parted from Egypt unarmed, the question of how they acquired weapons
naturally presented itself. Similarly, in hisJewish AntiquitiesJosephus im-
plicitly or explicitly deals with exegetical problems. But in neither case is
the prime focus of the work on exegesis as such. Rather, the use of scrip-
tural material for the purpose of historiography prompts the writer to an-
alyze problematic aspects of the biblical text. In contrast, Aristobulus and
Philo focus on the explanation of the biblical text as such and read the
texts at different levels, both literally and symbolically or allegorically.Philosophy
Philosophical treatises in the strict sense of the term are even rarer. Philo
of Alexandria is the only early Jewish author known to have written whole
treatises dedicated to philosophical questions (e.g.,De aeternitate mundi
andQuod omnis probus liber sit). The use of philosophical concepts or vo-
cabulary in exegetical treatises such as Aristobulus’s work, or in sapiential
or parenetic texts such as the Wisdom of Solomon and 4 Maccabees, does
not allow us to characterize these works as philosophical treatisesstricto
sensu.Apology
There are at least two Jewish apologetic works written in Greek, Philo’s
Hypothetica(preserved only in part in Eusebius’sPraeparatio Evangelica),
and Josephus’sAgainst Apion.However, there are many apologetic pas-
sages in the rest of Philo’s and Josephus’s works. Furthermore, Jewish
works written in Greek often emphasize the superiority of Judaism over
Greek culture and are therefore not devoid of apologetic overtones.Autobiography
Josephus produced a work belonging to yet another literary genre, theLife,
which is the fullest surviving example of Roman autobiography before Au-
gustine’sConfessions.It was appended to theJewish Antiquitiesand was of-
ten read as an integral part of the latter but nevertheless remains an early
example of personal memoir.237Early Jewish Literature Written in GreekEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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