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when he permitted it, he entertained the man sent by Ptolemy most lavishly, and having provided him with costly gifts, he sent him on his way, promising that he himself would follow. And he returned to Ptolemy, reporting what had happened and describing the goodness of Joseph, and saying that the man would arrive as an ambassador, and relating many praises of him to the king and queen; but Joseph, having made preparations after this, arrived in Alexandria. And having heard that Ptolemy was in Memphis, he went to meet him. And the king happened to be sitting in a chariot with his wife, and the one who had been entertained by this same Joseph was also present. who, upon seeing him, said to the king, "This is he about whom I reported to you 1.312 that he is a good and ambitious young man." And Ptolemy, upon hearing this, both greeted him first and urged him to get into the chariot. And when the king was blaming the high priest, he said, "Pardon him on account of his old age; for the minds of the old and of infants are alike; but we young men will pay you every debt." From these things, the king's disposition toward him increased even more. And when the king was in Alexandria, the chief men of Syria, seeing Joseph sitting with him (for they had happened to come in order to farm the taxes of the cities, as the king sold these annually to the powerful men of the cities), were displeased. And while the powerful men in the cities were bidding eight thousand talents for the taxes of Coele-Syria and of Phoenicia and Judea and Samaria, Joseph promised to give double. When the king nodded assent, but asked if he had guarantors for himself, he said, "I will give men whom you will not distrust." And when he further asked, "And who are they?," he said, "I give you, O king, and your wife as guarantors." And Ptolemy, laughing, granted him the collection of the taxes. Therefore, taking about two thousand soldiers, he set out for Syria. And when he came to Ascalon, since they gave him nothing, but even insulted him, he arrested and killed the chief men, and having confiscated their property, he sent about a thousand talents to the king. And he, having praised what had been done, allowed him to do whatever he wished. This struck fear into the Syrians, and they received Joseph eagerly and paid the taxes. And having profited much from these things, he sent 1.313 great gifts to the king and to Cleopatra and to all those around them, wherefore for twenty-two years he enjoyed this good fortune. Having lived with two wives, from the one he had seven children, and from the other, one. And this one was his niece, with whom he came to live thus. He fell in love with a certain dancing girl and was sick with love for her. And he revealed his passion to his brother. And he promised to minister to him in his love, and at night, bringing his own daughter to his brother, he laid her with him. And when this had happened many times, he loved more intensely. And when his brother revealed to him what had been hidden, he lived with his niece, and from her he had a son, calling him Hyrcanus. And when he was thirteen years old, he showed both his intelligence and his shrewdness. For his father, having given him three hundred yoke of oxen, sent him out to a country two days distant to cultivate the land, having kept back the thongs of the yokes. But when he arrived there and did not have the thongs, and the herdsmen were saying that they must send men to the father to ask for them, he did not heed their advice, but he himself, having sacrificed ten yoke, distributed the meat to the workmen, and cutting up the hides, he fastened the yokes with them, and having thus done the work, he returned. And the father, recognizing his ingenuity, both marveled at him and loved him and preferred him to his other sons; but they were vexed. And when a son was born to Ptolemy, the chief men of the lands under him celebrated the birthday by going to Alexandria, but Joseph, having become difficult to move due to old age, urged one of his children to go there. And when the 1.314 older ones declined, Hyrcanus

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ἐπιτρέψαντος, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πτολεμαίου σταλέντα ξενίζει φιλοτιμότατα, καὶ δωρεὰς αὐτῷ πολυτελεῖς παρασχὼν προέπεμψεν, εψεσθαι καὶ αὐτὸς ὑποσχόμενος. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐπανῆλθε πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον, τὰ γεγονότα μηνύων καὶ τὴν τοῦ ̓Ιωσὴφ χρηστότητα διηγούμενος, καὶ λέγων τὸν ανδρα ἀφίξεσθαι πρεσβευσόμενον, καὶ πολλὰ τούτου πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ τὴν βασίλισσαν διεξιὼν ἐγκώμια· ὁ δὲ ̓Ιωσὴφ παρασκευασάμενος μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς ̓Αλεξάνδρειαν παραγέγονεν. ἀκούσας δὲ ἐν Μέμφει τὸν Πτολεμαῖον ειναι, ἀπῄει ὑπαντήσων αὐτῷ. ετυχε δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ ὀχήματος μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς καθεζόμενος, παρῆν δὲ καὶ ὁ παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ̓Ιωσὴφ ξενισθείς. ος ἰδὼν αὐτόν "ουτος" εφη τῷ βασιλεῖ "περὶ ου σοι ἀπήγγειλα 1.312 ὡς ἀγαθός ἐστι καὶ φιλότιμος νεανίας." καὶ ὁ Πτολεμαῖος ἀκούσας πρῶτός τε αὐτὸν προσηγόρευσε καὶ ἀναβῆναι ἐπὶ τὸ οχημα παρεκέλευσεν. αἰτιωμένου δὲ τὸν ἀρχιερέα τοῦ βασιλέως "συγγίνωσκε" ελεγε "διὰ τὸ γῆρας αὐτῷ· τοῖς τε γὰρ πρεσβύταις καὶ τοῖς νηπίοις ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ διάνοια· ἡμεῖς δέ σοι οἱ νέοι πᾶσαν τὴν ὀφειλὴν καταθήσομεν." ἐκ τούτων ἐπὶ πλέον ἡ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπέδωκε τοῦ βασιλέως διάθεσις. γενομένου δὲ ἐν ̓Αλεξανδρείᾳ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἰδόντες οἱ πρῶτοι τῆς Συρίας, ετυχον γὰρ ἐλθόντες ινα τὰ τέλη τῶν πόλεων ἐξωνήσωνται, κατ' ετος τοῦ βασιλέως ταῦτα τοῖς τῶν πόλεων πιπράσκοντος δυνατοῖς, τὸν ̓Ιωσὴφ αὐτῷ συγκαθήμενον, ἐδυσχέραινον. εἰς ὀκτακισχίλια δὲ τάλαντα τὰ τῆς Κοίλης Συρίας τέλη καὶ τὰ τῆς Φοινίκης καὶ ̓Ιουδαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας ὠνουμένων τῶν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι δυνατῶν, ὁ ̓Ιωσὴφ διπλασίονα δώσειν ὑπισχνεῖτο. τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως κατανεύσαντος, ἐρομένου δὲ εἰ τοὺς ἐγγυησομένους αὐτὸν εχει, "δώσω" ειπεν "ἀνθρώπους οις οὐκ ἀπιστήσετε." καί "τίνες ουτοι" προσερομένου, "σέ" ειπεν, "ω βασιλεῦ, καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τὴν σὴν ἐγγυησομένους δίδωμι." γελάσας δὲ ὁ Πτολεμαῖος συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ τῶν φόρων τὴν εισπραξιν. λαβὼν ουν στρατιώτας ὡς δισχιλίους εἰς Συρίαν ἐξώρμησε. γενόμενος δ' ἐν ̓Ασκάλωνι, ὡς οὐδὲν ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσύβριζον, συλλαβὼν τοὺς πρωτεύοντας εκτεινε, καὶ τὰς οὐσίας δημεύσας αὐτῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ επεμψεν ὡς χίλια τάλαντα. ὁ δὲ τὰ πεπραγμένα ἐπαινέσας ἐφίησιν αὐτῷ ποιεῖν ο τι βούλεται. τοῦτο φόβον τοῖς Σύροις ἐνέβαλε, καὶ ἐδέχοντο προθύμος τὸν ̓Ιωσήφ, καὶ τοὺς φόρους ἐδίδουν. κερδήσας δ' ἐκ τούτων πολλά, μεγάλα τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τῇ Κλεοπάτρᾳ εστελλε 1.313 δῶρα καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς περὶ αὐτούς, οθεν ἐπὶ ετη δύο καὶ εικοσι τῆς εὐτυχίας ταύτης ἀπήλαυσε. Γυναιξὶ δὲ δυεῖν συνοικήσας, ἐκ μὲν τῆς μιᾶς παῖδας εσχεν ἑπτά, ἐκ δὲ τῆς λοιπῆς ενα. ην δ' αυτη ἀδελφόπαις αὐτοῦ· ῃπερ ουτως συνῴκησε. ὀρχηστρίδος ἠράσθη τινὸς καὶ τῷ ταύτης εκαμνεν ερωτι. μηνύει δὲ τὸ πάθος τῷ ἀδελφῷ. ὁ δὲ διακονήσασθαί οἱ πρὸς τὸν ερωτα ἐπηγγείλατο, καὶ νυκτὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θυγατέρα πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀγαγὼν συγκατέκλινε. καὶ τούτου γενομένου πολλάκις, ηρα σφοδρότερον. τοῦ δὲ ἀδελφοῦ τὸ κεκρυμμένον αὐτῷ φανερώσαντος, συνῴκησε τῇ ἀδελφιδῇ, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς υἱὸν εσχεν, ̔Υρκανὸν καλέσας αὐτόν. τρισκαίδεκα δὲ γεγονὼς ἐτῶν ουτος τήν τε σύνεσιν ἐδείκνυ καὶ τὴν ἐντρέχειαν. δοὺς γὰρ αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ ζεύγη βοῶν τριακόσια ἐξέπεμψεν εἰς χώραν δυεῖν ἡμέραιν ἀπέχουσαν τὴν γῆν ἐργασόμενον, τοὺς ἱμάντας τῶν ζυγῶν παρακατασχών. ὁ δὲ γενόμενος ἐκεῖ καὶ μὴ εχων ἱμάντας, τῶν βοηλατῶν στέλλειν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τοὺς αἰτήσοντας αὐτοὺς δεῖν λεγόντων, τῇ μὲν ἐκείνων συμβουλῇ οὐ προσέσχεν, αὐτὸς δὲ δέκα ζεύγη καταθύσας τὰ μὲν κρέα τοῖς ἐργάταις διένειμε, τὰς δὲ δορὰς κατατεμὼν τούτοις προσέδησε τοὺς ζυγούς, καὶ ουτω τὴν ἐργασίαν ποιήσας ἐπανελήλυθεν. ὁ δὲ πατὴρ τὴν ἐπίνοιαν αὐτοῦ γνοὺς καὶ ἐθαύμασεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἠγάπησε καὶ τῶν αλλων προετίμα υἱῶν· οἱ δὲ ηχθοντο. τῷ δὲ Πτολεμαίῳ γεννηθέντος υἱοῦ οἱ πρῶτοι τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν χωρῶν ἑώρταζον τὰ γενέθλια ἀπιόντες εἰς ̓Αλεξάνδρειαν, ̓Ιωσὴφ δὲ τῷ γήρᾳ δυσκόμιστος γεγονὼς τῶν παίδων ενα ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν προετρέπετο. τῶν 1.314 δὲ πρεσβυτέρων παραιτουμένων ὁ ̔Υρκανὸς