Texts in Conversation
The Letter of Aristeas interprets the ban on birds of prey as a lesson against robbing and oppressing others, while still keeping the food law. Barnabas gives the eagle, falcon, kite and crow the same meaning but treats the lesson as all Moses intended.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Letter of Aristeas 1:147
Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
locusts, partridges, geese also, and all other birds of this class. But the birds which are forbidden you will find to be wild and carnivorous, tyrannizing over the others by the strength which they possess, and cruelly obtaining food by preying on the tame birds enumerated above and not only so, but they seize lambs and kids, and injure human beings too, whether dead or alive, and so by naming them unclean, he gave a sign by means of them that those, for whom the legislation was ordained, must practice righteousness in their hearts and not tyrannize over anyone in reliance on their own strength nor rob them of anything, but steer their course of life in accordance with justice, just as the tame birds, already mentioned, consume the different kinds of pulse that grow on the earth
Barnabas 10:4
Epistle of Barnabas
Early Christian
4 ‘Neither shall you eat the eagle or the falcon or the kite or the crow.’ ‘You shall not,’ He says, ‘cling to or resemble such men who do not know how to get food by their own toil and sweat but, in their lawlessness, seize what belongs to others, keeping watch to see whom they may rob in their greed, just as these birds do not provide food for themselves but hover idly, looking for how they might eat what belongs to others, being agents of evil in their actions.’ 5 ‘And you shall not eat,’ He says, ‘the lamprey or the octopus or the cuttlefish.’ ‘You shall not,’ He means, ‘become like people who are already condemned to death, just as these fish are cursed and swim in the depths, not swimming on the surface like the others but living on the bottom of the deep sea.’
Search:
Notes and References
“... While the Old Testament prohibits certain fowl, there is neither specific criteria for exclusion, nor a list of those subject to inclusion (Lev 11:13–19). In general, forbidden fowl are understood to be birds of prey. [...] The association between biblically prohibited fowl and birds of prey is also found in Hellenistic period Jewish sources (e.g. Philo, Special Laws, 4.116–117; Letter of Aristeas, 145–149; and the discussion in chapters 3 and 6). Further, birds of prey (and the type of people they represent) sit idle, find ways to prey on others’ flesh, and generally pester others. See e.g. Epistle of Barnabas, 10. ...”
Rosenblum, Jordan
The Jewish Dietary Laws in the Ancient World
(p. 151) Cambridge University Press, 2016
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,