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and they, being older than he, are said to approach almost the times of Moses, not being contemporary with Moses themselves, but nearly approaching his times; so that Moses is older than Sanchuniathon by as much as the latter is younger than his own eld10.9.15 ers, who were acknowledged to approach Moses. But by how many years, then, it was likely that Moses preceded those mentioned is difficult to say; wherefore I think I will pass this over. But granting that Moses 10.9.16 lived in the time of that very Sanchuniathon and not before, I will proceed with the refutation thus: If Sanchuniathon was known in the time of Semiramis, queen of the Assyrians, and let us suppose that Moses did not precede him but flourished at this time, then he too 10.9.17 would be in the time of Semiramis. But our account showed that Abraham was born in her time, whereas the philosopher's establishes Moses as more ancient. And Semiramis is shown to have lived a full eight hundred years before the Trojan War. Therefore Moses too will precede the Trojan War by so many years, according to the philo10.9.18 sopher. And Inachus first ruled the Argives, when the Athenians at that time had neither their city nor their name. And the first of the Argives ruled during the time of the fifth king of the Assyrians after Semiramis, and one hundred and fifty years after her and Moses, in which time nothing memorable is recorded to have happened among the Greeks. And during this time among the Hebrews ruled10.9.19 the Judges. Then again, three hundred years later, when now somewhere more than a full four hundred years from Semiramis had been completed, Cecrops, who is acclaimed among them as earth-born, first ruled the Athenians, while Triopas ruled Argos, who was the seventh after the first Argive, Inachus.10.9.20 And between these events, the flood in the time of Ogygus is mentioned, and Apis was first named a god in Egypt, and Io, daughter of Inachus, whom the Egypt10.9.21 ians renamed Isis and worship, and Prometheus and Atlas were known. And from Cecrops to the capture of Ilium, another period of a little less than 400 years is reckoned, in which the marvelous events among the Greeks are mythologized: the flood in the time of Deucalion and the conflagration in the time of Phaethon, many destructions of the earth, as is likely, hav10.9.22 ing occurred in various places. And Cecrops is said to have been the first to call the god Zeus, he not having been so named among men before; then he was the first to establish an altar among the Athenians and again the first to set up a statue of Athena, as not even the10.9.23 se existed from of old. And after him all the gods among the Greeks are given genealogies. But among the Hebrews at this time, those of the lineage of David were reigning, and the prophets after Moses were famous; so that the whole period from Moses to the capture of Ilium is reckoned to be more than eight hundred years, according to the testimony 10.9.24 of the philosopher that was set forth. And still much later than the Trojan events are the times of Homer and Hesiod and the rest who are recorded. And but yesterday and the day before, after these, about the fiftieth Olympiad, Pythagoras and Democritus and the philosophers after them were named, somewhere near 10.9.25 700 years after the Trojan War. Therefore Moses and the Hebrew prophets after him are established as preceding the philosophers among the Greeks by fifteen hundred years, according to the admission of the man who has been mentioned. 10.9.26 So much for this, from us, in summary. But it is time to examine also the proofs of those before us on the same subject. For there have been among us learned men, second to none of those from the schools of learning, and who have conversed not superficially with divine things, who have also elucidated the present subject with accuracy and established it by the archaeology of the Hebrews, using rich and varied equip10.9.27 ment for their proof. For some have calculated the times from certain acknowledged histories, while others have accredited their testimony with more ancient readings. And some with Greek, and others also with those things

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καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀρχαιότεροι ὄντες αὐτοῦ σχεδὸν τοῖς Μωσέως πλησιάζειν χρόνοις εἴρηνται, οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ κατὰ Μωσέα γενόμενοι, ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν τοῖς ἐκείνου χρόνοις πλησιάζοντες· ὡς τοσοῦτον εἶναι πρεσβύτερον Μωσέα τοῦ Σαγχουνιάθωνος ὁπόσον ἂν οὗτος λείπηται τῶν αὐτοῦ πρεσ10.9.15 βυτέρων, οἳ Μωσεῖ πλησιάζειν ὡμολογήθησαν. πόσοις δὲ ἄρα ἔτεσιν εἰκὸς ἦν Μωσέα ὑπεράγειν τοὺς δηλουμένους ἄπορον εἰπεῖν· διόπερ τοῦτό μοι δοκῶ παρήσειν. δοὺς δὲ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸν Σαγχουνιάθωνα Μωσέα 10.9.16 γεγονέναι καὶ μὴ πρότερον, ὧδε τὸν ἔλεγχον ἐφοδεύσω· εἴπερ ἐπὶ Σεμιράμεως τῆς Ἀσσυρίων βασιλίδος ὁ Σαγχουνιάθων ἐγνωρίζετο, ἔστω δὲ καὶ Μωσῆς μηδὲν προάγων, κατὰ δὲ τοῦτον ἠκμακώς, γένοιτ' ἂν οὖν 10.9.17 καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ Σεμίραμιν. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ἡμέτερος λόγος ἐπὶ ταύτης ἐδήλου γενέσθαι τὸν Ἁβραάμ, ὁ δὲ τοῦ φιλοσόφου παλαιότερον τὸν Μωσέα συνίστησιν. ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις τῶν Τρωϊκῶν ὀκτακοσίοις ὅλοις ἔτεσι δείκνυται προγενομένη. καὶ Μωσῆς ἄρα ἔσται τοσούτοις τὰ Τρωϊκὰ προάγων κατὰ τὸν φιλό10.9.18 σοφον. πρῶτος δὲ βασιλεύει Ἀργείων Ἴναχος, οὔπω τότε Ἀθηναίωνοὔτε τὴν πόλιν οὔτε τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐχόντων. ὁ δὲ πρῶτος Ἀργείων ἡγεῖται κατὰ τὸν πέμπτον μετὰ Σεμίραμιν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλέα, πεντήκοντα δὲ καὶ ἑκατὸν ὕστερον ἔτεσιν αὐτῆς τε καὶ Μωσέως, ἐν οἷς οὐδὲν ἐπίσημον γεγονὸς ἱστορεῖται παρ' Ἕλλησι. κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ χρόνου παρ' Ἑβραίοις ἡγοῦν10.9.19 ται οἱ Κριταί. εἶτ' αὖ πάλιν τριακοσίοις ἐτῶν ἄλλοις κατώτερον χρόνοις, ἤδη που πλέον ἢ τετρακοσίων ὅλων ἐτῶν συμπληρουμένων ἀπὸ Σεμιράμεως, πρῶτος Ἀθηναίων βασιλεύει Κέκροψ ὁ βοώμενος παρ' αὐτοῖς αὐτόχθων, Ἄργους ἡγουμένου Τριόπα, ὃς ἦν ἕβδομος μετὰ τὸν πρῶτον Ἀργεῖον Ἴναχον.10.9.20 μεταξὺ δὲ τούτων ὁ ἐπὶ Ὠγύγου μνημονεύεται κατακλυσμὸς πρῶτός τε Ἆπις ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ θεὸς ὠνομάσθη καὶ Ἰὼ θυγάτηρ Ἰνάχου, ἣν Ἶσιν Αἰγύπτιο10.9.21 μετονομάσαντες σέβουσι, Προμηθεύς τε καὶ Ἄτλας ἐγνωρίζοντο. ἀπὸ δὲ Κέκροπος ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰλίου ἅλωσιν ἄλλα συνάγεται μικρῷ δέοντα ἔτη υʹ, ἐν οἷς τὰ ἐν Ἕλλησι θαυμάσια μυθολογεῖται, ὁ ἐπὶ ∆ευκαλίωνος κατακλυσμὸς καὶ ὁ ἐπὶ Φαέθοντος ἐμπρησμός, πολλῶν, ὡς εἰκός, φθορῶν γῆς κατὰ τόπους γε10.9.22 γενημένων. πρῶτος δὲ Κέκροψ λέγεται Ζῆνα κεκληκέναι τὸν θεόν, μὴ πρότερον οὕτω παρ' ἀνθρώποις ὠνομασμένον· ἔπειτα βωμὸν παρ' Ἀθηναίοις ἱδρῦσαι πρῶτος καὶ πάλιν πρῶτος Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα συστήσασθαι, ὡς οὐδὲ τού10.9.23 των ἐκ παλαιοῦ ὑπαρχόντων. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον καὶ οἱ παρ' Ἕλλησι θεοὶ πάντες γενεαλογοῦνται. παρ' Ἑβραίοις δὲ ἐν τούτῳ οἱ ἀπὸ γένους ∆αβὶδ ἐβασίλευον καὶ οἱ μετὰ Μωσέα διέλαμπον προφῆται· ὥστε τὰ πάντα ἀπὸ Μωσέως ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰλίου ἅλωσιν συνάγεσθαι πλεῖον ἢ ὀκτακόσια ἔτη κατὰ τὴν ἐκτε10.9.24 θεῖσαν τοῦ φιλοσόφου μαρτυρίαν. ἔτι δὲ πολὺ τῶν Τρωϊκῶν νεώτερα τὰ κατὰ Ὅμηρον καὶ Ἡσίοδον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς μνημονεύεται. χθὲς δὲ καὶ πρώην μετὰ τούτους περὶ τὴν πεντηκοστὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα οἱ ἀμφὶ Πυθαγόραν καὶ ∆ημόκριτον καὶ τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα φιλοσόφους ὠνομάσθησαν, ἐγγύς 10.9.25 που μετὰ τὰ Τρωϊκὰ ἔτεσιν ψʹ. προτερεῖν ἄρα Μωσῆς καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν Ἑβραίων προφῆται συνίστανται τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι φιλοσόφων χιλίοις πεντακοσίοις ἔτεσι κατὰ τὴν τοῦ δηλωθέντος ἀνδρὸς ὁμολογίαν. 10.9.26 Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἡμεῖς ἐπιτόμως. σκέψασθαι δὲ καιρὸς καὶ τὰς τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως ἀποδείξεις. γεγόνασι δὴ παρ' ἡμῖν λόγιοι ἄνδρες καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ παιδείας οὐδενὸς δεύτεροι τοῖς τε θείοις οὐ παρέργως καθωμιληκότες, οἳ καὶ τὴν παροῦσαν ὑπόθεσιν ἐπ' ἀκριβὲς διευκρινήσαντες τῇ παρ' Ἑβραίοις συνέστησαν ἀρχαιολογίᾳ, πλουσίᾳ καὶ ποικίλῃ κατασκευῇ 10.9.27 κεχρημένοι τῆς ἀποδείξεως. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἔκ τινων ὁμολογουμένων ἱστοριῶν τοὺς χρόνους συνελογίσαντο, οἱ δὲ παλαιοτέροις ἀναγνώσμασι τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἐπιστώσαντο. καὶ οἱ μὲν Ἑλληνικοῖς, οἱ δὲ καὶ τοῖς τὰ