u r y B . C . E .

"The Father of History' 9 does not expressly refer either to the Jews orto Judaea. How ever, it seems that in his statement about the Syrians inPalestine who practise circumcision (No. 1) the Jews are implied. Presumab ly he also alludes to one of the events of the political history ofJudah, nam ely, the Battle of M egiddo (No. 2). The significance of thefirst passage was realized by Josephus, who ignored the second. On theother hand, there is no plausibility in the suggestion put forward byJosephus (Ant iqui tates , VIII, 253) identifying Sesostris (Herodotus,II, 102 ff.) with Shishak, the Pharaoh who led a military expeditionagainst Rehob oam, King of Judah (I Kings xiv:25).1Nos. 1-2 are taken from the second book of the Histor iae , a bookwhich centres on Egypt and in which the Egyptian viewpoint is discernible.It is certain that the historian visited Palestine, but his visit was probably con fined to the coast. From II, 44 we learn about his stay at Tyre.It seems that he also saw G aza (= Cadytis), the size of which he com pares with the size of Sardis. It stands to reason that we should connectthis visit with his Egyptian journ ey, which is generally dated to the fortiesof the fifth cen tury B. C. E. 2 In any case, in view of his rather short so-journ in Egyp t itself ,3 Herodotus could not have stayed long in Palestine.

1 A l y h a s p o i n t e d o u t t h a t H e r o d o t u s ( I I , 1 7 2 ) a p p e a r s t o a l l u d e t o I s a i a hx l i v : 1 2 ff. a n d t o J e r e m i a h x : 3 ; s e e W . A l y , Volksmdrchen, Sage undNovellebei Herodot und seinen Zeitgenossen, G o t t i n g e n 1 9 2 1 , p . 7 1 . T h e p a r al l el s a r e n o tt o o c l o s e , a n d o n e s h o u l d b y n o m e a n s s u g g e s t t h a t t h e h i s t o r i a n d e p e n d e d o nH e b r e w p r o p h e c y . H e r o d o t u s w a s n o t t h e f ir st G r e e k w r i te r t o m e n t i o n p l a c e si n P a l e s t i n e . H e w a s p r e c e d e d b y A l c a e u s , w h o re f er s t o A s c a l o n ; c f. E . L o b e l &D . P a g e , Poetarum Lesbiorum Fragmenta, O x f o r d 1 9 5 5 , F 4 8 , 1 .1 1, p . 1 3 4 ;J . D . Q u i n n , BASOR, 1 6 4 ( 1 9 6 1 ) , p p . 1 9 f .

2 C f . F . J a c o b y , P W , S u p p l . I I , p . 2 6 6 = Griechische Historiker, S t u t t g a r t 1 9 5 6 ,p . 3 7 ; P . E . L e g r a n d , Herodote Introduction, P a r i s 1 9 3 2 , p . 2 5 ; E . L u d d e c k e n s ,ZDMG, C I V ( 1 9 5 4 ) , p . 3 3 2 . P o w e l l d i s ti n g u i s h e s b e t w e e n a j o u r n e y m a d e b e f o r e 4 6 1 B . C . E . a n d o n e m a d e a f t e r 4 5 5 o r 4 4 8 B . C . E . ; s e e J . E . P o w e l l , TheHistory of Herodotus, C a m b r i d g e 1 9 3 9 , p . 2 6 . H o w e v e r , t h i s s u g g e s t i o n s e e m sr a t h e r s u p e r f l u o u s ; c f . C . W . F o r n a r a , Herodotus, O x f o r d 1 9 7 1 , p . 2 4 .

3 C f . T . S . B r o w n , AJP, L X X X V I (1 9 6 5 ), p . 6 0 .


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From Herodotus to Plutarch1

Historiae, II , 104: 1-3 Legrand = F 1R

(1) @atvovTcu [JLEV yaq eovxeg ol KoXxoi Alyvnxioi. vorjcag de nqoxeqovavxdg rj dxovaag aXXcov Xeyco* coc de /noi ev cpqovxidi eyevexo, elqdjurjvdfjicpoxeqovg, xal /uaXXov ol KoXxot e/uejuveaxo rcbv Alyvnxicov rj ol Alyvn-xioi xwv K61%cov' (2) vo[xieiv


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x i i : 2 f f . ). O n t h i s , s e e B . M a z a r , Suppl. to Vetus Testamentum, IV ( 1 9 5 7 ) , p p . 5 7 ff.fiovvoi ndvxcov avdocbncov K6X%oi xai Alyvnxioi... JieQixdfzvovxai: I n I I , 3 6 H e r o d o t u s a l s o m e n t i o n s t h e p r a c t i c e of c i r c u m c i s i o n by t h e E g y p t i a n s ; cf. D i o d o r u s , I,2 8 : 3 ; 55 : 5 ( N o s . 55, 5 7 ) ; A g a t h a r c h i d e s , De Mari Erythraeo, 61 in: GeographiGraeci Minores, I, p. 1 5 4 ; S t r a b o , Geographica, X V I , 4 : 17, p. 7 7 6 ; X V I I , 2 : 5,p. 8 2 4 ; P h i l o , De Specialibus Legibus, I, 2; C e l s u s , a p u d : O r i g e n e s , Contra Celsum,V , 4 1 ; Epistula Barnabae, I X : 6 ; H i e r o n y m u s , Commentarius in Ieremiam, I X : 2 5 f.;PL , X X I V , C o l . 7 4 6 ; S u d a , s.v. y c o A d g . T h a t c i r c u m c i s i o n was p r a c t i s e d by theE g y p t i a n s is a l s o i m p l i e d by J o s h , v : 9, see Ed. M e y e r , Geschichte des Altertums,II, 1 , S t u t t g a r t - B e r l i n 1 9 2 8 , p . 5 5 9 , n . l ) . It is c o n f i r m e d by E g y p t i a n d o c u m e n t s ; seeG . F o u c a r t , " C i r c u m c i s i o n ( E g y p t i a n ) " , i n : J. H a s t i n g s , Encyclopaedia of Religionand Ethics, II I, pp. 670 ff. At l e a s t the p r i e s t s in E g y p t w e r e o b l i g e d to p r a c t i s ec i r c u m c i s i o n ; cf. Contra Apionem, II, 141; O r i g e n e s , Homiliae ad Ieremiam,v : 14 (ed. K l o s t e r m a n n , 1 9 0 1 , p. 43); i d e m , Commentarius in Epistulam adRomanos, II : 13 (PG, XIV, Co l. 9 1 1 ) ; E p i p h a n i u s , Panarion, XX X, 33 : 3. Cf.a l s o t h e p a p y r o l o g i c a l e v i d e n c e i n L . M i t t e i s & U . W i l c k e n , Grundziige und Chresto-mathie der Papyruskunde, V o l . I, P a r t 2, L e i p z i g 1 9 1 2 , N o s . 7 4 - 7 7 ( s e c o n d c e n t u r yC. E . ) .3 0otviXEQ 8e xai ZVQIOI ol ev xfj naXaioxtvr}: T he ZVQIOI ol ev xfj IIaXaioxivr\a r e a l s o m e n t i o n e d in VII, 89 : 1; t o g e t h e r w i t h the P h o e n i c i a n s t h e y f u r n i s hs h i p s f o r t h e P e r s i a n n a v y . T h e n a m e nalaioxivr) is u s e d a g a i n in t h e s a m e c h a p t e r .I n o t h e r p l a c e s H e r o d o t u s r e f er s to naXaioxlvt] ZvQia ( 1 , 1 0 5 ; 1 1 , 1 0 6 ) or to ZVQITJ r\naXaioxivn ( I I I , 9 1 ; IV, 39). T he G r e e k n a m e naXaiaxivrj d e r i v e s f r o m then a m e of t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t of t h e c o a s t , w h i c h w a s i n h a b i t e d by t h e P h i l i s t i n e s andw h i c h w a s t h u s n a m e d n o t l a t e r t h a n t h e e i g h t h c e n t u r y B . C. E . , a s a t t e s t e d , e . g . , byI s a . x r v : 2 9 , 31 and by A s s y r i a n d o c u m e n t s r e l a t i n g to the s a m e p e r i o d ; cf.M . N o t h , ZDPV, L X I I ( 1 9 3 9 ) , p. 1 3 4 . H e n c e , it is c o m m o n l y a s s u m e d t h a t H e r o d o t u s a l s o d e n o t e s t h e c o a s t a l s t r i p in t h e s o u t h of P h o e n i c i a b y naXaioxivrj or Ev~Qia r\ naXaioxivq. S t i l l , p e r h a p s we s h o u l d not c o m p l e t e l y e x c l u d e the p o s s i b i l i t yt h a t a l r e a d y in H e r o d o t u s s o m e p a r t s of the i n t e ri o r w e r e s o m e w h a t v a g u e l yi n c l u d e d in t h i s t e r m . S e e a l s o t h e d i s c u s s i o n of O . L e u z e , Die Satrapieneinteilungin Syrien und im Zweistromlande von 520-320, H a l l e 1 9 3 5 , p. 261 (p. 105) ff.;t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o A r i s t o t l e , Meteorologica, I I , p . 3 5 9 a ( N o . 3 ) .O n c i r c u m c i s i o n a m o n g the P h o e n i c i a n s , see F. C . M o v e r s , Die Phonizier, I,B o n n 1 8 4 1 , p p . 60 f. H e r o d o t u s h i m s e l f s t at e s t h a t c i r c u m c i s i o n w a s by no m e a n su s u a l a m o n g t h e P h o e n i c i a n s , a n d E z e k . x x x i i : 3 0 s e e m s to i m p l y t h a t t h e S i d o n i a n sw e r e u n c i r c u m c i s e d . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , cf. A r i s t o p h a n e s , Aves, 5 0 5 ff.W h o a re t h e ZVQIOI ol iv xfj naXaiaxlvrj, w h o , a c c o r d i n g to H e r o d o t u s , a d o p t e dt h e p r a c t i c e of c i r c u m c i s i o n f r o m the E g y p t i a n s ? J o s e p h u s (Ant., V I I I , 262;Contra Apionem, 1 , 1 6 8 f f . ) h a d n o d o u b t w h a t e v e r t h a t t h o s e S y r i a n s c o u l d o n l y beJ e w s , s i n c e a m o n g a l l t h e i n h a b i t a n t s of S y r i a t h e J e w s a l o n e p r a c t i s e d c i r c u m c i s i o n .T h i s in t e r p r e t a t io n m a y be t r a c e d b a c k , p e r h a p s , to H e c a t a e u s , t h r o u g h D i o d o r u s ,I , 28 ( N o . 55). T he P h i l i s t i n e s t h e m s e l v e s w e r e the u n c i r c u m c i s e d ( ' ' V n y ) pare x c e l l e n c e ; see, e.g., J u d . xiv : 3 ; xv : 1 8 ; I S a m . xiv : 6; x v i i : 2 6 , 3 6 ; x v i i i : 2 7 ;x x x i : 4 ; II S a m . i : 2 0 ; i i i : 1 4 ; I C h r o n . x : 4 . H o w e v e r , we a l s o h e a r a b o u t o t h e rp e o p l e in t h e s e r e g i o n s , a p a r t f r o m the J e w s , who w e r e c i r c u m c i s e d ; see, e. g.,H i e r o n y m u s , loc. cit.: " m u l t a r u m ex q u a d a m p a r t e g e n t i u m , et m a x i m e q u a eI u d a e a e P a l a e s t i n a e q u e c o n f i n e s s u n t , u s q u e h o d i e p o p u l i c i r c u m c i d u n t u r , etp r a e c i p u e A e g y p t i i et I d u m a e i , A m m o n i t a e et M o a b i t a e et o m n i s r e g i o S a r a -


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2Historiae,!!, 1 5 9 : 2 L e g r a n d = F 2 R

Kal ravrtjatre ixQo.ro ev rco deovxi xal Evqloiai ne^fj 6 Nexcbg av^aX chvev Ma ydcbXco evlxrjae, fierd de rrjv jbtdxrjv Kddvnv ndXiv rrjg Zvqtrjgeovaav fteydXrjv elXe.1 ovQoioi A B C P 2 fiaydoXco D 2 S V fiayddXco R , L e x V i n d . , p . 1 6 5

Nechos used these ships at need, and with his land army met anddefeated the Syrians at Magdolus, taking the great Syrian city ofCadytis after the battle. ( t r a n s . A . D . G o d l e y , LCL)

6 Nexcbg ovfifiaXcbv iv MaydcbXco: M o s t s c h o l a r s i d e n t i f y M a g d o l u s h e r e w i t hM e g i d d o a n d s u p p o s e t h a t H e r o d o t u s a ll u d e s t o th e v i c t o r y o f t h e P h a r a o h N e c h oo v e r J o s i a h , K i n g o f J u d a h ( I I K i n g s x x i i i : 2 9 f.; I I C h r o n . x x x v : 2 0 f f . ) ; s e e E d .M e y e r , Geschichte des Altertums, I I I , S t u t t g a r t 1 9 3 7 , p . 1 6 2 ; W . W . Cannon, ZAJV,X L I V ( 1 9 2 6 ) , p p . 6 3 f.; A . M a l a m a t , JNES, I X ( 1 9 5 0 ), p . 2 2 1 . H o w e v e r , s o m es c h o l a r s t h i n k th a t H e r o d o t u s c o n f u s e s t h i s c i t y w i t h t h e E g y p t i a n b o r d e r - f o r t r e s s ,t h e B ib l i ca l M i g d a l ( E x o d . x i v : 2 ) ; s e e T . N o l d e k e , Hermes, V , 1 8 7 1 , p . 4 5 1 . O nt h e o t h e r h a n d , B o h l ( p . 11 4 ) d e n i e s t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a n y c o n f u s i o n o f t h i s k i n d a n dm a i n t a i n s t h a t t h e h i s t o r i a n d o e s r e f e r t o s o m e m i l i t a r y o p e r a t i o n s a t M i g d a l a t t h eb e g i n n i n g o f N e c h o ' s c a m p a i g n . H o w e v e r , th e r e i s n o t h i n g t o s u p p o r t th i s v i e w ,w h i c h i m p l i e s a g g r e s s i v e a c t i o n f r o m t h e d i r e c t i o n o f S y r i a a g a i n s t t h e E g y p t i a nb o r d e r . S c h w a r t z q u i t e p l a u s i b l y s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e h i s t o r i a n r e a l ly w r o t e MAriAAQ,

c e n o r u m q u a e h a b i t a t i n s o l i t u d i n e . " Cf . a l s o Epistula Barnabae, I X : 6 : Kat prjvneqvxixixr\xai 6 Xabg elg ocpqayZda. dXXd xal nag Evqog xal "Aqatp xal ndvxegol leoelg xcbv eldcbXco v. A b o v e a l l, t h e r e i s a m p l e e v i d e n c e t h a t c i r c u m c i s i o n w a sp r a c t i s e d a m o n g a t l e a s t s o m e o f t h e A r a b s ; s e e a l s o O r i g e n e s , Commentariusin Epistulam ad Romanos, II : 13 (PG, X I V , C o l . 9 1 1 ) ; E u s e b i u s , PraeparatioEvangelica, V I , 1 1 : 6 9 ; E p i p h a n i u s , P a n a r i o n , X X X , 3 3 : 3 ; P h i l o s t o r g i u s , HistoriaEcclesiastica, I I I , 4 ; S o z o m e n u s , Historia Ecclesiastica, V I , 3 8 : 1 1 .I n v i e w o f t h e s t r o n g A r a b i n f i l t r a t i o n i n t o t h e s o u t h e r n p a r t o f P a l e s t i n e d u r i n gt h e P e r s i a n a g e , i t m i g h t b e s u g g e s t e d t h a t H e r o d o t u s m e a n t A r a b s w h e n h es p o k e o f t h e S y r i a n s w h o p r a c t i s e d c i r c u m c i s i o n . H o w e v e r , c o n s i d e r i n g t h e f a c tt h a t H e r o d o t u s k n e w t h e A r a b s a s a p e o p l e d i st i n c t f r o m t h e S y r i a n s a n d t h a t t h eP h o e n i c i a n s a r e m e n t i o n e d b y h i m s e p a r a t e l y , t h e r e s e e m s t o b e s u f fi c ie n t g r o u n df o r t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h a t J o s e p h u s ( o r , f o r t h a t m a t t e r , H e c a t a e u s a n d D i o d o r u s )p u t o n t h e p a s s a g e . I n a n y c a s e , W i e d e m a n n g o e s t o o fa r i n h i s c o n d e m n a t i o n o fJ o s e p h u s ; s e e A . W i e d e m a n n , Herodots zweites Buch mit sachlichen Erlduterungen,L e i p z i g 1 8 9 0 , p . 4 1 2 ; c f. a l s o R a d i n , p p . 8 0 f. W e m a y e n d o r s e w i t h l i tt l e h e s i t a t i o nt h e v i e w t h a t H e r o d o t u s o b t a i n e d h i s v e r s i o n o f t h e o r i g i n s o f c i r c u m c i s i o n i nE g y p t itself. F o r a s u g g e s t i o n t h a t h e r e c e i v e d i t f r o m t h e P h o e n i c i a n s , s e eJ . G . M u l l e r , Theologische Studien und Kritiken, 1 8 4 3 , p . 9 0 0 .
http://ixqo.ro/http://ixqo.ro/http://ixqo.ro/


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a n d t h a t t h e r e a d i n g MaydcoXco i s d u e o n l y t o t h e e r r o r s o f c o p y i s t s ; s e e E . S c h w a r t z ,Philologus, L X X X V I ( 1 9 3 1 ) , p . 3 8 7 , n . 1 5 = Gesammelte Schriften, I I , B e r l i n 1 9 5 6p . 2 5 5 , n . l .Kddvriv n6hv: C a d y t i s i s a l s o m e n t i o n e d b y H e r o d o t u s in I I I , 5 , a s f o l l o w s :. . . nofaoc. iovorjg, cog i/xol doxeei, Zagdicov ov noXkco iXdooovog, w h e r e i t i si m p l i e d t h a t C a d y t i s w a s a c i t y s i t u a t e d n e a r t h e c o a s t a n d t h a t t h e h i s t o r i a n k n e wi t b y a u t o p s y . I t s h o u l d b e i d e n ti f ie d w i t h G a z a ; s e e K . B . S t a r k , Gaza und diephilistaischeKuste, J e n a 1 8 5 2 , p p . 2 1 8 f f . ; H . M a t z a t , Hermes, V I ( 1 8 7 2 ) , p p . 424ff.;W i e d e m a n n , op. tit. ( s u p r a , p . 4 ) , p p . 5 6 6 f . ; L e u z e , op. cit. ( s u p r a , p . 3 ) , p . 2 6 2( p . 1 0 6 ) ; H . T a d m o r , Biblical Archaeologist, X X I X ( 1 9 6 6 ) , p . 1 0 2 , n . 6 0 ; c f.a l s o t h e d i s c u s s i o n b y H . d e M e u l e n a e r e , Herodotos over de 26ste D ynastie, L o u v a i n1 9 5 1 , p . 5 8 . I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o a c c e p t t h e v i e w t h a t d i s t i n g u i s h e s b e t w e e n t h e C a d y t i si n H e r o d o t u s , I I I , 5 ( = G a z a ) a n d th e C a d y t i s h e r e , w h i c h i s i d e n t if i e d w i t hK a d e s h o n th e O r o n t e s ; cf. H . R . H a l l , CAH, I I I , 1 9 2 5 , p . 2 9 7 , n . l . I t s e e m sr a t h e r t h a t t h e c a p t u r e o f G a z a b y N e c h o a c c o r d s w i t h t h e s t e p s h e t o o k a f t e r h i sv i c t o r y a t M e g i d d o i n 6 0 9 B . C . E . ( cf ., f o r t h e c h r o n o l o g y , H . T a d m o r , JNES, X V ,1 9 5 6 , p . 2 2 8 ) . T h e c a p t u r e o f G a z a i s a l s o r e fe r r e d t o i n J e r . x l v i i : 1 ; c f. M a t z a t ,op . cit., p . 4 2 7 ; A . M a l a m a t , IEJ, I ( 1 9 5 0 - 5 1 ) , p p . 1 5 4 f f.


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II . A R I S T O T L E3 8 4 - 3 2 2 B . C . E .

There is no mention of Jews or of the Jewish religion in the existingworks of Aristotle, and there is no hint whatsoever that he referredto either of them in his lost dialogues} In his M e t e o r o l o g i c a , however,we find a reference to a lake in Palestine, which, though not specified,should certainly be identified with the Dead Sea.Aristotle states there that if one binds a man {or a beast) and throwshim in this lake, he will not sink. He a lso says that the lake is so bitterand salty that no fish live in it, and that when clothes are soaked in it andare then shaken, they are cleansed. For this last statemen t we have noparallels in Greek and Latin literature apart from those of Alexander ofAphrodisias {No. 400) and the pseudo-Aristotelian Problemata , / / / , 49{No. 401). It is notew orthy that Aristotle does not locate the lake inJudaea, as do the majority of later writers, or in CoeleSyria, or, forthat matter, in the Naba taean country, as is done by Hieronym us{No. 10), but in Palestine. It may thus be argued that Aristotle alreadyuses the nam e Palestine in the same broad sense as it seems to havebeen used, somewh at vaguely, by Herodotus; cf the comm entary to No. 1.How ever, one may assert that Aristotle had a rather unclear idea aboutthe exact location of the lake {el d 9 eanv cooneq pvOoX oyovai rives ivIlaXaiarivrj roiavrrj Xijbivrj), and this impression gains some supportfrom the fact that even later writers, ranging from Xenoph ilus {No. 22),as quoted from Callimachus by Antigonus of Carystus, to Vitruvius, D eArchi tectura, VIII, 3:8 {No. 140), imply a connection of the Dead Seawith Jaffa.

1 J a e g e r m a i n t a i n s t h a t i f t h e r e h a d b e e n a n y m e n t i o n o f t h e J e w s i n t h e l o s t d i a l o g u e s , l a t e r J e w i s h w r i t e r s w o u l d h a v e d i s c o v e r e d a n d u t i li z e d t h i s t e s t i m o n y ;s e e W . J a e g e r , JR , X V I I I ( 1 9 3 8 ) , p . 1 3 0 . T h a t i n i t se l f i s p e r h a p s n o t w h o l l yc o g e n t , a s o n l y a p a r t o f J e w i s h - H e l l e n i s t i c li t er a t u r e h a s r e a c h e d u s . O n e s h o u l da l s o n o t e t h a t i t w a s l ef t t o P o r p h y r y t o r e s u s c i t a t e f o r u s t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f J e w sb y T h e o p h r a s t u s ( N o . 4 ) , w h i c h s e e m i n g l y m a d e n o i m p r e s s i o n o n J e w i s ha u t h o r s .


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3Meteorologies I I , p . 3 5 9 a F o b e s F 4 R

El d 9 eariv coaneq pvOoX oyovoi rives ev ITaXaicrrivr] roiavrrj liym\,els tfv edv ns ijuftdAr] awdr\aag avOqcon ov fj vno^vyiov enmX elv xalov xaradveadai xard rov vdarog, [xaqrvqiov av eirj n rolg elqrjjbievois'Xeyovai ydq mxqav ovrcos eivai rfjv Xijbivrjv xal d?>juvqdv were ftrjdeva

s l%dvv eyyiyveadai, rd de Ijudria qvnreiv, edv ris diaaeiarj floras.1 nakaiaxivoig J i 2 e ^ a A e ? J i lii$6Xkr\ H ififidAei N i

3 xard o m . F 4 ydq] de F 5 qvnxtiv e x qlnxeiv c o r n N i /diaaeloei N

If there were any truth in the stories they tell about the lake in Palest ine i t would further bear out what I say. For they say i f you bind aman or beast and throw him into i t he f loats and does not s ink beneaththe surfa ce; and that the lake is so bitter and salty tha t there are nofish in i t , and that i f yo u wet clothe s in i t and shak e them ou t itc leans them.

(trans. H. D . P. Lee, LC L)coaneq [ivdoXoyovai xiveg: I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o s u g g e s t a p r o b a b l e s o u r c e f o r t h ep a s s a g e t h a t f o l l o w s . I t i s s t i l l d e b a t a b l e w h e t h e r t h e Meteorologica s h o u l d b ed a t e d b e f o r e o r a f te r A l e x a n d e r ' s e x p e d i t i o n t o t h e E a s t ; s e e W . J a eg e r , Aristotle,O x f o r d 1 9 4 8 , p . 3 0 7 , n . 1 . H o w e v e r , t h e f ir s t p o s s i b i l i t y i s t o b e p r e f e r r e d ; c f.I . D u r i n g , P W , S u p p l . X I , p p . 2 4 7 f.ev IlaXaiaxivri: F o r t h e u s e o f t h e t e r m " P a l e s t i n e " i n t h e H e l l e n i s t i c p e r i o d , s e eA g a t h a r c h i d e s o f C n i d u s , Geographi Graeci Minores, I , p . 1 7 6 = D i o d o r u s , I I I ,4 2 : 5 ; S t r a b o , Geographica, X V I , 4 : 1 8 , p . 7 7 6 , w h i c h d e r i v e s f r o m A r t e m i d o r u s .T h e s e p a s s a g e s c e r t a i n l y r e fe r t o t h e s o u t h e r n c o a s t o f t h e c o u n t r y ; c f. M . N o t h ,ZDPV, L X I I ( 1 9 3 9 ) , p . 1 4 0 . S e e a ls o t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o P o l y b i u s , t h e c o m m e n t a r yt o P o l e m o , a p u d : E u s e b i u s , Praeparatio Evangelica, X , 1 0 : 1 5 ( N o . 2 9 ) ; O v i d i u s ,Ars Amatoria, 1 , 4 1 6 ( N o . 1 4 2 ). S e e a l s o Inscriptions de Delos, ( e d i t e d b y P . R o u s s e l& M . L a u n e y , P a r i s 1 9 3 7 , N o . 2 5 4 9 ( a p o e m ) , 11. 2 , 2 1 .idv xig ijupdXr] owdijoag dvBqconov rj vno^vyiov.. . ov xaxadveoBai: T h e f a c tt h a t l i v i n g c r e a t u r e s d o n o t s i n k i n t h e D e a d S e a i s s t r e s s e d b y t h e l a t e r s o u r c e s ,a n d t h e s a m e h o l d s t r u e f o r t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t fi sh c a n n o t l iv e i n i t ; s e e t h e c o m m e n t a r y t o D i o d o r u s , X I X , 9 8 ( N o . 6 2 ) .


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III . T H E O P H R A S T U S3 7 2 - 2 8 8 / 7 B . C . E .

Theoph rastus, the disciple of Aristotle, describes the Jews in a fragmentof his work De Pietate . He traces the development of sacrifice andexpresses his disapproval of animal sacrifice, which, according to him,only slowly won its way into divine worship. The Jewish cult is a case inpoint. The Jews practise animal sacrifice, but the way they do it contrasts glaringly with that of the Greeks. They do not eat the meat,and they sacrifice only holocausts; even these they sacrifice only inhaste and in the darkness of the night, and they pour out much honeyand wine. Although they are, as a matter of fact, the people who startedto sacrifice living creatures, they did so reluctantly.This emph asis on the Jewish reluctance to initiate such a custom is inkeeping with the tone of the whole passage, which is favourable tothe Jews and which declares them to be philosophers {axe tpiXdootpoi),who converse about God during the sacrifice, and observe the stars.The last feature is a rather important constituent of a philosophicalreligion, according to the schools of Plato and Aristotle. The esteem inwhich the Jews are held by Theoph rastus is also in accordance withhis admiration for the Egyptians}It seems that the view of Bernays, followed by Reinach, that Theoph rastus was the first Greek writer to deal expressly with the Jews, still holdstrue, notwithstanding Jaeger's argum ents to the contrary. Jaegermaintains that, since Theoph rastusas attested in his work D e L a p i -d ibus pr es um ab ly knew of Hecataeus' work on Egypt, his descriptionof the Jews in De Pietate depends on Hecataeus' references to them ,and that, accordingly, we should attribute De Pietate to Theophrastus 9later years. Hecataeus would then emerge as the first Greek writer o nthe Jews.Jaeger's proofs are hardly convincing: {a) Even if we were absolutelycertain that De Lapid ibus is dependent upon the above-mentionedwork of Hecataeus, we should not automatically infer that De Pietate

1 W . P o t s c h e r , Theophrastos, ZTeoi Evoefteiag, L e i d e n 1 9 6 4 , F 2 : T O ye ndvxtovXoyicbxaxov yevog xal zijv legcoTaTTjv vnb TOV NeLXov xTioOeloav xcooctvxaroixovv; s e e a l s o F 1 3 , t h e p a s s a g e w h i c h i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w s t h a t o n t h eJ e w s : fxadoi


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2 P o t s c h e r , op. cit., p . 1 2 3 .3 T h e o p h r a s t u s , De Lapidibus, e d i t e d b y D . E . E i c h h o l z , O x f o r d 1 9 6 5 , p p . 8 ff.4 P o t s c h e r , op. cit., p . 1 2 5 . P o t s c h e r s u g g e s t s 3 1 5 o r 3 1 4 B . C . E . a s a p r o b a b l e d a t e

f o r t h e w o r k . A s a m a t t e r o f f a c t , R e g e n b o g e n a l s o t h o u g h t t h a t De Pietate b e l o n g e d t o a n e a r l y s t a g e o f T h e o p h r a s t u s ' w r i t i n g , a n d t h a t i t i s n o t d e p e n d e n to n H e c a t a e u s . H e p r o b a b l y w a v e r e d o n l y w h e n h e w a s i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e s p e c i fi ca r g u m e n t s o f J a e g e r . C f . O . R e g e n b o g e n , P W , S u p p l . V I I , p p . 1 5 1 5 f.

5 F o r T h e o p h r a s t u s ' p e r s o n a l k n o w l e d g e o f E g y p t , se e W . C a p e l l e , Wiener StudienL X I X ( 1 9 5 6 ) = Festschrift Albin Lesky, pp. 173 ff .

6 S e e T h e o p h r a s t u s , Historia Plantarum, V I I , 4 : 8 - 9 .

also draws on that writer.2 The more so, as Jaeger's dating of D eLapid ibus after 300 B.C.E. and the resultant inference regarding thedependence 0 / D e L ap id ib us on Hecataeus seem untenable* (b) Thedescriptions of the Jews by Hecataeus and Theoph rastus have nothingspecific in comm on, as far as they are known to us. (c) The generalconsensus as to the date of b e Pieta te tends to place it amon g theearlier works of Theoph rastus* which would preclude any dependenceon Hecataeus. (d) Theoph rastus could have obtained his rather vagueknow ledge of Jewish customs from man y sources other than Hecataeus,since his information about the countries of the East, as attested byhis botanical works, is considerable. He might even have met Jews, e.g.,in Egypt, a country which he presumab ly knew b y autopsy.5Theoph rastus nowh ere mentions the country of Judaea, the city ofJerusalem, or, for that matter, Palestine. He does, however, refer tothe onions of Ascalon. 6 He also presents us with a most detailed description of the balsam of Judaea, but locates it vaguely "in the valley ofSyria" (No. 9). He is no more explicit about the palm tree (No. 6.).BibliographyJ . B e r n a y s , Theophrastos* Schrift tiber Fromm igkeit, B e r l i n 1 8 6 6 , p p . 1 0 8 f f.; R a d i n ,p p . 81 f f . ; A . Buchler , ZAW, X X I I ( 1 9 0 2 ) , p p . 2 0 2 ff.; W . J a e g e r , Diokles von Ka-rystos, B e r l i n 1 9 3 8 , p p . 1 3 4 f f . ; i d e m , JR , X V I I I ( 1 9 3 8 ) , p p . 1 3 1 ff .; A . D . N o c k ,HTR, X X X V I I ( 1 9 4 4 ), p . 1 7 4 ; Y . G u t m a n , The Beginnings of Jewish-HellenisticLiterature, J e r u s a l e m 1 9 5 8 , p p . 7 4 ff. ( i n H e b r e w ) ; H e n g e l , p p . 4 6 6 f.; M . S t e r n ,Zion, X X X I V ( 1 9 6 9 ) , p p . 1 2 1 ff.


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4De Pietate, apud: Porphyrius, De Abstinentia, II , 26 Nauck = W. Pdtscher, Theophrastos,neqi EvoePeiaS, Leiden 1964,F13 = F 5 R

Kaixoi Zvqcov, cov \xev 'lovdaioi, did xrjv dqyr\g Ovaiav exi xal vvv,cprjalv 6 Gedcpqaaxog, ^cpodvxovvxcov el xov avxdv f\iiag xqonov rig xeX-evoi Oveiv, dnoaxairjjbiev av xfjg nodi-cog. ov yaq eaxicbjuevoi xcov xvdev-xcov, oXoxavxovvxeg de xavxa vvxxdg xal xax9 avxcov noXv fieXi xal olvov

e Xeiffovxeg dvaXLoxovai xrjv Ovaiav Oaxxov, ha xov deivov jurjd9 6 navdnxr\gyevoixo deaxr/g. xal xovxo dowcnv vrjaxevovxeg xdg dvd [xeaov XOVXOJVrjjueoag' xaxa de ndvxa xovxov xov %Q O V O V , axe yiXdoocpoi T O yevog ovxeg,negl xov detov juev ahhfjXoig XaXovoi, xfjg de vvxxdg xcov aoxqcov noiovvxaixrjv OecoQcav, fiXenovxeg elg avxa xal did xoov ev%cov OeoxXvxovvxeg.

10 xaxrjQ^avxo yaq o'Bxoi nqcoxoi xcov xe Xouicov cptx>v xal ocpcbv avxcov,dvdyxrj xal ovx emOvfila xovxo nqd^avxeg.1 UVQCOV, chv Mras SVQCOV iihcodd. xaBon ZVQCOV fjLevyIovdatoi... ^COOQVTOVGIVBernays / did] xard N a uck / Ovaiav] awrjQeiav N a uck 2 f cpoOvrovv-TCOV Eus. Lcpodvrovvreg co dd . / el Eus. elg co dd . / xqonov xig ex Eus.2 - 3 xeXevoi Eus. xeXevoiev co dd . 5 avaklaxovai Bernays dvrjXiaxovcodd. / fi7]d' 6 7iavo7ixrjg Eus. JUTJ 6 navonxrjg co dd . firj "HXiog 6 TiavonxrjgBernays 6 xovxcov Eus. xovxov codd. 7 xaxa de ndvxa Eus.

xal xaxa ndvxa co dd . 9 evxcov] vvxxcov Bernays ex Eus .And indeed, says Theophrastus, the Syrians, of whom the Jewsconstitute a part, also now sacrifice live victims according to theirold mode of sacrifice; if one ordered us to sacrifice in the same waywe would have recoiled from the entire business. For they are notfeasted on the sacrifices, but burning them whole at night and pouringon them honey and wine, they quickly destroy the offering, in orderthat the all-seeing sun should not look on the terrible thing. Andthey do it fasting on the intervening days.During this whole time, being philosophers by race, they converse witheach other about the deity, and at night-time they make observationsof the stars, gazing at them and calling on God by prayer. They werethe first to institute sacrifices both of other living beings and ofthemse lves ; yet they did it by compulsion and not from eagerness for it.Evqcov, chv juev 'Iovdaloi: For the Jews as a part of the Syrian nation, see Clearchus,apud: Josephus, Contra Apionem, I, 179 ( N o . 15); Megasthenes, apud: ClemensAlexandrinus, Stromata, I, 15 : 72 : 5 ( N o . 14). I n spite of the objections raisedby Jaeger, one still feels that Bernays may have been right here in interpretingTheophrastus as meaning that the Jews were a type of philosophical caste amongthe Syrians; see W. Jaeger, Diokles von Karystos, Berlin 1938, p. 139; idem, JR,XVIII (1938), p. 132, n. 14; Bernays, op. cit. (supra, p. 9) , p. 111. Cf. also the


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following statement of Theophrastus: axe yiXoaoyoi xd yevog dvxeg.en xal vvv,


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5De Legibus, a p u d : J o s e p h u s , Contra Apionem, 1 , 166-167 Niese = F 6 R = Reinach ( B u d d ) , p . 3 2

(166) rHv de xal xard ndXeig o vx ayvcoaxov r\\xcov nakai T O eQvog,xal noXXd xcov eOcov elg xivag rjdrj dianecpoixr\xei xal tftkov naqevloig r j t j iovTO. drjXol de 6 eocpqaoxog ev xolg neql vd/xcov (167) Xeyeiydo, on xcoXvovaiv ol Tvqicov vofxoi tgevixovg dqxovg o/AVveiv, ev olg

s [xexd xivcov aXXcov xal xov xaXovfxevov oqxov xoqfidv xaxaqidjuel.naq ovdevl d 9 av o'vxog evQ eBeirj nXr\v [ xdvoig 9Iovdaioig, drjhol d* cogav einoi xtg ex xfjg 'Efiqaicov /xedeQfxrjvevdfievog diaXexxov dcoqov Oeov.

6 ovddoi N i e s e

(166) In ancient t imes various ci t ies were acquainted with the existence of our nat ion, and to some of these many of our customs havenow found their way, and here and there been thought worthy ofimitat ion. This i s apparent from a passage in the wor k o f T heo phr astus on Laws, (167) where he says that the laws of the Tyrians prohibi t the use of fore ign oath s , in enum erat ing wh ich he inc ludesam ong o thers the oath ca l led "C orba n". N o w th i s oath w il l be fou ndin no other nat ion except the Jews , and, trans lated from the Hebrew,one m ay interpret i t as me aning "G od 's g i f t" .

( t r a n s . H . S t . J . T h a c k e r a y , LCL)

T h i s p a s s a g e d e r iv e s f r o m t h e w o r k De Legibus; c f . R e g e n b o g e n , op. cit. ( s u p r a , p .9 , n . 4 ) , pp . 1519 f f .1 6 7 Xiyei ydg, 6 r i xcoXvovaiv ol Tvgicov vofxoi f-evixovg ogxovg dfxvveiv, ev olgfiera rivcov aXXcov xal rov xaXovpievov OQXOV xogfidv xaxagiBfjiEl: T h e o p h r a s t u se x p r e s s l y l i s t s t h e xoopdv a m o n g t h e f o r e i g n o a t h s w h o s e u s e i s f o r b i d d e n b y t h el a w s o f t h e T y r i a n s , w h i c h i n i t se l f s e e m s t o r e f u t e t h e v i e w t h a t J o s e p h u s m i s i n t e r p r e t e d t h i s p a s s a g e a n d t h a t , i n f a c t , xogpdv i m p l i e s a n a t i v e P h o e n i c i a n o a t h , s i n c et h e r e i s p r a c t i c a l l y n o d if f e r en c e b e t w e e n th e H e b r e w a n d t h e P h o e n i c i a n l a n g u a g e s ;see , e . g . , M u l l e r , p . 1 6 4 ; c f. a l s o th e c o n c l u s i o n o f G u t s c h m i d , I V , p . 5 6 1 : " D i eC o m b i n a t i o n d e s J o s e p h o s s ch e i n t e in e b e r e c h t ig t e z u s e i n . " ogxog s h o u l d p r o b a b l yb e u n d e r s t o o d t o d e n o t e a v o w , a c o n n o t a t i o n i l l u s t r a t e d b y t h e N e w T e s t a m e n t ;c f . M a r k v i i : 1 1 ; M a t t , x x v i i : 6 . S e e a l s o Ant. t I V , 7 3 : xal ol xogfiav avrovgovofidaavreg rep deep; c f . J . H . A . H a r t , JQR, X I X ( 1 9 0 7 ) , p p . 6 1 5 ff .; R e n g s t o r f ,a p u d : G . K i t t e l , Theologisches Worterbuch, H I , 1 9 3 8 , p p . 8 6 0 f f. ; S . Z e i t l i n ,

s t a r t l i n g s t a t e m e n t ? I t m a y b e t h a t h e d i d s o u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e w e l l - k n o w na n d w i d e l y - s p r e a d P h o e n i c i a n c u s t o m ; o r p e r h a p s w e m a y a s s u m e w i t h J a e g e rt h a t T h e o p h r a s t u s h a d s o m e v a g u e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e a t t e m p t e d s a c r if ic e o f I s a a c ,a s r e l a t e d i n G e n e s i s ; s e e J a e g e r , Diokles von Karystos, p . 1 4 3 , n . 1 .


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TheophrastusJQR, LIII (1962-1963), pp. 160 ff; see also H . Gregoire, La Nouvelle Clio, V(1953) = Melanges Carnoy, pp. 450 f.; J. D. M. Derrett, New Testament Studies,X V I (1969-1970), pp. 364 ff.

6Historia Plantarum, II, 6: 2, 5, 8 Hort

(2) Ilavxaypv yaq onov nXfj&og cpoivixcov dXjucbdeig al %coqav xal yaq evBa(5vXcovl cpaoiv, onov ol cpomxeg necpvxaat xal ev Aifivr] de xal evAlyvnxcp xal Ooivixrj xal xfjg Evqiag de rfjg xolXrjg, ev f\ y ol nXelaxoiTvyxdvovcriv, ev xqial /novoig xdnoig dX/xcbdeaiv ecvat xovg dvva/uevovgOrjaavQiteodai...(5) "AXXoi de xiveg Xeyovotv cog ol ye xaxa Evoiav ovde/uiav noo-adyovaiv egyaalav akX fj dtaxadacQovac xal eni^geypvGiv^ en i^rjxelvde ixaXkov xb vafiaxialov vdcog fj T O ex xov Aiog' elvai de noXvxoiovxov ev xco avXcovi ev co xal xd cpoivixdcpvxa xvy%dvei, xovavXcova de xovxov Xeyeiv xovg Evqovg oxi diaxeivei did xfjg *AoafttagjJiexQi xfjg eovOqag OaXdaarjg xal noXXovg cpdaxeiv eXrjXvdevar xovxovde ev xco xoikoxdxco necpvxevai xovg cpoivixag...(8) ...GrjaavQiteaOai de fiovovg dvvaadai cpaai xcov ev Evqia xovg evxco avXcovc, xovg d9 ev Alyvnxcp xal Kvnoco xal naod xolg aXXoig %Xco-oovg avaXlaxeodai.

11 SieXrjXvOivai Wimmer

(2) Wherever date-palms grow abundantly, the soil is salt, both inBabylon, they say, where the tree is indigenous, in Libya, in Egyptand in Phoenicia; while in Coele-Syria, where are most palms, onlyin three districts, they say, where the soil is salt, are dates producedwhich can be stored... (5) However some say that the people of Syriause no cultivation, except cutting out wood and watering, also thatthe date-palm requires spring water rather than water from the skies;and that such water is abundant in the valley in which are the palm-groves. And they add that the Syrians say that this valley extendsthrough Arabia to the Red Sea, and that many profess to have visitedit, and that it is in the lowest part of it that the date-palms grow...(8) The only dates that will keep, they say, are those which grow inthe Valley of Syria, while those that grow in Egypt, Cyprus andelsewhere are used when fresh. (trans. A. Hort, LCL)This passage is a part of Theophrastus' discussion of palms and their propagation.Theophrastus maintains that wherever date palms grow abundantly, the soil iss a l t y .


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2 xal xfjg Zvoiag de xfjg xoihjg: T h e m e a n i n g o f C o e l e - S y r i a u n d e r w e n t m a n yc h a n g e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e a g e s . O n t h e o r i g i n o f t h e n a m e a n d i ts v a r i o u s c o n n o t a t i o n s , w h i c h g a v e r i se t o m a n y d i s c u s s i o n s , s e e W . O t t o , Beitrdge zur Seleukiden -geschichte des 3. Jahrhu nderts v. Chr., M u n i c h 1 9 2 8 , p p . 3 0 f f.; E . S c h w a r t z ,Philologus, L X X X V I ( 1 9 3 1 ) , p p . 3 7 3 ff. ( = Gesammelte Schriften, I I , B e r l i n 1 9 5 6 ,p p . 2 4 0 f f . , ) ; ibid., L X X X V I I ( 1 9 3 2 ) , p p . 2 6 1 ff. ( = Gesammelte Schriften, I I , p . 2 7 0f f . ) ; K. Gal l ing , ZDPV, L X I ( 1 9 3 8 ) , p p . 8 5 f f . ; E . B i k e r m a n , RB, L I V ( 1 9 4 7 ) ,p p . 256 f f . ; A . Shal i t , Scripta Hierosolymitana, 1 , 1 9 5 4 , p p . 6 4 ff.; W . B r a n d e n s t e i n ,Anzeiger fur die Alter tumsw issenschaft, V I I I ( 1 9 5 5 ) , p p . 6 2 f f . I t s e e m s t h a t w em u s t l o o k f o r a S e m i t i c o r i g i n f o r t h e t e r m , s o m e t h i n g l i k e t h e H e b r e w JV TlO( t h e w h o l e o f S y r i a , i n status constructus); c f . O t t o , op. cit., p . 3 4 , n . l ; S c h w a r t z ,S h a l i t . O w i n g t o t h e s i m i l a r i t y o f s o u n d , t h i s b e c a m e Koih\ Evqia ( t h e h o l l o wS y r i a ) , a c o m b i n a t i o n w e l l a d a p t e d t o t h e G r e e k e a r . T h e S e m i t i c n a m e s e e m s s t il lt o b e e c h o e d b y D i o d o r u s , X I X , 57 : 1 : Zvoiav de ndaav nxoAejuaicp; c f . X I X ,9 4 : 1 . O r i g i n al l y C o e l e - S y r i a w a s i d e n t ic a l w i t h t h e w h o l e P e r s i a n p r o v i n c e o fmm *ny, t h a t i s , w i t h S y r i a . T h i s i s t h e m e a n i n g o f C o e l e - S y r i a t h a t e m e r g e s f r o mo u r t w o o l d e s t s o u r c e s , b o t h f r o m t h e f o u r t h c e n t u r y B . C . E . , i n w h i c h t h e n a m eo c c u r s , n a m e l y , C t e s ia s , ( a p u d : D i o d o r u s , I I , 2 : 3 ) : xaxeoxq expaxo juev yaq... xrjvxe Alyvnxo v xal & oivtxr]v, exi de Kotkrjv ZJvoiav xal Kihxlav...; P s e u d o - S c y l a x ;cf . ZDPV, L X I ( 1 9 3 8 ) , p . 9 0 .H o w e v e r , a l r e a d y a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e H e l l e n i s t i c p e r i o d t h e u p p e r i .e . t h en o r t h e r n p a r t s o f S y r i a w e r e n o l o n g e r i n c l u d e d i n C o e l e - S y r i a ; w h e t h e r t h eO r o n t e s a t f i r s t c o n s t i t u t e d t h e b o r d e r b e t w e e n r) avco Zvola a n d Koihrj Evqia w ec a n n o t b e s u r e ; c f. D i o d o r u s , X V I I I , 6 : 3 ( a l i st o f t h e s a t r a p i e s o f A l e x a n d e r ' se m p i r e a t t h e t i m e o f h i s d e a t h i n 3 2 3 B , C . E . , p r e s u m a b l y d e r i v i n g f r o m H i e r o n y m u s o f C a r d i a ) , w h e r e Evqia r) avco i s c o n t r a s t e d w i t h KolXrj Uvgia. T h e s a m eh o l d s tr u e f o r D i o d o r u s , X I X , 9 3 : 1 , a n d f o r E r a t o s t h e n e s , a p u d : S t r a b o , Geograph-ica, I I , 5 : 3 8 . T h i s s o m e w h a t l i m i t e d m e a n i n g o f C o e l e - S y r i a , w h i c h e x c l u d e sn o r t h e r n S y r i a , w i l l s u i t b o t h T h e o p h r a s t u s a n d C l e a r c h u s , a p u d : J o s e p h u s ,Contra Apionem, 1 , 1 7 9 ( N o . 15 ) . I t s e e m i n g l y c o n t i n u e d t o p r e v a il t h r o u g h t h et h i r d c e n t u r y B . C . E . , t h o u g h i t w a s n o t i n o f fi c ia l u s e u n d e r t h e P t o l e m i e s , w h or u l e d t h e t e r r it o r i es a n d c a l l e d t h e m S y r i a a n d P h o e n i c i a ; cf . B e n g t s o n , I I I , p p . 1 6 6ff. A f te r A n t i o c h u s I I I c o n q u e r e d t h e S y r i a n p o s s e s s i o n s o f th e P t o l e m i e s i n 2 0 0 - 1 9 8B . C . E . , C o e l e - S y r i a b e c a m e t h e of f ic i al n a m e ; s e e OGIS, N o . 2 3 0 : nxoXejualogOgaoea, axqaxaybg xal agxiegevg Zvglag KoiXag xal Oowixag ( o n t h e c o r r e c td a t i n g o f t h e i n s c r i p t i o n , a f te r 1 9 7 B . C . E . , s e e M . H o l l e a u x , Etudes d'epigraphie etd'histoire grecques, I I I , P a r i s 1 9 4 2 , p . 1 6 1 , n . 6 ; G a b b a , N o . I I , p p . 1 8 f . ) ; s e e a l s o I IM a c e , i i i : 5 ; i v : 4 ; v i ii : 8 ; x : 1 1 ; I M a c e , x : 6 9 ; P o l y b i u s V , 8 0 : 3 . O n t h e l a t eru s e o f t h e n a m e , s e e t h e e x h a u s t i v e t r e a t m e n t o f B i k e r m a n .T i l l t h e m i d d l e o f t h e s e c o n d c e n t u r y B . C . E . i . e . t il l t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h ef r ee H a s m o n a e a n s t a te J u d a e a w a s u n d o u b t e d l y i n c l u d e d i n C o e l e - S y r i a .T h u s , o n e m a y a s s u m e th a t T h e o p h r a s t u s , w h e n s p e a k i n g h e r e o f t h e p a l m s i nC o e l e - S y r i a , h a s i n m i n d t h e w o r l d - f a m o u s p a l m s o f J u d a e a , t h o s e g r o w i n g i n t h eJ o r d a n V a l l e y i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f J e r i c h o . T h i s a s s u m p t i o n i s r e i n f o r c e d b y t h ea c c o u n t t h a t f o l l o w s o f t h e V a l l e y o f S y r i a ( c l e a r ly a r e f e r e n c e t o t h e J o r d a n V a l l e y ) ,i n t h e l o w e s t p a r t o f w h i c h d a t e - p a l m s g r o w , a n d w h i c h e x t e n d s t h r o u g h A r a b i a .


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7Historia Plantarum t IV, 4:14 Hort

(4:14) TIeqixxdxeqa de xcov cpvopievcov xal nXelaxov et-rjXXayjbieva nqdgxd aXXa xd evoapia xd neql 9Aqafi(av xal Zvqiav xal 'Ivdovg, olov o xehftavcoxdg xal r) a/uvqva xal r) xaaia xal xd onofidXaajuov xal xd xivd-[icofjiov xal oaa aXXa xoiavxa...

Among the plants that grow in Arabia, Syria and India the aromaticplants are somewhat exceptional and distinct from the plants of otherlands; for instance, frankincense, myrrh, cassia, opobalsam, cinnamonand all other such plants. (trans. A. Hort, LCI)

8Historia Plantarum, IX, 1:6 Hort

Tov be Xifiavcoxov xal xrjv apivqvav vno Kvva cpaol xal xalg deqpioxdxaigfjixeqaig evxepiveiv coaavxcog de xal xd ev Zvqia fidXaa/iov.

The frankincense and myrrh trees they say should be cut at the rising of the Dogstar and on the hottest days, and so also the "Syrianbalsam". (trans. A. Hort, LCL)

9Historia Plantarum, IX, 6: 1-4 Hort

(1) To de fidXaapiov yivexai fzev ev xco avXcovi xco neql Zvqiav.naqadelaovg d9 elvai cpaoi dvo judvovg, xov \iev oaov elxoai nXeOqcov xovd9 exeqov noXXco eXdxxova. xd de devdqov [xeyeQog [lev fjXlxov qda fieydXrjnoXvxXadov de acpddqa' cpvXXov de eyeiv o\xoiov nrjydvco, nXrjv exXevxov,

6 deicpvXXov de elvai' xaqndv de naqd/jtocov xfj xeqpilvOcp xal [xeyedeixal ayr\ixaxi xal %qcbpiaxi' evcbdeg acpddqa xal xovxo xal [xaXXov xovdaxqvov.(2) To de daxqvov dnd evxojufjg avXXeyeiv, evxefiveiv de ovvi-i aidrjqolgvno xd aaxqov, oxav ptdXtaxa nvlyrj coat, xal xa oxeXeyr] xal xd avco.

io xrjv de avXXoyr)v oXov xd deqog noteloOai' ovx elvai de noXi) xd qeov, dXX*ev rjjueqq xov avdqa avXXeyeiv oaov xdy%r)V xrjv d9 daptfjv dtacpeqovaavxal noXXrjv, coaxe dnd fiixqov noXvv ecpixvelodai xdnov. dXX9 ov cpoixdv

6 evcbdw acpddqa xal xovxov Wimmer


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evravda axqarov, aXXa rd avvYjyjbievov xexqa/xevov noXXfjv ydq dexeadaixqaoiv xal T O ev rfj' EXXd dmoX Xdxig elvai xexqajbievov evoa[xa de acpddqa

i s xal rd qafidia* (3) xadalqeiv yd q xal rcovde evexa xal rov diacpdqov ncoX e-ladai ripiia. xal rrjv eqyaaiav rr)v neql rd d evdqa o% eddv ev ravrfjair (a elvai xal rr)v $qoyr\v9 f}qe%eoda i ydq avvexcog. avvairiav de doxeivelvai rov fir) iieydXa yiveoda i rd devdq a xal rrjv rcbv qafidicov rofxrjv. didydq rd no XXdx ig enixeiqeaOai qdfidovg dcpievai xal ovx elg ev exreiveiv

2 0 rrjvoqfirjv.(4) "Ayqiov de ovdev elvai ftdXoapiov ovdapiov' yiveodai de ex [xevrov fiei^ovog naqadeiaov dyyeidia dcbdexa oaov rj/biixoaia, ex de rovereqov dvo /bidvov ncoXeiodai de rd fxev axqarov dig nqdg dqyvqiov rdd' aXX o xard Xdyov rfjg /.di-ecog* xal rovro ixev diaopeqov n cpaiveraixard rrjv evoa[iiav.15 xo v H o r t i n e d . L o e b xo v c o d d . 1 6 S c h n e i d e r / ev xavxfj alxiq.

H o r t i n e d . L o e b xavxrjv alxlav c o d d . ev xavxr} alxiq. W i m m e r

(1) Balsam grows in the val ley of Syria. They say that there are onlytwo parks in which i t grows, one of about four acres, the other muchsmaller. The tree is as tal l as a good-sized pomegranate and is muchbranched; i t has a leaf l ike that of rue, but is pale; and i t i s evergreen;the fruit is l ike that o f the terebinth in size, shape a nd c olo ur , an dthis too is very fragrant, indeed more so than the gum.(2) The gum, they say, i s co l lected by making inc i s ions , which i s donewith bent pieces of iron at the t ime of the Dog-star, when there isscorching h ea t; and the incis ions are m ad e bo th in the trunk s and inthe upper parts of the tree. The col lect ing goes on throughout thesummer; but the quantity which f lows is not large; in a day a s ingleman can col lect a shel l - ful l ; the fragrance is exceeding great andrich, so that which comes from a small amount is perceived for a widedistanc e. Ho we ver i t do es no t reach us in a pure state; wh at is col lectedis mixed with other things; for i t mixes freely with other things; andwh at is kn ow n in He l las is general ly m ixed with som ethin g else . Th eboughs are also very fragrant. (3) In fact i t i s on account of thesebo ug hs , they say, that the tree is pruned (as wel l for a different rea son ) ,s ince the bo ug hs cut off can be sold for a go o d price. In fact the cultureof the trees has the same motive as the irrigation (for they are constantly irrigated) . A n d the cutt ing o f the bo ug hs seems l ikewise to bepartly the reason wh y the trees d o no t grow tal l ; for, s ince they areoften cut ab ou t, they send out branches instead of putt ing ou t al ltheir energy in one direct ion.(4) Balsam is said not to grow wild anywhere. From the larger park

16


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1 To de pdXoajuov yiverai /xev ev r& avXmvi r(b neql E vqiav: T h i s r e f e r s t o t h eJ o r d a n V a l l e y , s i n c e t h a t i s t h e o n l y p l a c e i n S y r i a w h e r e t h e b a l s a m g r o w s . C f .D i o d o r u s , I I , 4 8 : 9 ( N o . 5 9 ) : ylverai de neql rovg rdnovg ev avX&vi rm xalTO xaXov/uevov pdXoajjiov . . . ovda[xov fxev rfjg aXXrjg olxovjuevrjg evqioxojudvovrov (pvrov rovrov; c f. a l s o D i o s c o r i d e s , De Materia Medica, I , 1 9 : 1 ( N o . 1 7 9 ) :xard nva avXcbva; S t r a b o , Geographica, X V I , 2 : 4 1 , p . 7 6 3 ( N o . 1 1 5 ) : evravdafidvov yewarai; P l i n i u s , Naturalis Historia, X I I , 11 1 ( N o . 2 1 3 ) : " S e d o m n i b u so d o r i b u s p r a e f e r t u r b a l s a m u m , u n i t e n - a r u m I u d a e a e c o n c e s s u m . . . "naqadelaovg d*elvai tpaai dvo povovg: C f . S t r a b o , Geographica, X V I , 2 : 4 1 , p .7 6 3 : eon d'avrov xal fiaoiXeiov xal 6 rov ftaXodjuov naqddeioog. I n T h e o p h r a s t u sw e f i n d t h e f i r s t a n d a l s o t h e m o s t d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e b a l s a m o f J u d a e a t oa p p e a r i n G r e e k l i t e r a t u r e .qyuXXov de e% eiv opoiov nrjydvqj: C f . D i o s c o r i d e s , De Materia Medica, I , 1 9 : 1( N o . 1 7 9 ) tpvXXa e%ov ojuoia nrjydvcp, Xevxoreqa de noXXq? xal deidaXeoreqa,yewcbju evov ev fiovrj 'Iovdalq.xaqno v de naqdfxo iov rfj reqjuivdcp: C f . S t r a b o , Geographica, X V I , 2 : 4 1 , p . 7 6 3 :xvriocp eoixdg xal reqfiivdcp.4 nw Xeladai de rd juev axqarov dig nqdg dqyvqiov: C f . P l i n i u s , NaturalisHistoria, X I I , 1 1 7 ( N o . 2 1 3 ) : " c u m e t d u p l o r e p e n d e b a t u r a r g e n t o . "

are obtained twelve vessels containing each about three pints , fromthe other only two such vessels; the pure gum sel ls for twice i tsweight in s i lver, the mixed sort at a price proportionate to i ts purity.Balsam then appears to be of exceptional fragrance.

( t r a n s . A . H o r t , LCL)


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V. H I E R O N Y M U S OF C A R D I ASecond half of the fourth century to first half of the third

century B.C.E.

Hieronymus, the foremost historian of the early Hellenistic age andthe ultimate authority for what we know of the political history of theyears 323-272 B. C. E., stayed inPalestine for some time and took anactive part in the political and military events that took place in thatcountry c. 312 B. C. E. It was on Hieronymus that Antigonus Monophthalmus imposed the task of supervising the Dead Sea and collectingthe asphalt; cf Diodorus, XIX, 100:1-2: enl \iev ravrrjg eni/^eXrjrrjveraljev 'Ieqcbvv/Liov rov rag 'Ioroqiag ovyyqdipavra, rovrcp de ovvere-raxro nlola naqaaxevdaaadai xal ndoav rr)v doooahcov dvaXafidvraavvdyeiv elg nva rdnov. Nevertheless, Hieronymus never refers either toJudaea or to the Jews. In describing the Dead Sea, he refers only to theNabataeans (ev rfj Nafiaralcov %coqa rcbv9Aqdftcov elvai UJUVTJV nixqdv),and Josephus already expressed his disappointment with Hieronymus9omission of any mention of Jews, contrasting him with his contemporary, Hecataeus; see Contra Apionem, / , 214: aXX9 opicog 'Exaraiogliev xal ftifiAiov eyqaipev neql rjjbicdv, *Ieqcbvv/j,og d9 ovdajnov xard rr)vlaroqiav ejuvrj/bidvevae xairoi o%eddv ev rolg rdnoig diarerqicpcbg.Hieronymus is the first Greek writer known to us to speak of the Nabataeans. Our passage, which expressly testifies to Hieronymus9 statementthat the Dead Sea is situated in "the Land of the Nabataeans'9, derivesfrom a work, De Aquis Mirabilibus. This is a collection of paradoxaby an anonymous writer who lived in the Roman Empire and who isknown as the Florentine Paradoxographer.1Our knowledge of Hieronymus9 description of the Dead Seas is not,however, confined to the Paradoxographer9s brief remark. As a matterof fact, we find it also in the chapters dedicated to the Dead Sea byDiodorus (Nos. 59 and 62). For Diodorus9 dependence on Hieronymus,

1 For the F l o r e n t i n e P a r a d o x o g r a p h e r , cf. H. Ohler, " P a r a d o x o g r a p h i F l o r e n t i n iA n o n y m i O p u s c u l u m de A q u i s M i r a b i l i b u s " , Ph. D. T h e s i s , T u b i n g e n 1913;K. Z i e g l e r , PW, X V I I I , pp. 1161 f. On our p a s s a g e , cf. e s p e c i a l l y Ohler, op. cit.,p p . 108 f.


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1 0Historia Diadochorum, a p u d : P a r a d o x o g r a p h u s F l o r e n t i n u s , De Aquis Mirabilibus, 33 Oh ler =F. Gr. Hist., I I , B , 1 5 4 F 5 = Paradoxographorum Graecorum Reliquiae, e d . A . G i a n n i n i ,

M i l a n o 1 9 6 5 , p . 3 2 4

'IeQcbvvfioc, ioroQrjaev ev rf\ Nafiaraicov % cboq rcbv 'Aodficov elvaiXijbivrjv Ttixgdv, ev r \ ovre l%Qvc. ovre a Xko n rcov evvdQcov tcpcov yiveoOaraacpdXrov de nXivdovg e avrfjg aioeoOai vno rcov eni%coo icov.

1 NaParalojv] paravalcov U

Hieronymus recorded that there was in the country of the Nabataeansa bitter lake in w hich neither fish n or any other kin d o f a nim als l ivingin water are bo rn ; bricks of asp halt are dra wn ou t from it by thepeople of the country.

see the introduc tion to Diodorus. Here it will suffice to point out theclose similarity of content between our passage and that of Diodorus.BibliographyR . S c h u b e r t , Die Quellen zur Geschichte der Diadochenzeit, L e i p z i g 1 9 1 4 , p p . 6 f f.,e s p e c i a l l y p . 1 6 ; F . J a c o b y , P W , V I I I , p p . 1 5 4 0 ff . = Griechische Historiker, S t u t t g a r t 1 9 5 6 , p p . 2 4 5 f f.; T . S . B r o w n , American Historical Review, L I I ( 1 9 4 6 - 1 9 4 7 ) ,p p . 6 8 4 ff.; M . J . F o n t a n a , " L e l o t t e p e r la s u c c e s s i o n e d i A l e s s a n d r o M a g n o " ,Atti delta Accade mia di Scienze, Lettere e Arti di Palerm o, S e r . 4 , V o l . X V I I I , P a r t 2 ,1 9 5 7 - 1 9 5 8 { I 9 6 0 ) p p . 2 5 7 f.


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V . H E C A T A E U S O F A B D E R Ac. 3 0 0 B . C . E .

Hecataeus lived in the time of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy 1}Under the last-mentioned ruler he visited Egypt, venturing as far asThebes. 2 He was a prolific writer,3 and according to Diogenes Laertius(IX, 69), he was counted a pupil o f Pyrron the Sceptic. W hile we cannotassign him to any particular philosophical school, he is conspicuousas spokesman for the trends and ideas prevalent in the greatage of transition in which he lived.* His most famous book was theA e g y p t i a c a , 5 a panegyrical exposition of the culture, history, politicalorganization and religion of the ancient Egyptians. This book servedas the main sou rce for the description of Egypt in the first book ofDiodorus. From the same book of Diodorus one might reasonably inferthat in his Aegypt iaca Hecataeus refers to Jews in connection withhis survey of the emigration of Egyptians to foreign countries (1,28 =No. 55). How ever, a mu ch more detailed description of Jews, and onethat expressly derives from Hecataeus, has come down to us in the

fortieth book of Diodorus, through the Bibl iotheca of Photius. In it wefind the oldest account of Jewish origins in Greek literature, though notnecessa rily the first reference to Jews; cf. the introduc tion to Th eophrastus. Diodorus uses this account in connection w ith Pom pey'scapture of Jerusalem, but he does not specify w hich of Hecataeus 9works he used or in what context he found the material concerningthe Jews.6

1 S e e Contra Apionem,!, 1 8 3 : 'Afot-dvdocp rep (iaoiAel awaxfjidoag xal nroXefx-alqj rq> Adyov avyyevofievoq. C f . S u d a s . v . 'Exaralog :' A^d r\qlxr\g... yiyove deinl rwv diaddxojv.

2 S e e D i o d o r u s , I , 4 6 : 8 .3 T h e l is t o f h i s w o r k s i n S u d a , loc. cit., h a s b e e n l o s t . H e r e w e o n l y fin d t h e n a m e

o f o n e o f t h e m : neql rfjg noir\aewg 'Ofiqqov xal *Hoi6dov. F r o m o t h e rs o u r c e s w e l e a r n a b o u t a w o r k b y h i m t h a t d e a l s w i t h t h e H y p e r b o r e a n s ; c f.P l i n i u s , Naturalis Historia, V I , 5 5 ; Scholia to Apollonius Rhodius, I I , 6 7 5 .

4 E . S c h w a r t z , Rhein. Mus., X L ( 1 8 8 5 ) , p p . 2 2 3 ff .; F . J a c o b y , P W , V I I , p p .2753 ff . = Griechische Historiker, S t u t t g a r t 1 9 5 6 , p p . 2 2 9 ff.

5 A s a m a t t e r o f f a c t , w e d o n o t k n o w t h e e x a c t n a m e o f t h e w o r k ; s e e J a c o b y ,P W , V H , p . 2 7 5 2 = Griechische Historiker, p . 2 2 8 .

6 I t i s n o t e w o r t h y t h a t t h e r e i s a c o n s p i c u o u s d i ff e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e " J e w i s h


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The following are some of the main features of the picture of the Jewsthat emerges from Hecataeus:a. Hecataeus' starting point is Egypt. The Jews are a people who wereexpelled from Egypt, and this event has had an effect on their customsand constitution. M oreover, some of their institutions closely resemblethose of the Egyptians, as described b y Hecataeus.b. Hecataeus uses also a Jewish source, and it seems that it was an oralone. Th is is evidenced by the high esteem in which he h olds M oses andby his usage of an almost direct reference to the Bible: nqooyeyqan xaide xal xolg vd/ioig im xeXevxrjc. oxi Mco afjg dxo vaag xov deov xddekeyei xolg 'lovdaioig.c. Th e Jewish com mu nity is one that is ruled by priests. In this statemen t, as in some others, H ecataeus is influenced by the actual contemporary situation in Judaea.d. Hecataeus is devoid of anti-Sem itic feelings, and his attitude toJews is, if anything, sympa thetic. In their expulsion from Egypt, the Jewsare coupled with the emigrants to Greece, led by Cadm us an d Dana us.e. Hecataeus know s about Jewish mon otheism and its opposition toanthropom orphism. He even alludes to the division of the Jewish peopleinto twelve tribes, but he is ignorant of the whole period of Jewish history that preceded the Persian rule.

f He notes that the ancestral customs of the Jews changed as a resultof Persian and M acedonian rule. But, as far as we may judge from theextant text, h e does not criticize the change.g. In his history of Jewish settlemen t, he conforms more to the com mon schemata of Greek colonization than to the traditional Hebrewversion. Thus, according to Hecataeus, M oses came to Judaea, foundedJerusalem and drew up the Jewish constitution there.Diodorus does not use all the material found in the relevant chapterof Hecataeus, and, as a matter of fact, we sometimes feel that he refersonly briefly to subjects that Hecataeus deals with at some length.1 Wemu st also bear in mind that D iodorus, wh ile summ arizing and condensing his source, might have introduced stylistic changes. Thus, we cann otbe sure of the ipsiss ima verba of Hecataeus.Apart from the Jewish chapter in Diodorus, Josephus, in C o n t r a A p i o n e m , 7 , 1 8 3 , expressly refers to a work of Hecataeus that was wholly

c h a p t e r " i n t h e f o r t i e th b o o k o f D i o d o r u s , w h e r e t h e J e w s a p p e a r a s f o r e i g n e r se x p e l l ed f r o m E g y p t , a n d t h e first b o o k o f D i o d o r u s , w h e r e a v o l u n t a r y e m i g r a t i o n o f t h e J e w s , w h o w e r e o r i g i n a l l y E g y p t i a n s , i s i m p l i e d . C f. a l s o F. Gr.Hist. I l i a , p . 5 0 .

7 W . J a e g e r , Diokles von Karystos, B e r l i n 1 9 3 8 , p p . 1 5 0 f .


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dedicated to Jews (ov naqiqycog, aXXa neql avxcov 9Iovdaicov avyyeyqacpe(iiflXiov). The same work is attested by Origenes, Contra Celsum, / , 15,where it is stated that its authenticity was suspected by Herennius Philo:xal 'Exaxaiov de xov laxoqixov cpeqexai neql 9Iovdaicov pi(}Aiov y ev a>nqoaxidexai paXXov ncog cog aocpco xco eOvei enl xoaovxov, cog xal 9Eqev-viov &iXcova ev xco neql 9Iovdaicov avyyqdjujbiaxi nqcoxov fiev dfxcpifidX-Xeiv, el xov laxoqixov eaxi xd avyyqafxfia^ devxeqov de Xeyeiv oxi, ei-neq eaxlv avxov, elxog avxdv avvrjqndad ai and xfjg naqa 9Iovdaioig ni-Oavdxrjxog xal avyx axaxeOeiadai avxcov xco Xdyco.Another book by Hecataeus, one that deals with Abraham , is referredto in Antiqui tates , I, 159. The same work appears under the name ofAbraham and the Egypt ians in Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata ,V, 113 = Eusebius, Praeparat io Evang el ica , XIII, 13:40: 'Exaxalog 6xdg laxoqlag avvxa^ dfievog ev xco xax 9 "Afiqapov xal xovg Alyvnxiovg.The adm iration Hecataeus displays for the Jewish religion is alsostressed in the Letter of Aristeas, the pseudoepigraphical work com posed, as it seems, c. 100 B. C. E., 8 where (31) we read:Aid n dqqco yeydvaoiv ol xe avyyqacpeig xal noirjxal xal xd xcov laxoqi-xcbv nXrjdog xfjg enifxvrjaecogxcov nqoeiqrj[ievcov fiif}Mcov...did xddyvrjvxiva xal aefjivfjv elvai xrjv ev avxoig Oecoqiav, cog cprjoiv *Exaxa log d9 A$dr\qixr\g%The book about Abraham may be assumed, with almost absolute certainty, to be a product of Jewish religious propagand a, since it includes,according to the evidence of Clemens of Alexandria, spurious verses ofSophocles that have a militant mon otheistic ring.The main problem arises in connection with the somew hat extensivechapter found in Contra Apionem, 7 , 183 ff., where Josephus statesthat he excerpted from Hecataeus 9 work about Jews. It is given in the

form of Hecataeus 9 memo ries, or, at least, this is the impression givenin the first passage, which concerns the chief priest Ezekias, and by thelast one, nam ely, the story of the Jewish mou nted archer M osollamus.It is expressly stated that the latter story comes from the personalexperience of the writer. The intermediate passages stress the loyaltyof Jews to their laws a loyalty that did not shrink from martyrdom

8 C f. A . M o m i g l i a n o , Aegyptus, X I I ( 1 9 3 2 ) , p p . 1 6 1 ff .; W . W . T a r n , The Greeksin Bactria and India*, C a m b r i d g e 1 9 5 1 , p p . 4 2 4 f.; O . M u r r a y , JTS, X V I I I( 1 9 6 7 ) , p p . 3 3 8 f. A s o m e w h a t e a r l ie r d a t e i n t h e s e c o n d c e n t u r y B . C . E . i s m a i n t a i n e d w i t h s t r o n g a r g u m e n t s b y E . V a n ' t D a c k ; s e e Antidorum W.PeremansSexagenario ab Alumnis O hlatum, L o u v a i n 1 9 6 8 , p p . 2 6 3 ff. A g a i n , a n e a r l y d a t ei s p o s t u l a t e d b y U . R a p p a p o r t , Studies in the History of the Jewish People andthe Land of Israel in Mem ory of Zvi A vneri, H a i f a 1 9 7 0 , p p . 3 7 ff. ( i n H e b r e w ) .


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9 J a e g e r , loc. cit. ( s u p r a , n . 7 ) .10 Cf . a l s o J . G . G ag er , ZNTW, L X ( 1 9 6 9 ) , p . 1 3 2 .

under either the Persians or Alexander. These passages also refer tothe vast population of Judaea a nd to the size o f the country, and theygive a description of Jerusalem and the Temp le.The authenticity of the passages from Hecataeus in Contra Apionemhas often been questioned, e.g., b y Willrich, Schurer, Jacoby, Stein,Dalbert, Schaller and Fraser. Others defend it, e. g., Schlatter, W endland,Engers, Lewy, Gutm an an d Gager. Tcherikover uses it for his survey ofHellenistic Judaea, and Jaeger seems to suspend judgmen t.9The chief argum ents adduced against the authenticity of the chaptermay be summ arized as follows:a. W e know for certain that Jewish apologetic writers attached thenam e of Hecataeus to at least one book fabricated by them that aboutAbraham. They may have used the same device on more than one occasion. It has even been suggested by Schurer that the work on the Jewsshould be considered identical with the one on Abraham .b. The passages in question include anachron istic details that reflectconditions subsequent to the Hasm onaean revolt (cf. recently, Schaller).Mo reover, the emph asis put on the Jewish spirit of martyrdom wouldbe more consonant with the atmosphere prevailing after the persecutionlaunched by Antiochus Epiphanes.c. The fact that Herennius Philo already had grave doub ts about theauthenticity of the excerpt carries some weight with modern scholars.d. It is maintained that the general tenor of the passages in ContraA p i o n e m differs considerably from that characterizing the Jewishchapter in Diodorus. W hile the tone of the latter is a detached one, thatof the former is in the nature of a panegyric.M ost of these argum ents m ay be rebutted:a. The existence of a Jewish pseudo-Hecataeus renders it indeed possiblethat he might also be the author of I IEQI 'Iovdaltov, but it does not provethat he was; the assumption that I IEQI 'Iovdalcav is identical with thework on Abraham is wholly unw arranted.b. Non e of the details in the fragments of TIEQI 'Iovdaicov have reallybeen shown to be anachron isms. This also holds true for the question ofthe tithes, discussed recently by Schaller; cf. the comm entary.c. The doubts of Herennius Philo express no more than his personal

feelings. As a contemporary of Hadrian he could not understand thesympathetic attitude shown to the Jews by the older writer.10d. It is true that Hecataeus 9 general tone concerning the Jews in


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1 1 E v e n S c h u r e r a d m i t s t h a t a u t h e n t i c p a s s a g e s o f H e c a t a e u s l i e a t t h e b o t t o m o ft h e p r e s u m a b l y s p u r i o u s w o r k neql 'Iovdaicov a n d t h a t " s c h o n b e i d e n E x z e r p -t e n d e s J o s e p h u s h a t m a n z u m T e i l d e n E i n d r u c k d e r E c h t h e i t " ; c f . S c h u r e r ,H I , p . 6 0 6 .

C o n t r a A p i o n e m is more laudatory than the tone in Diodorus. Yet,we must also remem ber that the passages in Diodorus reveal Hecataeus 9high esteem for M oses and for the Jewish constitution. W e m ust alsotake into account the fact that the description in Diodorus presumab lyderives from Hecataeus' Aegypt iaca , with its Egyptian point of view,while the neql 'Iovdaicov m ay be supposed to have been a wholly independent work. H ecataeus may have been more dependent on Jewishoral sources in the latter work than he was in his treatmen t of Jews inhis Aegypt iaca .It should be added that Hecataeus lived in an age that thought ratherhighly of Jews, as is attested by the attitude of Theoph rastus, apud: Porphyrius, De Abst inent ia , II, 26 (No. 4); Megasthenes, apud: ClemensAlexandrinus, Stromata, I, 15:72:5 (No. 14); and Clearchus, apud:Josephus, C o n t r a A p i o n e m , I, 176-183 (No. 15). M oreover, some ofthe main cham pions of the view that the fragments are not authentic(Schurer and Jacoby) do admit that they excel the comm on pseudo-epigraphic compo sitions in sobriety. Still, there are some expressionsand nuan ces that are perhaps difficult to attribute to the real Hecataeus,especially his approval of the Jews' d estruction of pagan temples andaltars erected in their country (xai nqooem xtdrjaiv, ore bixaiov inlxovxoiq avxovg eaxi davfjia&iv)'Therefore, it seems that Josephus h ad before him a Jewish revision, however slight, of the book of Hecataeus. In this revised version the Greekwriter's tone toward the Jews became more laudatory.11


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Menahem Stern - Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, Volume 1 From Herodotus to Plutarch 1989