122

I return." And when they asked him to grant them the same things as the Jews, he inquired who they were. They said they were Hebrews, but that those in Shechem were called Sidonians. And he asked again if they were Jews. And when they admitted they were not, he said, "I have granted to the Jews what you are asking." And the temple on Mount Gerizim became a refuge for transgressors; for if anyone was accused of eating common food or transgressing in some other way, he fled to the Shechemites. And when the high priest Jaddus died, his son Onias received the high priesthood. And when Alexander died his kingdom was divided into four dominions, and Antigonus ruled 1.307 Asia, and the others mentioned before ruled the rest. And as these were in conflict with one another, there were continuous wars and the cities suffered. But Ptolemy, son of Lagus, the king of Egypt, who was also called Soter, became the opposite of his title for Syria, and he took Jerusalem by deceit. For entering the city on a Sabbath as if to offer sacrifice, he took it without a struggle; for the Jews, not knowing his intention and being at rest because of the day, did not resist. And having thus gained control of the nation, he ruled most cruelly, and taking many captives he led them away to Egypt and settled them there. And for those in Jerusalem, conflicts arose with the Samaritans, with the Jerusalemites calling their own temple holy and saying that sacrifices should be made in it, while the Shechemites honored the temple on Mount Gerizim. And when Ptolemy son of Lagus had reigned over Egypt for forty years and died, his son Ptolemy Philadelphus succeeded to the rule. He was eager to have the Hebrew scriptures translated from their native tongue into the Greek dialect, and he freed those from Jerusalem who were enslaved in Egypt. For wishing to make a collection of books and being ambitious about this, he had Demetrius of Phalerum in charge of the libraries. And once when Ptolemy asked Demetrius how many tens of thousands of books he already had, he said that about twenty had been collected; and that there were also among the Hebrews writings of their laws worthy of attention, and that it was necessary to acquire these too. Therefore the king writes to the high priest about these matters. 1.308 But Aristaeus, being a friend of the king, said, "Having decided not only to copy but also to translate the laws of the Jews, how can we accomplish this, when many Jews are slaves in your kingdom? Therefore, O king, release them from slavery, and thus you will make the nation eager both to have the scriptures copied and translated." So the king, persuaded by the word of Aristaeus, commanded that all the Jews serving as slaves in Egypt be set free, having purchased each one from their masters for one hundred and twenty drachmas. And the number of those freed was reckoned at over ten myriads. And the amount given for their price came to four hundred and sixty talents. So Ptolemy writes to Eleazar the high priest. For when the high priest Onias died, his son Simon succeeded him, who was also called the Just, and when he died leaving an infant son named Onias, Simon's brother Eleazar held the high priesthood. To this man, therefore, Ptolemy sent a letter, announcing the freedom of the enslaved Jews and his disposition toward the nation, and requesting that the laws themselves be sent, and six men from each tribe who were skilled with precision in both their native dialect and the Greek language, so that by them their scriptures might be translated into the Greek tongue. And he also sent offerings to the temple, one hundred talents of silver, twenty gold bowls and thirty silver ones, and five craters and a golden table. So Eleazar, having received the letter of Ptolemy and the offerings, selected six men from each tribe, and 1.309 sent them, bearing also the law. who to Alexandria

122

ὑποστρέφω." αἰτουμένων δὲ χαρίσασθαι αὐτοῖς οσα τοῖς ̓Ιουδαίοις, τίνες εἰσὶν ἐπυνθάνετο. οἱ δὲ ̔Εβραῖοι εφασαν ειναι, χρηματίζειν δὲ οἱ ἐν Σικίμοις Σιδώνιοι. καὶ ος εἰ ̓Ιουδαῖοι ειεν πάλιν ἠρώτησεν. ὡς δ' οὐκ ειναι κατέθεντο, "εγωγε" ειπεν " ̓Ιουδαίοις ἐχαρισάμην α αἰτεῖσθε ὑμεῖς." τὸ δὲ ἐν τῷ Γαριζὶν ορει ἱερὸν εἰς καταφύγιον τῶν παρανομούντων ἐγένετο· εἰ γάρ τις κοινοφαγήσας η αλλο τι παρανομήσας ὑπὸ αἰτίαν ἐγίνετο, παρὰ τοὺς Σικιμίτας κατέφευγε. τοῦ δὲ ἀρχιερέως ̓Ιωδαὲ τελευτήσαντος ̓Ονίας ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην παρείληφε. Θανόντος δὲ ̓Αλεξάνδρου εἰς τέσσαρας ἀρχὰς ἡ ἐκείνου βασιλεία διῄρητο, καὶ τῆς μὲν ̓Ασίας ̓Αντί1.307 γονος ηρξε, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν οἱ προγεγραμμένοι. τούτων δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλους στασιαζόντων πόλεμοί τε συνεχεῖς ησαν καὶ ἐκακοῦντο αἱ πόλεις. ὁ δὲ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Λάγου ὁ τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλεύων, ος καὶ σωτὴρ ἐχρημάτιζε, τῇ τε Συρίᾳ τἀναντία τῇ ἐπικλήσει αὐτοῦ γέγονε, καὶ τὰ ̔Ιεροσόλυμα δόλῳ κατέσχεν. εἰσελθὼν γὰρ εἰς τὴν πόλιν σαββάτῳ ὡς θύσων, ἀπόνως ταύτης ἐκράτησεν· οἱ γὰρ ̓Ιουδαῖοι μήτε τὴν διάνοιαν εἰδότες αὐτοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐν ἀργίᾳ οντες, οὐκ ἀντέστησαν. κρατήσας δ' ουτω τοῦ εθνους πικρότατα ηρχε, καὶ πολλοὺς λαβὼν αἰχμαλώτους εἰς Αιγυπτον ἀπήγαγε καὶ κατῴκισε. τοῖς δ' ἐν ̔Ιεροσολύμοις στάσεις πρὸς τοὺς Σαμαρείτας ἐγένοντο, τῶν μὲν ̔Ιεροσολυμιτῶν τὸ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἱερὸν καλούντων αγιον καὶ τὰς θυσίας ἐν αὐτῷ γίνεσθαι δεῖν λεγόντων, τῶν δὲ Σικιμιτῶν τὸν ἐν τῷ Γαριζὶν ορει σεμνυνόντων ναόν. Τεσσαράκοντα δ' ετη τοῦ Λάγου Πτολεμαίου βασιλεύσαντος τῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ τελευτήσαντος ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Φιλάδελφος διεδέξατο τὴν ἀρχήν. ος τάς τε γραφὰς τὰς ̔Εβραϊκὰς ἐκ τῆς πατρίου γλώττης εἰς ̔Ελλάδα μεταβληθῆναι διάλεκτον εσπευσε, καὶ τοὺς δουλεύοντας ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τῶν ̔Ιεροσολυμιτῶν ἠλευθέρωσε. συλλογὴν γὰρ βιβλίων ποιήσασθαι βουληθεὶς καὶ περὶ ταύτην φιλοτιμούμενος, τὸν Φαληρέα ∆ημήτριον ἐπὶ τῶν βιβλιοθηκῶν ειχε. καί ποτε τοῦ Πτολεμαίου τὸν ∆ημήτριον ἐρωτήσαντος πόσας ηδη εχει μυριάδας βιβλίων, περὶ εικοσιν ειπεν ειναι τὰ συνειλεγμένα ἐκεῖνος· ειναι δὲ καὶ παρ' ̔Εβραίοις τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς νομίμων συγγράμματα σπουδῆς αξια, καὶ δεῖν καὶ ταῦτα κτήσασθαι. γράφει τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ περὶ τούτων. 1.308 ̓Αρισταῖος δὲ φίλος τυγχάνων τῷ βασιλεῖ "τοὺς τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων νόμους" ειπεν "οὐ μεταγράψαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑρμηνεῦσαι διεγνωκότες, πῶς αν τοῦτο διαπραξώμεθα, πολλῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἐν τῇ σῇ βασιλείᾳ δούλων οντων; ἀπόλυσον ουν αὐτούς, βασιλεῦ, τῆς δουλείας, καὶ ουτω πρόθυμον τὸ εθνος ποιήσεις εἰς τὸ τὰς γραφὰς καὶ μεταγράψασθαι καὶ ἑρμηνεῦσαι." ὁ γοῦν βασιλεὺς τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ ̓Αρισταίου πεισθεὶς ἐκέλευσε πάντας τοὺς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δουλεύοντας ̓Ιουδαίους ἐλευθέρους ἀπολυθῆναι, πριάμενος εκαστον ἐκ τῶν δεσποτῶν αὐτῶν δραχμῶν ἑκατὸν εικοσι. τὸ δὲ τῶν ἐλευθερωθέντων πλῆθος εἰς μυριάδας ἠρίθμητο ὑπὲρ δέκα. τὰ δὲ ὑπὲρ τιμήματος αὐτῶν δοθέντα τετρακόσια καὶ ἑξήκοντα γεγόνασι τάλαντα. Γράφει γοῦν Πτολεμαῖος πρὸς ̓Ελεάζαρ τὸν ἀρχιερέα. τελευτήσαντος γὰρ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως ̓Ονίου ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ Σίμων αὐτὸν διεδέξατο, ος καὶ δίκαιος ἐπεκέκλητο, τούτου δὲ θανόντος ἐπὶ νηπίῳ υἱῷ ̓Ονίᾳ καλουμένῳ ὁ τοῦ Σίμωνος ἀδελφὸς ̓Ελεάζαρ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην ειχε. τούτῳ τοίνυν ὁ Πτολεμαῖος ἐπέστειλε, τήν τε τῶν δουλευόντων ̓Ιουδαίων ἐλευθερίαν καταγγέλλων καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ εθνος διάθεσιν, καὶ ἀξιῶν τούς τε νόμους αὐτοὺς πεμφθῆναι καὶ ανδρας εξ ἀφ' ἑκάστης φυλῆς τήν τε πάτριον ἠσκημένους διάλεκτον εἰς ἀκρίβειαν καὶ τὴν ̔Ελληνίδα φωνήν, ινα παρ' ἐκείνων εἰς τὴν ̔Ελλάδα γλῶτταν μεταβληθεῖεν αἱ παρ' αὐτοῖς γραφαί. εστειλε δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναθήματα, ἀργυρίου τάλαντα ἑκατόν, φιάλας χρυσᾶς εικοσι καὶ ἀργυρᾶς τριάκοντα, καὶ κρατῆρας πέντε καὶ τράπεζαν χρυσῆν. ὁ ουν ̓Ελεάζαρ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τοῦ Πτολεμαίου καὶ τὰ ἀναθήματα κομισάμενος, ἐπελέξατο ανδρας ἐκ φυλῆς ἑκάστης εξ, καὶ 1.309 πέπομφε φέροντας καὶ τὸν νόμον. ων εἰς ̓Αλεξάνδρειαν