Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 7, God hardens the heart of the king of Egypt so that he will not let Israel go. In the Letter of Aristeas, a prayer to the God who rules the heart moves the king of Egypt to free the Jewish captives, the opposite of the Exodus story.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 7:3
Hebrew Bible
1 So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release the Israelites from his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. I will reach into Egypt and bring out my regiments, my people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I extend my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
Letter of Aristeas 1:17
Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
After a brief interval, while I was offering up an earnest prayer to God that He would so dispose the mind of the king so that all the captives might be set at liberty-(for the human race, being the creation of God, is swayed and influenced by Him. Therefore with many different prayers I called on Him who rules the heart, so that the king might be constrained to grant my request. For I had great hopes with regard to the salvation of the men since I was assured that God would grant a fulfilment of my prayer. For when men from pure motives plan some action in the interest of righteousness and the performance of noble deeds, Almighty God brings their efforts and purposes to a successful issue) - the king raised his head and looking up at me with a cheerful expression asked, 'How many thousands do you think they will number?' Andreas, who was standing near, replied, 'A little more than a hundred thousand.' 'It is a small favour indeed,' said the king, 'that Aristeas asks of us!'
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Notes and References
“... In Exod. 7:3 and related verses God hardens the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh does not hearken unto Moses and Aharon, and refuseth to let the people go. Just to the contrary, when Aristeas called upon Him who rules the heart [...] the king of Egypt was constrained to fulfill his petition and free the Jews. [...] The combination of Exod. 7:3 and 14:8 with Prov. 21:1–3 is a classical gezerah shavah. “The Lord guides the hearts” and “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” ...”
Kovelman, Arkady
Between Alexandria and Jerusalem: The Dynamic of Jewish and Hellenistic Culture
(p. 112, 114) Brill, 2005
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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