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arrived, and had brought to the king both the parchments which had the law inscribed in gold letters and the gifts sent to him by the high priest, the king was exceedingly pleased, and greeted the men, and dined with them, and gave them three talents each, and prepared the most beautiful lodgings for them. Then Demetrius took them, and leading them away to a quiet house, urged them to take up the work. And they, as zealously as possible, produced an accurate translation. When the work had been completed in seventy-two days, and the translations had been read to the king, he both rejoiced that his wish had been brought to fruition and greatly admired the mind and the wisdom of the lawgiver. and he was at a loss as to how neither any of the historians nor any of the other wise men had mentioned it. And Demetrius told him that no one had dared to touch the transcription of these laws because it was divine, and that some who attempted it were harmed by God. For Theopomptus, wishing to write about these matters, was afflicted in his mind for more than thirty days; and understanding whence his madness had come, in his lucid intervals he propitiated God; and he saw in a dream that the affliction had befallen him for meddling in divine things and for wishing to bring them out to common men. Therefore, abstaining from the work, his mind was restored. "But also Theodectes," he said, "the tragic poet, wishing in a certain drama to make mention of things written in the sacred book, suffered pain in his eyes and was blinded; and knowing the cause, he was delivered from the misfortune, 1.310 having prayed to God." Therefore the king, taking the books and venerating them, and having most generously given gifts to the men, and having sent dedications to the temple and most beautiful gifts to the high priest, permitted them to return to Jerusalem. Thus Josephus related that the translation of the Hebrew scriptures came to be; but others say that the translators of the scriptures did not come together to make the paraphrase, but that they were divided two by two and, being in separate cells, set forth the translation, and that after the completion they came together, and when the writings of each were compared with one another, they were found to differ neither in sense nor indeed in wording, but to be in agreement in all things. So then, the translation in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus came about in this way or that. But the Jews, while Antiochus the Great was ruling Asia and fighting against Ptolemy Eupator and against his son Ptolemy Epiphanes, were severely mistreated. But Antiochus, having conquered, took possession of Judea. And when Ptolemy Epiphanes, after the death of his father, sent a great force to Coele-Syria and took many cities, the nation of the Jews, being warred upon, sided with Epiphanes. But when Antiochus was victorious again, the Jews willingly changed their allegiance to him, and they received him into the city, and fought alongside him as he besieged the soldiers of Ptolemy who were garrisoned in the acropolis; and from that time the nation became friendly to him. Then Antiochus made a treaty with 1.311 Ptolemy and made a marriage alliance with him, giving him his daughter Cleopatra, and as a dowry he provided Coele-Syria and Phoenicia and Judea, and indeed also Samaria. And these things happened during the high priesthood of Onias. For when Eleazar died, his uncle Manasses succeeded him, after whom Onias was deemed worthy of the high priesthood, being the son of Simon the Just. And Simon was the brother of Eleazar, as has been related. The aforementioned Onias, therefore, through love of money and weakness of mind, by not giving to Ptolemy the annual tribute which his predecessors had paid as tribute to the kings, provoked him to anger. Therefore Ptolemy sent and threatened to inflict evil upon both the nation and the city; but the high priest, being overcome by love of money, was shameless. But Joseph, son of Tobias, the nephew of the high priest, asked his uncle if he would permit him to go as an ambassador to Ptolemy. And when he

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παραγενομένων, καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τάς τε διφθέρας χρυσοῖς γράμμασι τὸν νόμον ἐχούσας ἐγγεγραμμένον καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως αὐτῷ σταλέντα δῶρα προσκεκομικότων, ὁ βασιλεὺς ησθη διαφερόντως, καὶ ἠσπάσατο τοὺς ανδρας, καὶ συνειστιάθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἀνὰ τρία δέδωκε τάλαντα, καὶ καταλύσεις αὐτοῖς ἡτοίμασε καλλίστας. ειτα παραλαβὼν αὐτοὺς ὁ ∆ημήτριος, καὶ εἰς ενα οικον ἀπαγαγὼν ηρεμον εργου εχεσθαι παρεκάλει. οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐνῆν φιλοτίμως ἀκριβῆ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν ἐτίθεντο. τοῦ δ' εργου ἐν ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ δυεῖν ἡμέραις τετελεσμένου, καὶ τῶν μεταγραφέντων ἀναγνωσθέντων τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἐκεῖνος καὶ εχαιρεν οτι εἰς εργον ηχθη τὸ αὐτοῦ βούλημα καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τοῦ νομοθέτου καὶ τὴν σοφίαν ὑπερεθαύμαζε. καὶ ἠπόρει πῶς οὐδεὶς ουτε τῶν ἱστορικῶν ουτε τῶν αλλων σοφῶν αὐτῆς ἐπεμνήσθη. εφη δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ∆ημήτριος μηδένα τολμῆσαι τῆς τῶν νόμων τούτων ἀναγραφῆς αψασθαι διὰ τὸ θείαν αὐτὴν ειναι, καὶ οτι τινὲς ἐγχειρήσαντες τούτοις ἐβλάβησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ. Θεόπεμπτός τε γὰρ βουληθεὶς περὶ τούτων συγγράψασθαι ἐβλάβη τὰς φρένας ἐφ' ἡμέραις πλείοσι τῶν τριάκοντα· καὶ συνεὶς οθεν αὐτῷ ἡ παραφροσύνη ἐγένετο, ἐν τοῖς διαλείμμασιν ἐξιλάσκετο τὸν θεόν· οναρ τε ειδεν ὡς αὐτῷ τὸ πάθος συμβέβηκε περιεργαζομένῳ τὰ θεῖα καὶ εἰς κοινοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκφέρειν ταῦτα θελήσαντι. ἀποσχόμενος ουν τοῦ εργου κατέστη τὸν νοῦν. "ἀλλὰ καὶ Θεόδεκτος" ειπεν "ὁ τῶν τραγῳδιῶν ποιητής, θέλων εν τινι δράματι τῶν ἐν τῇ ἱερᾷ βίβλῳ γεγραμμένων μνησθῆναι, ἀλγήσας τὰ ομματα ἐπηρώθη· καὶ τὸ αιτιον γνοὺς ἀπηλλάγη τῆς συμφορᾶς, 1.310 δεηθεὶς τοῦ θεοῦ." λαβὼν ουν τὰς βίβλους ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ προσκυνήσας αὐταῖς, καὶ δωρησάμενος τοῖς ἀνδράσι φιλοτιμότατα, καὶ ἀναθήματα στείλας ἐν τῷ ναῷ καὶ δῶρα κάλλιστα τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ, ἐπανελθεῖν ἀφῆκεν εἰς ̔Ιερουσαλήμ. Ουτω μὲν τὴν ἑρμηνείαν τῶν ̔Εβραϊκῶν γραφῶν γενέσθαι ἱστόρησεν ὁ ̓Ιώσηπος· ετεροι δὲ μὴ ὁμοῦ συνελθόντας φασὶ τοὺς ἑρμηνεῖς τῶν γραφῶν ποιήσασθαι τὴν παράφρασιν, ἀλλ' ἀνὰ δύο διαιρεθῆναι αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐν ἰδιαζούσαις διαίταις οντας ἐκθέσθαι τὴν ἑρμηνείαν, καὶ μετὰ τὸ τέλος ὁμοῦ συνελθεῖν, καὶ τὰς ἑκάστων συγγραφὰς παραβληθείσας ἀλλήλαις εὑρεθῆναι μήτε κατὰ νοῦν μήτε μὴν κατὰ λέξεις διαφωνούσας, ἀλλὰ συμφώνους ἐν απασιν. ̔Η μὲν ουν ἑρμηνεία ἐπὶ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Φιλαδέλφου ουτως η ἐκείνως ἐγένετο. οἱ δὲ ̓Ιουδαῖοι, ̓Αντιόχου τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλεύοντος τῆς ̓Ασίας καὶ μαχομένου πρὸς τὸν Εὐπάτορα Πτολεμαῖον καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐκείνου υἱὸν τὸν ̓Επιφανῆ Πτολεμαῖον, σφοδρῶς ἐκακώθησαν. νικήσας δὲ ὁ ̓Αντίοχος τὴν ̓Ιουδαίαν προσάγεται. τοῦ δ' ̓Επιφανοῦς Πτολεμαίου μετὰ θάνατον τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν Κοίλην Συρίαν μεγάλην στείλαντος δύναμιν καὶ πολλὰς λαβόντος πόλεις, καὶ τὸ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων εθνος πολεμούμενον προσέθετο τῷ ̓Επιφανεῖ. αυθις δὲ τοῦ ̓Αντιόχου νικήσαντος, ἑκουσίως ̓Ιουδαῖοι πρὸς αὐτὸν μετετέθησαν, καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν αὐτὸν εἰσεδέξαντο, καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀκροπόλει φυλάσσοντας τοῦ Πτολεμαίου στρατιώτας πολιορκοῦντι συνεμάχησαν· κἀντεῦθεν φίλιον αὐτῷ τὸ εθνος ἐγένετο. ειτα σπένδεται μὲν τῷ 1.311 Πτολεμαίῳ ̓Αντίοχος καὶ κῆδος τίθεται πρὸς αὐτόν, τὴν θυγατέρα δοὺς αὐτῷ Κλεοπάτραν, καὶ εἰς φερνὴν παρέσχε τήν τε Κοίλην Συρίαν καὶ Φοινίκην καὶ ̓Ιουδαίαν, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ Σαμάρειαν. ταῦτα δὲ συνέβη ἐπὶ ἀρχιερέως ̓Ονίου. τὸν γὰρ ̓Ελεάζαρ θανόντα ὁ θεῖος αὐτοῦ διεδέξατο Μανασσῆς, μεθ' ον τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ̓Ονίας ἠξίωτο Σίμωνος ων υἱὸς τοῦ δικαίου. Σίμων δὲ τοῦ ̓Ελεάζαρ ην ἀδελφός, ὡς ἱστόρηται. ̔Ο γοῦν εἰρημένος ̓Ονίας, διὰ φιλοχρηματίαν καὶ διανοίας ἀσθένειαν μὴ δοὺς τῷ Πτολεμαίῳ τὸν δασμὸν τὸν ἐτήσιον ον οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἐδασμοφόρουν, ἠρέθισεν αὐτὸν εἰς ὀργήν. πέμψας ουν ὁ Πτωλεμαῖος ἠπείλει κακῶς διαθήσειν καὶ τὸ εθνος καὶ τὴν πόλιν· ὁ δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς ἡττώμενος χρημάτων ἀδυσώπητος ην. ̓Ιωσὴφ δὲ υἱὸς Τωβίου, τοῦ δ' ἀρχιερέως ἀδελφιδοῦς, ἠρώτησε τὸν θεῖον εἰ δίδωσιν αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸν Πτολεμαῖον πρεσβεῦσαι. τοῦ δὲ