taxation, the Romans drew a sharper line between citizen and noncitizen
than was the case the Ptolemaic era. Jews responded by trying to infiltrate
the gymnasium, as a way of attaining citizenship. The Alexandrians re-
sisted, and conflict ensued. The evidence for this construction of events is
admittedly fragile, as Erich Gruen especially has pointed out (Gruen 2002:
54-83). It is doubtful whether the Jews actually sought citizenship, which
would presumably have entailed some acknowledgment of the Greek gods
(Kasher 1985). Rather, they wanted a status equal to that of citizens. What
is apparent is that the Roman conquest of Egypt intensified ethnic rivalry
in Alexandria. The Alexandrian citizens were jealous of their diminished
status. Jews resented being classified with Egyptians. The role of the Ro-
man governor in manipulating the conflict for his own ends is less than
clear. The details of the case are a subject of ongoing debate (Collins 2005:
181-201; Gambetti 2009).
Diaspora Judaism, no less than its counterpart in the land of Israel,
had its frame of reference in the Torah, which in its Greek translation is the
great wellspring of Greco-Jewish literature. Many of the fragmentary writ-
ings can be described as parabiblical, even if they are cast in Greek forms.
The retelling of the exodus in the form of a Greek tragedy by one Ezekiel is
a case in point. There has been growing appreciation in recent years of the
role of exegesis of the Torah as a unifying element across the full spectrum
of ancient Judaism (Kugel 1998).
Egyptian Judaism, however, was distinctive in important ways. Philo,
the greatest exegete of Alexandrian Judaism, viewed the Torah through a
prism of Greek philosophy, which led to a very different understanding
from anything we find in Hebrew or Aramaic sources. Few Alexandrian
Jews would have shared Philo’s philosophical sophistication, but virtually
all the writings we have from this community use Greek literary forms and
categories to appropriate the biblical tradition. In contrast to the Dead Sea
Scrolls, the Diaspora literature makes minimal reference to halakic issues
or purity laws. It does, however, insist on Jewish monotheism, and fre-
quently ridicules pagan idolatry. It also insists on the superiority of Jewish
sexual ethics and the fact that Jews refrain from infanticide. These were
matters which enlightened Greeks could, in principle, appreciate, and they
are indicative of the self-image cultivated by Diaspora Jewry. Complete as-
similation to the Gentile way of life certainly occurred. (The most famous
example is Philo’s nephew, Tiberius Julius Alexander, who became prefect
of Egypt and assisted in putting down the Jewish revolt against Rome.) But
the Jewish community as a whole preserved a distinct identity, even while23Early Judaism in Modern ScholarshipEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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