Texts in Conversation
In the Letter of Aristeas, the narrator prays that God will compel the king of Egypt to free the Jewish captives. Josephus tells the same story in Antiquities of the Jews without the prayer, so the release comes from the king's own generosity.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
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!'
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 12.2.3
Classical
When Aristeus was saying thus, the King looked upon him with a chearful and joyful countenance, and said, “How many ten thousands dost thou suppose there are of such as want to be made free?” To which Andreas replied, as he stood by, and said, “A few more than ten times ten thousand.” The King made answer, “And is this a small gift that thou askest, Aristeus?” But Sosibius, and the rest that stood by, said, that “He ought to offer such a thank offering as was worthy of his greatness of soul, to that God who had given him his Kingdom.” With this answer he was much pleased; and gave order, that when they payed the soldiers their wages, they should lay down twenty drachmæ for every one of the slaves.
Date: 93-94 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... 17. constrained to fulfill my petition The language is strong. Aristeas stresses the intervention of God in impelling the king to liberate Jewish slaves. This subtly diminishes Ptolemy’s own generosity and initiative. Josephus evidently felt some discomfort here and omitted the passage (Ant. 12.23). ...”
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. 2719) 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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