Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 20, God commands Israel to honor father and mother. Asked to whom the king should show gratitude, the translator in the Letter of Aristeas answers with this commandment, the one answer at the banquets that appeals directly to Jewish law.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 20:12
Hebrew Bible
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Letter of Aristeas 1:228
Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
Having expressed his agreement with the answer, the king asked the sixth to reply to the question, To whom ought we to exhibit gratitude? And he replied, 'To our parents continually, for God has given us a most important commandment with regard to the honour due to parents. In the next place He reckons the attitude of friend towards friend for He speaks of "a friend who is as your own soul". You do well in trying to bring all men into friendship with yourself.' The king spoke kindly to him and then asked the next, What is it that resembles beauty in value? And he said, 'Piety, for it is the pre-eminent form of beauty, and its power lies in love, which is the gift of God. This you have already acquired and with it all the blessings of life.'
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Notes and References
“... 228. God has given the greatest commandment concerning honor to parents This evidently cites the fifth commandment. (Exod. 20:12). friend the equal of a man’s soul The phrase derives from the LXX version of Deut. 13:7. See also Sir. 6:11. ...”
Gruen, Erich S.
"The Letter of Aristeas" in Feldman, Louis H.; Kugel, James L.; Schiffman, Lawrence H. (ed.) Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture
(p. 2753) Jewish Publication Society, 2013
* 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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