Texts in Conversation
The Letter of Aristeas describes God moving the king of Egypt to free the Jewish captives after a silent prayer. The Greek additions to Esther have God turn the Persian king's anger into gentleness, the same hope that God softens foreign kings.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Letter of Aristeas 1:18
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!'
LXX Esther 5:1e
Septuagint
1c And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. 1d And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before her. 1e But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceful words, and said to her, 1f What is the matter, Esther? I am your brother; be of good cheer, you shall not die, for our command is openly declared to you, Draw near.
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Notes and References
“... Of cause, the solution suggested by Ps.-Aristeas had nothing in common with the suggestions of Paul, Origen, Resh Lakish, and Nachmanides. It was a typical optimistic answer of the Second Temple period: God graciously responds to the requests of pious Jews (or made on the behalf of pious Jews) and softens the heart of a king (e.g., of Persia, of Egypt), since “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.” The same theory may be found in the Greek Addition to Ester (5:1e): “Then God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness.” The entire episode 5:1d–f is very similar to paragraphs 17–19 of Aristeas. The queen faltered, and turned pale, but then God changed the spirit of the king, and he comforted her with soothing words. Aristeas also feels anxiety while the king “refrained himself for a little while.” Finally, the king “raised his head, showing a friendly countenance . . .” Considering that the addition came from Alexandrian Jewish milieu, this similarity is quite expected. ...”
Kovelman, Arkady
Between Alexandria and Jerusalem: The Dynamic of Jewish and Hellenistic Culture
(p. 115) 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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