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8.5.1 5. LETTER OF ELEAZAR THE HIGH PRIEST TO KING PTOLEMY

“Eleazar the high priest to King Ptolemy, his true friend, greeting. If you yourself are well, and Queen Arsinoe, your sister, and the children, it would be well and as we wish; we also are in good health. Upon receiving your letter, we rejoiced greatly because of your purpose and good counsel, and having gathered the whole multitude, we read it to them, so that they might know the reverence which you have 8.5.2 toward our God. We also displayed the bowls which you sent, twenty of gold and thirty of silver, five craters and a table for a dedication, and for the bringing of sacrifices and for repairs of whatever the temple might need, one hundred talents of silver, which Andreas, one of those honored by you, and Aristeas brought, men good and noble and distinguished in learning and 8.5.3 in every way worthy of your conduct and justice. They also delivered to us the things from you, to which they have also heard from us what is suitable to your affairs. For everything that is advantageous to you, even if it is contrary to nature, we will obey. For this is a sign of friendship and love. For you have benefited our citi- 8.5.4 zens in many ways with great and irreproachable deeds. Immediately, therefore, we offered sacrifices on your behalf and that of your sister and children and friends, and the whole multitude prayed that things might happen for you always according to your purpose and that the God who rules over all might preserve for you the 8.5.5 kingdom in peace with glory. And so that the transcription of the holy law might be done advantageously and with security, in the presence of all I selected good and noble men, elders, six from each tribe, whom we have also sent, having the law. You will do well, therefore, just king, to command that, when the transcription of the books is done, the men may be safely restored to us again. Farewell.” 8.5.6 Next to these things, after saying many things in the middle concerning the proposed matter, after the interpretation of the scriptures he adds in these very words: “And when the books were read, the priests and the elders of the interpreters and those from the government and the leaders of the people stood and said: ‘Since it has been interpreted well and piously and with complete accuracy, it is fitting that these things should remain as they are and that no revision should be made.’ And when all had acclaimed what was said, they commanded that a curse be pronounced, as is their custom, if anyone should revise it by adding or transposing anything at all of what was written, or by making a subtraction; doing this well, so that for all time they might be preserved remaining 8.5.7 unchanged. And when these things were also reported to the king, he rejoiced greatly; for it seemed that the purpose which he had was securely accomplished. And all of it was read to him, and he greatly marveled at the mind of the lawgiver and said to Demetrius: ‘How is it that, with such great things having been accomplished, no historian or poet has undertaken to mention them?’ And he said: ‘Because the legislation is solemn and has come from God, and some of those who undertook it were smitten by 8.5.8 God and desisted from the attempt. For he said that he had heard from Theopompus that, when he was about to add to his history something from the law from the things previously interpreted, rather inaccurately, he suffered a disturbance of his mind for more than thirty days; and that during his supplication to appease God it became clear to him for what reason this was happening; and having learned through a dream that he wanted, after meddling with divine things, to bring them out 8.5.9 to common men, by refraining he was thus restored. And from Theodectes the tragic poet I also learned that when he was about to adapt something of what was written in the book for a certain play, his eyes were blinded, and having understood

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8.5.1 εʹ. ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΕΛΕΑΖΑΡΟΥ ΑΡΧΙΕΡΕΩΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΑ

«Ἐλεάζαρος ἀρχιερεὺς βασιλεῖ Πτολεμαίῳ, φίλῳ γνησίῳ, χαίρειν. Εἰ αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ ἡ βασίλισσα Ἀρσινόη, ἡ ἀδελφή, καὶ τὰ τέκνα, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι καὶ ὡς βουλόμεθα, καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ ὑγιαίνομεν. λαβόντες τὴν παρὰ σοῦ ἐπιστολὴν μεγάλως ἐχάρημεν διὰ τὴν προαίρεσίν σου καὶ τὴν καλὴν βουλὴν καὶ συναγαγόντες τὸ πᾶν πλῆθος παρανέγνωμεν αὐτοῖς, ἵν' εἰδῶσιν ἣν ἔχεις 8.5.2 πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἡμῶν εὐσέβειαν. ἐπεδείξαμεν δὲ καὶ τὰς φιάλας, ἃς ἀπέστειλας, χρυσᾶς εἴκοσι καὶ ἀργυρᾶς τριάκοντα, κρατῆρας πέντε καὶ τράπεζαν εἰς ἀνάθεσιν, καὶ εἰς προσαγωγὴν θυσιῶν καὶ εἰς ἐπισκευὰς ὧν ἂν προσδέηται τὸ ἱερόν, ἀργυρίου τάλαντα ἑκατόν, ἅπερ ἐκόμισαν Ἀνδρέας τῶν τετιμημένων παρὰ σοὶ καὶ Ἀριστέας, ἄνδρες καλοὶ καὶ ἀγαθοὶ καὶ παιδείᾳ διαφέροντες καὶ τῆς 8.5.3 σῆς ἀγωγῆς καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἄξιοι κατὰ πάντα. οἳ καὶ μετέδωκαν ἡμῖν τὰ παρὰ σοῦ, πρὸς ἃ καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν ἀκηκόασιν ἁρμόζοντα τοῖς σοῖς πράγμασι. πάντα γὰρ ὅσα σοι συμφέρει, καὶ εἰ παρὰ φύσιν ἐστίν, ὑπακουσόμεθα. τοῦτο γὰρ φιλίας καὶ ἀγαπήσεως σημεῖόν ἐστι. μεγάλα γὰρ καὶ ἀνεπίληστα τοὺς πολί8.5.4 τας ἡμῶν κατὰ πολλοὺς τρόπους εὐηργέτηκας. εὐθέως οὖν προσηγάγομεν ὑπὲρ σοῦ θυσίας καὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς καὶ τῶν τέκνων καὶ τῶν φίλων, καὶ ηὔξατο πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος, ἵνα σοι γένηται καθὼς προαιρῇ διὰ παντὸς καὶ διασώζῃ σοι τὴν 8.5.5 βασιλείαν ἐν εἰρήνῃ μετὰ δόξης ὁ κυριεύων ἁπάντων θεός. καὶ ὅπως γένηται συμφερόντως καὶ μετὰ ἀσφαλείας ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου νόμου μεταγραφή, παρόντων πάντων ἐπελεξάμην ἄνδρας καλοὺς καὶ ἀγαθούς, πρεσβυτέρους, ἀφ' ἑκάστης φυλῆς ἕξ, οὓς καὶ ἀπεστάλκαμεν ἔχοντας τὸν νόμον. καλῶς οὖν ποιήσεις, βασιλεῦ δίκαιε, προστάξας ὡς ἂν ἡ μεταγραφὴ γένηται τῶν βιβλίων, ἵνα πάλιν ἀποκατασταθῶσι πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀσφαλῶς οἱ ἄνδρες· ἔρρωσο.» 8.5.6 Τούτοις ἑξῆς, πολλὰ διὰ μέσου περὶ τῆς προτεθείσης εἰπὼν πραγματείας, μετὰ τὴν τῶν γραφῶν ἑρμηνείαν ἐπιφέρει αὐτοῖς ῥήμασι· «Καθὼς δ' ἀνεγνώσθη τὰ τεύχη, στάντες οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ τῶν ἑρμηνέων οἱ πρεσβύτεροι καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ πολιτεύματος οἵ τε ἡγούμενοι τοῦ πλήθους εἶπον· Ἐπεὶ καλῶς καὶ ὁσίως διηρμήνευται καὶ κατὰ πᾶν ἀκριβῶς, καλῶς ἔχον ἐστὶν ἵνα διαμένῃ ταῦθ' οὕτως ἔχοντα καὶ μὴ γένηται μηδεμία διασκευή. πάντων δὲ ἐπιφωνησάντων τοῖς εἰρημένοις, ἐκέλευσαν ἐπαρᾶσθαι, καθὼς ἔθος αὐτοῖς ἐστιν, εἴ τις διασκευάσει προστιθεὶς ἢ μεταφέρων τι τὸ σύνολον τῶν γεγραμμένων ἢ ποιούμενος ἀφαίρεσιν· καλῶς τοῦτο πράσσοντες, ἵνα διὰ παντὸς ἀέναα μένοντα 8.5.7 φυλάσσηται. προσφωνηθέντων δὲ καὶ τούτων τῷ βασιλεῖ μεγάλως ἐχάρη· τὴν γὰρ πρόθεσιν ἣν εἶχεν ἀσφαλῶς ἔδοξε τετελειῶσθαι. παρανεγνώσθη δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ πάντα, καὶ λίαν ἐξεθαύμασε τὴν τοῦ νομοθέτου διάνοιαν καὶ πρὸς τὸν ∆ημήτριον εἶπε· Πῶς τηλικούτων πραγμάτων συντετελεσμένων οὐδεὶς ἐπεβάλετο τῶν ἱστορικῶν οὐδὲ ποιητῶν ἐπιμνησθῆναι; ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἔφη· ∆ιὰ τὸ σεμνὴν εἶναι τὴν νομοθεσίαν καὶ διὰ θεοῦ γεγονέναι, καὶ τῶν ἐπιβαλλομένων τινὲς ὑπὸ τοῦ 8.5.8 θεοῦ πληγέντες τῆς ἐπιβολῆς ἀπέστησαν. καὶ γὰρ ἔφησεν ἀκηκοέναι Θεοπόμπου, διότι μέλλων τινὰ τῶν προηρμηνευμένων ἐπισφαλέστερον ἐκ τοῦ νόμου προσιστορεῖν ταραχὴν λάβοι τῆς διανοίας πλεῖον ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα· κατὰ δὲ τὴν αἴτησιν ἐξιλάσκεσθαι τὸν θεὸν σαφὲς αὐτῷ γενέσθαι, τίνος χάριν τὸ συμβαῖνόν ἐστι· δι' ὀνείρου δὲ μαθόντος ὅτι τὰ θεῖα βούλεται περιεργασάμενος εἰς 8.5.9 κοινοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκφέρειν, ἀποσχόμενον δὲ οὕτως ἀποκαταστῆναι. καὶ παρὰ Θεοδέκτου δὲ τοῦ τῶν τραγῳδιῶν ποιητοῦ μετέλαβον ἐγὼ διότι παραφέρειν μέλλοντός τι τῶν ἀναγεγραμμένων ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ πρός τι δρᾶμα τὰς ὄψεις ἀπεγλαυκώθη καὶ λαβὼν