Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

be written by a Greek instead of a Jew. That no reference to the Bible

should be found in texts purportedly written by non-Jews comes as no

surprise. However, there are biblical expressions or implicit references to

biblical texts in works like theSibylline Oraclesand theSentencesof

Pseudo-Phocylides. Sometimes explicit references can be found too, as in

theLetter of Aristeas,in which the dietary laws of Leviticus 11 are openly

discussed along with other biblical and Jewish notions. But even in the

case of theLetter of Aristeas,the topic of the work does not come from a

biblical book. Other works that do not have their point of departure in

biblical tradition include those that deal with religious persecutions (2, 3,

and 4 Maccabees), with Jewish history during the Hellenistic and Roman

periods (Philo’sIn FlaccumandLegatio ad Gaium,Justus of Tiberias’s his-

tory of the Jewish war, Josephus’sJewish Warand the final part of hisJew-

ish Antiquities), and with apologetics (Josephus’sAgainst Apion).

The Literary Genres Represented

Jewish texts composed in Greek employ a great diversity of literary genres.

The texts can be classified most broadly as poetry or prose.To the first cat-

egory belong Philo the Epic Poet, Theodotus, Ezekiel the Tragedian, the

Sibylline Oracles,Pseudo-Orpheus and other forged verses of Greek poets,

Pseudo-Phocylides, and the Wisdom of Solomon. To the second belong

Demetrius, Artapanus, Aristobulus, theLetter of Aristeas,Eupolemus,

Pseudo-Eupolemus, Aristeas the Exegete, 2 Maccabees, Pseudo-Hecataeus,

the Prologue to Ben Sira, Cleodemus Malchus, 3 Maccabees, Philo of Alex-

andria, Justus of Tiberias, Josephus,Joseph and Aseneth,4 Maccabees, the

Testament of Job,and the synagogal sermonsOn JonasandOn Samson.

These texts can be further classified according to literary genre, even

though one work may blend together several genres. TheLetter of Aristeas,

for instance, is a good example of the Hellenistic taste forpoikilia —liter-

ary and stylistic diversity within a single work.

Prose Works Dealing with the Past

Several Jewish works composed in Greek are prose literature about the

past, a rather loose category that includes genres such as chronography,

historiography, and ethnography but also historical fiction(Joseph and

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Early Jewish Literature Written in Greek

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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