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Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus (34)

The writings of Flavius Josephus

ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS

josephus-intro
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The Legends of the Jews

The Legends of the Jews (168)

THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS

BY LOUIS GINZBERG

[1909]

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT

This is a massive collation of the Haggada--the traditions which have grown up surrounding the Biblical narrative.

These stories and bits of layered detail are scattered throughout the Talmud and the Midrash, and other sources, including oral. In the 19th century Ginzberg undertook the task of arranging the Haggada into chronological order, and this series of volumes was the result.


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The Biblical Antiquities of Philo

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo (78)

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

HON. LITT.D. DUBLIN, HON. LL.D. ST. ANDREWS,
PROVOST OF KING'S COLLEGE. CAMBRIDGE

London: S.P.C.K.,

[1917]

Scanned at sacred-texts.com, May 2004. John Bruno Hare, redactor. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.

 
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The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, Chapter 5

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


CHAPTER V.

V. 2 Then came the sons of Cham, and made Nembroth a prince over themselves: but the sons of Japheth made Phenech their chief: and the sons of Sem gathered together and set over them Jectan to be their prince.

2. And when these three had met together they took counsel that they would look upon and take account of the people of their followers. And this was done while Noe was yet alive, even that all men should be gathered together: and they lived at one with each other, and the earth was at peace.

3. Now in the 340th year of the going forth of Noe out of the ark, after that God dried up the flood, did the princes take account of their people.

4. And first Phenech the son of Japheth looked upon them.

The sons of Gomer all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 5,800.

But of the sons of Magog all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their leading the number was 6,200.

And of the sons of Madai all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 5,700.

And the sons of Tubal. all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 9,400.

And the sons of Mesca all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 5,600.

The sons of Thiras all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 12,300.

And the sons of Ripha<<th>> passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number l4,500.

And the sons of Thogorma passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 14,400.

But the sons of Elisa passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 14,900.

And the sons of Thersis all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 12,100.

The sons of Cethin all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincy were in number 17,300.

And the sons of Doin passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 17,700.

And the number of the camp of the sons of Japheth, all of them men of might and all girt with their armour, which were set in the sight of their captains was 140,202 besides women and children.

The account of Japheth in full was in number 142,000.

5. And Nembroth passed by, he and the son(s) of Cham all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 24,800.

The sons of Phua all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 27,700.

And the sons of Canaan all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 32,800.

The sons of Soba all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 4,300.

The sons of Lebilla all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 22,300.

And the sons of Sata all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 25,300.

And the sons of Remma all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 30,600.

And the sons of Sabaca all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 46,400.

And the number of the camp of the sons of Cham, all of them mighty men, and furnished with armour, which were set in the sight of their captaincies was in number 244,900 besides women and children.

6. And Jectan the son of Sem looked upon the sons of Elam, and they were all of them passing by according to the number of the sceptres of their captaincies in number 47,000.

And the sons of Assur all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 73,000.

And the sons of Aram all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 87,300.

The sons of Lud all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were found in number 30,600.

[The number of the sons of Cham was 73,000.]

But the sons of Arfaxat all of them passing by according to the sceptres of their captaincies were in number 114,600.

And the whole number of them was 347,600.

7. The number of the camp of the sons of Sem, all of them setting forth in valour and in the commandment of war in the sight of their captaincies was ix besides women and children.

8. 1 And these are the generations of Noe set forth separately, whereof the whole number together was 914,000. And all these were counted while Noe was yet alive, and in the presence of Noe 350 years after the flood. And all the days of Noe were 950 years, and he died.


Footnotes

86:2 V. The numbers in this chapter are hopelessly incorrect. The separate items in the text add up to 704,000; the totals in the text to 734,500, omitting the evidently corrupt figure 9000 assigned to Shem and his descendants. The matter is of no importance.
89:1 8. It is part of this verse which is quoted (and that not accurately) by Petrus Comestor. See Introduction, p. 10.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, Chapter 4

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


CHAPTER IV.

IV. 2 And the sons of Noe which went forth of the ark were Sem, Cham, and Japheth. Gen. 9:18

2. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, and Madai, Nidiazech, Tubal, Mocteras, Cenez, Riphath, and Thogorma, Elisa, Dessin, Cethin, Tudant.

And the sons of Gomer: Thelez, Lud, Deberlet.

And the sons of Magog: Cesse, Thipha, Pharuta, Ammiel, Phimei, Goloza, Samanach.

And the sons of Duden: Sallus, Phelucta Phallita.

And the sons of Tubal: Phanatonova, Eteva.

And the sons of Tyras: Maac, Tabel, Ballana, Samplameac, Elaz.

And the sons of Mellech: Amboradat, Urach, Bosara.

And the sons of <<As>>cenez: Jubal, Zaraddana, Anac.

And the sons of Heri: Phuddet, Doad, Dephadzeat, Enoc.

And the sons of Togorma: Abiud, Saphath, Asapli, Zepthir.

And the sons of Elisa: Etzaac, Zenez, Mastisa, Rira.

And the sons of Zepti: Macziel, Temna, Aela, Phinon.

And the sons of Tessis: Meccul, Loon, Zelataban.

And the sons of Duodennin: Itheb, Beath, Phenech. Gen. 10:2

3. And these are they that were scattered abroad, and dwelt in the earth with the Persians and Medes, and in the islands that are in the sea. And Phenech, the son of Dudeni, went up and commanded that ships of the sea should be made: and then was the third part of the earth divided.

4. Domereth and his sons took Ladech; and Magog and his sons took Degal; Madam and his sons took Besto; Iuban (sc. Javan) and his sons took Ceel; Tubal and his sons took Pheed; Misech and his sons took Nepthi; <<T>>iras and his sons took <<Rôô>>; Duodennut and his sons took Goda; Riphath and his sons took Bosarra; Torgoma and his sons took Fud; Elisa and his sons took Thabola; Thesis (sc. Tarshish) and his sons took Marecham; Cethim and his sons took Thaan; Dudennin and his sons took Caruba.

5. And then began they to till the earth and to sow upon it: and when the earth was athirst, the dwellers therein cried unto the Lord and he heard them and gave rain abundantly, and it was so, when the rain descended upon the earth, that the bow appeared in the cloud, and the dwellers upon earth saw the memorial of the covenant and fell upon their faces and sacrificed, offering burnt offerings unto the Lord.

6. Now the sons of Cham were Chus, Mestra, and Phuni, and Chanaan.

And the sons of Chus: Saba, and . . . Tudan.

And the sons of Phuni: [Effuntenus], Zeleutelup, Geluc, Lephuc.

And the sons of Chanaan were Sydona, Endain, Racin, Simmin, Uruin, Nenugin, Amathin, Nephiti, Telaz, Elat, Cusin. Gen. 10:6

7. And Chus begat Nembroth. He began to be proud before the Lord.Gen. 10:8

But Mestram begat Ludin and Megimin and Labin and Latuin and Petrosonoin and Ceslun: thence came forth the Philistines and the Cappadocians. Gen. 10:13, 10:14

8. And then did they also begin to build cities: and these are the cities which they built: Sydon, and the parts that lie about it, that is Resun, Beosa, Maza, Gerara, Ascalon, Dabir, Camo, Tellun, Lacis, Sodom and Gomorra, Adama and Seboim.

9. And the sons of Sem: Elam, Assur, Arphaxa, Luzi, Aram. And the sons of Aram: Gedrum, Ese. And Arphaxa begat Sale, Sale begat Heber, and unto Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phalech, for in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother was Jectan. Gen. 10:22

10. And Jectan begat Helmadam and Salastra and Mazaam, Rea, Dura, Uzia, Deglabal, Mimoel, Sabthphin, Evilac, Iubab. And the sons of Phalech: Ragau, Rephuth, Zepheram, Aculon, Sachar, Siphaz, Nabi, Suri, Seciur, Phalacus, Rapho, Phalthia, Zaldephal, Zaphis, and Arteman, Heliphas. These are the sons of Phalech, and these are their names, and they took them wives of the daughters of Jectan and begat sons and daughters and filled the earth. Gen. 11:18

11. But Ragau took him to wife Melcha the daughter of Ruth, and she begat him Seruch. And when the day of her delivery came she said: Of this child shall be born in the fourth generation one who shall set his dwelling on high, and shall be called perfect, and undefiled, and he shall be the father of nations, and his covenant shall not be broken, and his seed shall be multiplied for ever.

12. And Ragau lived after he begat Seruch 119 years and begat 7 sons and 5 daughters. And these are the names of his sons: Abiel, Obed, Salma, Dedasal, Zeneza, Accur, Nephes. And these are the names of his daughters: Cedema, Derisa, Seipha, Pherita, Theila. Gen. 11:21

13. And Seruch lived 29 years and begat Nachor. And Seruch lived after he begat Nachor 67 years and begat 4 sons and 3 daughters. And these are the names of the males: Zela, Zoba, Dica and Phodde. And these are his daughters: Tephila, Oda, Selipha.

14. And Nachor lived 34 years and begat Thara. And Nachor lived after he begat Thara 200 years and begat 8 sons and 5 daughters. And these are the names of the males: Recap, Dediap, Berechap, Iosac, Sithal, Nisab, Nadab, Camoel. And these are his daughters: Esca, Thipha, Bruna, Ceneta.

15. And Thara lived 70 years and begat Abram, Nachor, and Aram. And Aram begat Loth.

16. 1 Then began they that dwelt on the earth to look upon the stars, and began to prognosticate by them and to make divination, and to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire. But Seruch and his sons walked not according to them.

17. And these are the generations of Noe upon the earth according to their languages and their tribes, out of whom the nations were divided upon the earth after the flood.


Footnotes

82:2 IV. The variants in the forms and divisions of the names are many. In the Appendix on Readings I have pointed out the Biblical equivalents. It is obvious that some names and words have dropped out of Philo. In the translation I have introduced very few corrections.
86:1 IV. 16. As is noted in the Introduction, this verse contradicts Jubilees on the subject of Serug, and implicitly rejects the story that Terah, Abraham's father, was an idolater.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, Chapter 3

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


CHAPTER III.

III. And it came to pass when men had begun to multiply on the earth, that beautiful daughters were born unto them. And the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were exceeding fair, and took them wives of all that they had chosen. Gen. 6:1

2. 1 And God said: My spirit shall not judge among these men for ever, because they are of flesh; but their years shall be 120. Upon whom he laid (or wherein I have set) the ends of the world, and in their hands wickednesses were not put out (or the law shall not be quenched). Gen. 6:5

3. And God saw that in all the dwellers upon earth works of evil were fulfilled: and inasmuch as their thought was upon iniquity all their days, God said: I will blot out man and all things that have budded upon the earth, for it repenteth me that I have made him.

4. But Noe found grace and mercy before theLord, and these are his generations. Noe, which was a righteous man and undefiled in his generation,

Gen. 6:13pleased the Lord. Unto whom God said: The time of all men that dwell upon the earth is come, for their deeds are very evil. And now make thee an ark of cedar wood, and thus shalt thou make it. 300 cubits shall be the length thereof,

Gen. 6:18and 50 cubits the breadth, and 30 cubits the height. And thou shall enter into the ark, thou and thy wife and thy sons and thy sons' wives with thee. And I will make my covenant with thee, to destroy all the dwellers upon earth. Gen. 7:2-4Now of clean beasts and of the fowls of the heaven that are clean thou shalt take by sevens male and female, that their seed may be saved alive upon the earth. But of unclean beasts and fowls thou shalt take to thee by twos male and female, Gen. 6:21and shalt take provision for thee and for them also.

Gen. 7:5, 7:7

5. And Noe did that which God commanded him and entered into the ark, he and all his sons with him.

Gen. 7:10And it came to pass after 7 days that the water of the flood began to be upon the earth. Gen. 7:11And in that day all the depths were opened and the great spring of water and the windows of heaven, and there was rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights.

6. And it was then the 1652nd(1656th) year from the time when God had made the heaven and the earth in the day when the earth was corrupted with the inhabiters thereof by reason of the iniquity of their works.

7. And when the flood continued 140 days upon the earth, Noe only and they that were with him in the ark remained alive: and when God remembered Noe, he made the water to diminish. Gen. 8:16

8. And it came to pass on the 90thday that God dried the earth, and said unto Noe: Go out of the ark, thou and all that are with thee, and grow and multiply upon the earth. And Noe went out of the ark, he an d his sons and his sons' wives, and all the beasts and creeping things and fowls and cattle brought he forth with him as God commanded him. Then built Noe an altar unto the Lord, and took of all the cattle and of the clean fowls and offered burnt offerings on the altar: and it was accepted of the Lord for a savour of rest. Gen. 8:21

9. And God said: I will not again curse the earth for man's sake, for the guise of man's heart hath left off 1 from his youth. And therefore I will not again destroy together all living as I have done. But it shall be, when the dwellers upon earth have sinned, I will judge them by famine or by the sword or by fire or by pestilence (lit. death), and there shall be earthquakes, and they shall be scattered into places not inhabited (or, the places of their habitation shall be scattered). But I will not again spoil the earth with the water of a flood, and in all the days of the earth seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and autumn, day and night shall not cease, until I remember them that dwell on the earth, even until the times are fulfilled.

Gen. 8:22

10. 2 But when the years of the world shall be fulfilled, then shall the light cease and the darkness be quenched: and I will quicken the dead and raise up from the earth them that sleep: and Hell shall pay his debt and destruction give back that which was committed unto him, that I may render unto every man according to his works and according to the fruit of their imaginations, even until I judge between the soul and the flesh. And the world shall rest, and death shall be quenched, and Hell shall shut his mouth. And the earth shall not be without birth, neither barren for them that dwell therein: and none shall be polluted that hath been justified in me 1 . And there shall be another earth and another heaven, even an everlasting habitation.

Gen. 9:8

11. And the Lord spake further unto Noe and to his sons saying: Behold I will make my covenant with you and with your seed after you, and will not again spoil the earth with the water of a flood. Gen. 9:2And all that liveth and moveth therein shall be to you for meal. Nevertheless the flesh with the blood of the soul shall ye not eat. For he that sheddeth man's blood, his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God was man made. And ye, grow ye and multiply and fill the earth as the multitude of fishes that multiply in the waters.

Gen. 9:12And God said: This is the covenant that I have made betwixt me and you; and it shall be when I cover the heaven with clouds, that my bow shall appear in the cloud, and it shall be for a memorial of the covenant betwixt me and you, and all the dwellers upon earth.


Footnotes

79:1 III. 2. fin. See the variants, which are difficult to explain. If the reading et in manibus eorum scelera non extinguebantur is right, the clause would be better placed after opera malignitatum in the next verse. "And God saw that in all the inhabiters of the earth works of wickedness were fulfilled, and in their hands," etc. I have preferred the other reading, the whole sentence will then refer to the new race who are to arise after the Flood, and especially to Moses (see IX. 8 fin.): the last preceding words ("their years shall be 120") do certainly apply to them and to him. The antediluvians are to perish utterly. See on XVI. 3.
81:1 9. the guise of man's heart hath left off (figura cordis hominis desiit: Cohn suggests desipit) "ὁ Ἑβραῖοσ" (ap. Euseb. Emis. in Catena: see Field's Hexapla in loc.) has τὸ πλάσμα τῆσ καρδίασ ἀνθρώπου.
81:2 10. This is the first really characteristic passage.
82:1 that hath been justified in me. The word occurs in XLIX. 45 "Is Armathem iustificata more than all the cities of Israel?" and in LI. 2.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, Chapter 2

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


CHAPTER II.

1. But Cain dwelt in the earth trembling, according as God appointed unto him after he slew Abel his brother; and the name of his wife was Themech. Gen. 4:14

2. And Cain knew Themech his wife and she conceived and bare Enoch. Gen. 4:17

3. 1 Now Cain was 15 years old when he did these things; and from that time he began to build cities, until he had founded seven cities. And these are the names of the cities: The name of the first city according to the name of his son Enoch. The name of the second city Mauli, and of the third Leeth, and the name of the fourth Teze, and the name of the fifth Iesca; the name of the sixth Celeth, and the name of the seventh Iebbath. Gen. 4:17

4. And Cain lived after he begat Enoch 715 years and begat 3 sons and 2 daughters. And these are the names of his sons: Olad, Lizaph, Fosal; and of his daughters, Citha and Maac. And all the days of Cain were 730 years, and he died.

5. 1 Then took Enoch a wife of the daughters of Seth, which bare him Ciram and Cuuth and Madab. But Ciram begat Matusael, and Matusael begat Lamech. Gen. 4:19

6. But Lamech took unto himself two wives: the name of the one was Ada and the name of the other Sella. Gen. 4:21

7. And Ada bare him Iobab: he was the father of all that dwell in tents and herd flocks. And again she bare him Iobal, which was the first to teach all playing of instruments (lit. every psalm of organs).

8. 2 And at that time, when they that dwelt on the earth had begun to do evil, every one with his neighbour's wife, defiling them, God was angry. And he began to play upon the lute (kinnor) and the harp and on every instrument of sweet psalmody (lit. psaltery), and to corrupt the earth. Gen. 4:22

9. But Sella bare Tubal and Misa and Theffa, and this is that Tubal which showed unto men arts in lead and tin and iron and copper and silver and gold: and then began the inhabiters of the earth to make graven images and to worship them.

10. 3 Now Lamech said unto his two wives Adaand Sella: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, give heed to my precept: for I have corrupted men for myself, and have taken away sucklings from the breasts, that I might show my sons how to work evil, and the inhabiters of the earth. And now shall vengeance be taken seven times of Cain, but of Lamech seventy times seven.


Footnotes

77:1 II. 3. The names of Cain's cities, except the first, do not occur elsewhere.
78:1 5. Jerahmeel says that Enoch, son of Cain, took Niba, daughter of Shem, to wife. His source is unknown to me.
78:2 8. See the Appendix on Readings.
78:3 10. Jubilees does not speak of this Lamech. The turn here given to his "song" suggests that his offence was against morality; this view is found elsewhere.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, Chapter 1

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


OR THE HISTORY OF PHILO FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO KING DAVID

CHAPTER I.

I. 1 The beginning of the world. Adam begat three sons and one daughter, Cain, Noaba, Abel and Seth.

2. And Adam lived after he begat Seth 700 years, and begat 12 sons and 8 daughters. Gen. 5:4

3. And these are the names of the males: Eliseel, Suris, Elamiel, Brabal, Naat, Zarama, Zasam, Maathal, and Anath.

4. And these are his daughters: Phua, Iectas, Arebica, Sifa, Tecia, Saba, Asin. Gen. 5:7

5. And Seth lived 105 years and begat Enos. And Seth lived after he begat Enos 707 years, and begat 3 sons and 2 daughters.

6. And these are the names of his sons: Elidia, Phonna, and Matha: and of his daughters, Malida and Thila. Gen. 5:9, 5:10

7. And Enos lived 180 years and begat Cainan. And Enos lived after he begat Cainan 715 years, and begat 2 sons and a daughter.

8. And these are the names of his sons: Phoë and Thaal; and of the daughter, Catennath. Gen. 5:12, 5:13

9. And Cainan lived 520 years and begat Malalech. And Cainan lived after he begat Malalech 730 years, and begat 3 sons and 2 daughters.

10. And these are the names of the males: Athach, Socer, Lopha: and the names of the daughters, Ana and Leua. Gen. 5:15, 5:16

11. And Malalech lived 165 years and begat Jareth. And Malalech lived after he begat Jareth 730 years, and begat 7 sons and 5 daughters.

12. And these are the names of the males: Leta, Matha, Cethar, Melie, Suriel, Lodo, Othim. And these are the names of the daughters: Ada and Noa, Iebal, Mada, Sella. Gen. 5:18, 5:19

13. And Jareth lived 172 years and begat Enoch. And Jareth lived after he begat Enoch 800 years and begat 4 sons and 2 daughters.

14. And these are the names of the males: Lead, Anac, Soboac and Iectar: and of the daughters, Tetzeco, Lesse. Gen. 5:22, 5:23

15. And Enoch lived 165 years and begat Matusalam. And Enoch lived after he begat Matusalam 200 years, and begat 5 sons and 3 daughters.

16. But Enoch pleased God at that time and was not found, for God translated him. Gen. 5:24

17. Now the names of his sons are: Anaz, Zeum, Achaun, Pheledi, Elith; and of the daughters, Theiz, Lefith, Leath.

18. And Mathusalam lived 187 years and begot Lamech. And Mathusalam lived after he begat Lamech 782 years, and begot 2 sons and 2 daughters. Gen. 5:25, 5:26

19. And these are the names of the males: Inab and Rapho; and of the daughters, Aluma and Amuga.

20. And Lamech lived 182 years and begot a son, and called him according to his nativity Noe, saying: This child will give rest to us and to the earth from those who are therein, upon whom (or in the day when) a visitation shall be made because of the iniquity of their evil deeds. Gen. 5:28, 5:29

21. And Lamech lived after he begot Noe 585 years. Gen. 5:30

22. And Noe lived 300 years and begot 3 sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. Gen.5:32, 6:20


Footnotes

75:1 I. 1. Initium mundi appears to be the best reading. It is perhaps in the nature of a title: the proper LXX name for Genesis is γένεσισ κόσμου.

1., etc. It will be observed that almost all the names of sons and all those of daughters are imaginary. They do not agree with other legendary names, e.g. those of Jubilees. For the rest, the first three chapters are to a very large extent simply copied from Genesis iv-xi.

The spelling of the names is very uncertain in many cases. Where "ph" occurs, it is very often substituted by Sichardus for "f" in the MSS.; but of course the "f" must represent a φ, seeing that the text has come to us through Greek. I have therefore allowed "ph" to stand.

The chronology, according to Dr. Colin, was originally that of the Hebrew text, but has been to some extent modified by reference to the LXX. The Hebrew numbers (from Adam to the Flood) add up to 1656, those of the LXX to 2262, those of Philo to 2256; but Philo says (III. 6) that the Flood was in the 1652nd year of the world, which only requires the change of secundus to sextus to make it agree exactly with the Hebrew.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, ADDITIONAL NOTE

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


ADDITIONAL NOTE.

A passage in Origen On Romans (IV. 12, p. 646) deserves to be quoted as being very much in the manner of Philo. "We have found," he says, "in a certain apocryphal book (in quodam secretiore libello) mention of an angel of grace who takes his name from grace, being called Ananchel, i.e. the grace of God: and the writing in question says that this angel was sent by God to Esther to give her favour in the sight of the king." just so in Philo appropriate angels are sent to Kenaz and to David and intervene to save the victims of Jair. I think it worth suggesting that the story of Esther found a place in Philo, and that this was the secretior libellus to which Origen refers.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, 13. SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


13. SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

I. Genealogy from Adam to Noah, with the names of the sons and daughters of the early patriarchs.

II. Genealogy from Cain to Lamech; the names of Cain's cities, short accounts of Jubal and Tubal, and the song of Lamech.

III. The Flood and the covenant with Noah, mainly in the words of Genesis, but with the addition of two important speeches of God.

IV. The descendants of Shem, Ham and Japhet, and the territories occupied by them. The genealogy continued to Abraham. In this occur accounts of the first appearing of the rainbow, the prophecy of Milcah, and the beginning of divination.

V. The review and census of the descendants of Noah.

VI. The Tower of Babel begun. Abraham's rescue from the fire.

VII. Destruction of the Tower, and dispersion of the builders.

VIII. The genealogy from Abraham to the going down into Egypt. The names of Job's children.

IX. The oppression in Egypt. Amram refuses to separate from his wife. Miriam's vision. The birth of Moses.

X. The plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea. Israel in the desert.

XI. The giving of the Law. The Decalogue.

XII. The Golden Calf.

XIII. The Tabernacle, and the institution of certain Feasts.

XIV. The numbering of the people.

XV. The spies.

XVI. Korah.

XVII. Aaron's Rod.

XVIII. Balaam.

XIX. The farewell and death of Moses.

XX. Joshua succeeds him. The spies sent to Jericho. Withdrawal of the manna, pillar of cloud, and fountain.

XXI. Joshua warned of his end: his prayer: he writes the Law upon stones and builds an altar.

XXII. The altar built by the tribes beyond Jordan. The sanctuary at Shiloh.

XXIII. Joshua's last speech, with the story of Abraham's vision and of the giving of the Law.

XXIV. His farewell and death.

XXV. Kenaz (Cenez) elected ruler by lot. Detection by the lot of sinners among the tribes. Their confessions: account of the Amorite idols.

XXVI. God directs the disposal of the accursed objects: the sinners are burned.

The commands of God are carried out: account of the twelve precious stones.

XXVII. Kenaz's victory, single-handed, over the Amorites.

XXVIII. His last days: the speech of Phinehas: vision and death of Kenaz.

XXIX. Zebul succeeds: an inheritance given to the daughters of Kenaz: a sacred treasury founded: death of Zebul.

XXX. Israel oppressed by Sisera. Deborah's speech.

XXXI. The stars fight against Sisera: his death.

XXXII. Deborah's hymn, with the description of the sacrifice of Isaac and the giving of the Law.

XXXIII. Last words and death of Deborah.

XXXIV. Aod, the wizard of Midian, seduces Israel by his sorceries.

XXXV. The call of Gideon.

XXXVI. He defeats Midian: his sin and death.

XXXVII. Abimelech succeeds. [Gap in the text.] Parable of the trees. Death of Abimelech. [Gap in the text.]

XXXVIII. Jair apostatizes and is destroyed by fire.

XXXIX. Israel oppressed by Ammon. Jephthah is persuaded to help. His negotiations with Getal, King of Ammon: his vow: God's anger.

XL. Seila, Jephthah's daughter: her readiness to die: her lamentation and death. Death of Jephthah.

XLI. The Judges Abdon (Addo) and Elon.

XLII. Manoah and his wife Eluma. Samson promised.

XLIII. Birth, exploits and death of Samson.

XLIV. Micah and his mother Dedila. The idols described. God's anger.

XLV. The Levite Bethac at Nob. The Benjamite outrage.

XLVI. Israel attacks Benjamin and is thrice defeated. Prayer of Phinehas.

XLVII. Parable of the Lion, spoken by God in answer to Phinehas. Benjamin is defeated: names of the surviving chiefs. Death of Micah.

XLVIII. Departure of Phinehas from among men. Wives are found for the Benjamites. Conclusion of the period of the Judges.

XLIX. Israel is at a loss for a ruler. Lots are cast in vain. Advice of Nethez. The lot falls on Elkanah, who refuses to be ruler. God promises Samuel.

L. Peninnah's reproaches to Hannah: Hannah's prayer.

LI. Birth of Samuel: hymn of Hannah.

LII. Sin of Hophni and Phinehas. Eli rebukes them, their refusal to repent.

LIII. Call of Samuel: Eli's submission to God's will.

LIV. The ark captured by the Philistines: Saul brings the news. Death of Eli and of his daughter-in-law.

LV. Grief of Samuel. The ark and Dagon: the Philistines plagued: they take counsel as to the return of the ark: it is sent back.

LVI. The people ask for a king, prematurely. Saul comes to Samuel.

LVII. Samuel presents him to the people and he is made king.

LVIII. He is sent against Amalek, and spares Agag. Agag is slain, after begetting a son who is to be Saul's slayer.

LIX. Samuel anoints David: David's psalm: the lion and the bear.

LX. Saul oppressed by an evil spirit: David's song.

LXI. David's first victory, over Midian. Goliath defies Israel: David slays him (story of Orpah and Ruth).

LXII. Saul's envy of David. David's parting with Jonathan: their farewell speeches and covenant.

LXIII. The priests of Nob slain: God's sentence against Doeg. Death of Samuel.

LXIV. Saul expels the sorcerers to make a name for himself: God's anger. The Philistines invade: Saul goes to Sedecla, the witch of Endor. Appearance and speech of Samuel.

LXV. Defeat of Saul: he summons the Amalekite (Edab, son of Agag) to kill him. The text ends abruptly in the midst of a message from Saul to David.

There is more than one plausible way of dividing the book into episodes. The simplest is this--

1. Adam to the descent into Egypt, cc. I.-VIII.

2. Moses, IX.-XIX.

3. Joshua, XX.-XXIV.

4. The judges, XXV.-XLVIII.

5. Samuel, Saul and David, XLIV-LXV.

A more elaborate subdivision would be-

Adam to Lamech, I.-II.
Noah and his descendants, III.-V.
Abraham to the death of Joseph, VI.-VIII.
The life of Moses, IX.-XIX.
Joshua, XX.-XXIV.
The Judges, the chief figures being--

Kenaz, XXV.-XXVIII.
Zebul, XXIX.
Deborah, XXX.-XXXIII.
Aod, XXXIV.
Gideon, XXXV.-XXXVI.
Jair, XXXVIII.
Jephthah, XXXIX.-XL.
Abdon, Elon, XLI.
Samson, XLII.-XLIII.

The events of the last chapters of the Book of Judges, XLIV.-XLVIII.
Life of Samuel, to the return of the ark, XLIX.-LV.
Saul's career, LVI.-LXV., David entering upon the scene in LIX.

A third and more artificial method of division (which is followed to some extent by the MS. R) is into portions corresponding to the Biblical books, viz.--

Genesis, I.-VIII.
Exodus, IX.-XIII.
Leviticus, part of XIII.
Numbers, XIV.-XVIII.
Deuteronomy, XIX.
Joshua, XX.-XXIV.
Judges, XXV.-XLVIII.
1 Samuel, XLIX.-LXV.

The space allotted to the period of the Judges emerges as the striking feature. It is rather greater than that given to the Pentateuch and Joshua, and more than double the share of 1 Samuel. And of it almost a third part is devoted to the doings of a person practically unknown to the Bible, namely, Kenaz.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, 12. CONCLUSION. CHARACTER OF THE PRESENT EDITION

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


12. CONCLUSION. CHARACTER OF THE PRESENT EDITION.

12. I fear that we cannot regard the writer of Philo as a man of very lofty mind or of great literary talent. He has some imagination, and is sensible of the majesty of the Old Testament literature, but he has not the insight, the power, or the earnestness of the author of 4 Esdras, nor again the ethical perception of him who wrote the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. From this point of view the obscurity which has hung over his book is not undeserved. Nevertheless it is a source by no means to be neglected by the student of Christian origins and of Jewish thought, and for that reason I have suggested that it should find a place in this series of translations.

I hope that the pretensions of this edition will not be misconceived. It is not a critical edition in the sense that it presents all the variants of all the authorities and lays the whole body of evidence before the reader. Such a presentation would only be possible if the text as well as the translation were included in this volume. (I do not myself, let me say in passing, believe that the result of a complete statement of various readings would differ very importantly from what the reader now has before him, seeing that the text depends upon a single thread of tradition.) Nor, again, will every available illustrative passage be found in such notes as I have written on the subject matter in Rabbinic literature especially it should be possible to find many more parallels. Notes of a linguistic kind, too, are out of place where a translation only is in question. Neither has every Biblical allusion been marked: as a rule, the reader who knows his Bible will easily recognize the phrases which the author weaves together often deftly enough. Besides these omissions, larger problems remain unsolved. There are not a few unhealed places in the text, and there are some whole episodes of which the bearing is very obscure.

On the other hand, I may claim that account has here been taken for the first time of a fairly representative selection of the authorities for the text, and that the relation of the book to some, at least, of its fellows has been elucidated; and I hope that the translation, in which I have followed as closely as possible the language of the Authorised Version (though I have kept the Latin forms of the proper names), may be found readable.

I have, further, provided a means of referring to passages in the text by a division into chapters and verses, or sections, which I think must prove useful. Something of the kind was much needed, for it has hitherto only been possible to cite by the pages of one or other of the sixteenth-century editions. My division is of course applicable to any future edition.

The present volume is, then, a step in the direction of a critical edition, but only a step. Like the first editor, Sichardus, I recognize its defects (or some of them) and should welcome the opportunity, if it ever came, of producing an improved form of the original text. As it is the kindness of the Society under whose auspices the book appears allows me to include in it a selection of the most important readings and some particulars of the Latinity of the original. For this indulgence my readers, as well as myself, will assuredly be grateful.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, 10. RELATION TO OTHER LITERATURE

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

[1917]


10. RELATION TO OTHER LITERATURE.

10. THE RELATION OF PHILO TO OTHER BOOKS now comes up for consideration. The author's knowledge of the Old Testament literature is apparent on every page. There are obvious borrowings from all the books to the end of 2 Kings; of Chronicles he seems to be a definite imitator. He knows the story of job, and quotes a Psalm; he draws from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. With the Wisdom literature he has not much in common, and traces of the use of the Minor Prophets, of Ezra, Nehemiah, or Tobit, are hard to find, though I will not deny their presence. 1 If he lived, as I believe he did, near the end of the first century, we should naturally credit him with a knowledge of the whole Jewish canon.

It is more important to determine his relation to the apocryphal books--the literature to which he was himself a contributor. Four of these, Enoch, Jubilees, the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Fourth Book of Esdras, afford interesting material.

(a) Certain affinities with the Book of Enoch are traceable in Philo. It is true that Enoch is not one of his heroes; in fact, he tells us no more of him than is found in Genesis, but I believe that the Book was known to him, though it is only in the first part of it that I find any striking parallels.

In the first place, his view of the stars and other heavenly bodies is like that of Enoch. They are sentient beings, who receive commands from God and move about to execute them. See the story of Sisera, and the hymn of Deborah, and compare in Enoch 6, etc., the punishment of the errant stars.

Again, a passage in Enoch (148) seems to be the model of some in Philo. "Behold, clouds called me in my vision, and mists cried to me, and runnings of stars and lightnings hastened me, and in the vision winds gave me wings and lifted me up." Compare Philo XI. 5: "The heavens were folded up, and the clouds drew up water . . . and the thunders and lightnings were multiplied, and the winds and tempests sounded; the stars were gathered together, and the angels ran before " (XIII. 7); "the winds shall sound and the lightnings run on," etc. (XV. 2); "the lightnings of the stars shone, and the thunders followed, sounding with them" (XXXII. 7); "the lightnings hasted to their courses, and the winds gave a sound out of their storehouses," etc. The phrase in Enoch 14 8, 10, 11is διαδρομαὶ ἀστέρων καὶ ἀστραπαί. In 161we have ὁ αἰὼν ὁ μέγασ, which may be the source of the immensurabilis mundus (seculum tempus) of Philo IX. 3, XXXII. 3, XXXIV. 2.

In Enoch 173, τόξον πυρὸσ καὶ βέλη. Philo XIX. 16, praecedebant eum fulgura et lampades et sagittae omnes unanimes.

Enoch 181, Εῖ᾽δον τοὺσ θησαυροὺσ τῶν ἀνέμων; cf. Philo XXXII. 7, above. The winds gave a sound out of their storehouses (promptuariis).

In Enoch 186seq. we hear something of precious stones which reminds us of those of Kenaz in Philo XXVI. seq.

The words of 212: "I saw neither heaven above nor earth founded, but a place imperfect and terrible" recall the vision of Kenaz in Philo XXVIII. 6 seq.

So also the description of the sweet plants of Paradise in Enoch 24 may have suggested the words of Moses in Philo XII. 9.

In Enoch 252"to Visit the earth" has more than one parallel in Philo, e. g. XIX. 12, 13, visitare seculum, orbem: and Enoch 257(Then I blessed the God of glory . . . who hath prepared such things for righteous men, etc.) is like Philo XXVI. 6: Blessed be God who hath wrought such signs for the sons of men, and 14: Lo, how great good things God hath wrought for men.

(b) The Book of Jubilees is perhaps most nearly comparable to Philo, in that it follows the form of a chronicle of Bible history. Its spirit and plan are, to be sure, wholly different; it is regulated by a strict system of chronology, and its chief interest is in the ceremonial law. It is also far earlier in date, belonging to the last years of the second century B.C.

Our author has read Jubilees, and to a certain extent supplements it in the portions which are common to both books. Thus Jubilees supplies us with the names of the wives of the early patriarchs: Philo omits these, but gives the names of their sons and daughters. It is true that he gives other names for the daughters of Adam, and that in the one case in which he supplies the name of a wife he also differs from Jubilees: with him Cain's wife is Themech, in Jubilees it is Aw (daughter of Adam and sister of Cain, which Philo may have wished to disguise). In the same way Philo devotes much space to the names and number of the grandsons of Noah and their families, which are wanting in Jubilees; and whereas Jubilees gives full geographical details of the provinces which fell to Shem, Ham and Japhet, Philo indulges only in a series of bare names of places, now for the most part hopelessly corrupt. There is a small and seemingly intentional contradiction of Jubilees in this part of his history: Jubilees 118, says that Serug taught Nahor to divine, and worshipped idols. Philo agrees that divination began in the days of Terah and Nahor, but adds that Serug and his sons did not join in it, or in idolatry.

Then, whereas the bulk of Jubilees is occupied with the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Philo tells in detail one episode--the rescue of Abram from the fire--which Jubilees omits, and passes over the rest of the period in a single page. Anything else that he has to say about Abraham and the rest is introduced into the speeches of later personages (Joshua, Deborah, etc.) by way of illustration. The two books agree in giving the names of the seventy souls who went down into Egypt.

All this seems to me to show a consciousness of Jubilees, and an intentional avoidance, in the main, of the ground traversed by that book. Very rarely is there any coincidence of thought, but two possible examples can be cited. Philo has surprisingly little to say about Satan or evil spirits, as we have seen: but suddenly (in XLV. 6) he says: Et dixit Dominus ad anticiminum: And the Lord said to the Adversary. This must surely be the equivalent of the "prince Mastema" whom we meet so frequently in Jubilees. There is also a difficult passage (XIII. 8) which may go back to Jubilees. God is speaking to Moses, and says: "And the nights shall yield their dew, as I spake after the flood of the earth, at that time when I commanded him (or Then he commanded him) concerning the year of the life of Noah, and said to him: These are the years which I ordained," etc. The words, which may be corrupt, at least remind me of the stress laid in Jubilees 6, upon the yearly feast that is to be kept by Noah after the Flood.

Upon the whole Philo's knowledge of Jubilees is to be inferred rather from what he does not say than from what he does.

(c) The Syriac APOCALYPSE OF BARUCH has, as I have elsewhere shown (JTS 1915, 403), certain very marked resemblances to Philo. It will be right to repeat and expand the list of them here. We will take the passages in the order in which they appear in the Apocalypse, in Dr. R. H. Charles's last translation (Pseudepigrapha of O.T.).

Bar. IV. 3. The building now built in your midst is not that which is revealed with Me, that which was prepared beforehand here from the time when I took counsel to make Paradise and shewed it to Adam before he sinned, but when he transgressed the commandment it was removed from him, as also Paradise.

Ph. XIII. 8. And he said: This is the place which I showed the first-made man, saying: If thou transgress not that which I have commanded thee, all things shall be subject unto thee. But he transgressed my ways. . . . And the Lord further shewed him (Moses) the ways of Paradise, and said to him: These are the ways which men have lost because they walked not in them.

XXVI. 6. Kenaz says: Blessed be God who hath wrought such marvels for the sons of men, and made the protoplast Adam and shewed him all things, that when Adam had sinned therein, then, he should deprive him of all things . . .

IV. 4. And after these things I shewed it to my servant Abraham by night among the portions of the victims.

XXIII. 6. (of Abraham) And sent a sleep upon him and compassed him about with fear, and set before him the place of fire wherein the deeds of them that work wickedness against me shall be expiated, etc.

IV. 5. And again also I shewed it to Moses on Mount Sinai when I shewed to him the likeness of the tabernacle and all its vessels.

XI. 15. (on Sinai) He charged him concerning the tabernacle and the ark . . . and the candlesticks and the laver and the base, and the breastplate and the oracle and the precious stones, and shewed him the likeness of them.

XIX. 10. (on Pisgah) He shewed him the place whence the manna rained upon the people, even up to the paths of paradise; and he shewed him the manner of the sanctuary and the number of the offerings ... (See also XIII. 8 above.)

V. 5. Jabish, an unknown person, summoned with others by Baruch. XXVIII. 1. Kenaz summons the prophets Jabis and Phinees. VI. 7. The forty-eight precious stones. See below, p. 64. X. Baruch's lamentation generally resembles that of Jephthah's daughter. XL. 5. X. 11. And do ye, O heavens, withhold your dew and open not the treasures of rain. XLIV. 10. I will command the heaven, and it shall deny them rain. XI. 9. I will command the heaven, and it shall give its rain. XIII. 7. The nights shall yield their dew. XXIII. 12. I will command the rain and the dew. XXXII. 7. the storehouses of the wind. XV. 5. the treasuries of darkness. XI. 4. The righteous sleep in the earth in tranquillity. III. 10. I will raise up them that sleep from the earth. XXI. 24. Abraham, etc., who sleep in the earth. XI. 6. I will recompense the sins of them that sleep. XIX. 12. I will raise up thee and thy fathers from the earth (of Egypt intrusive) wherein ye shall sleep. XXXV. 3. because of them that are fallen asleep. LI. 5. when the righteous shall fall asleep, then shall they be delivered. XI. 6, 7. That ye might go and announce in Sheol and say to the dead: Blessed are ye more than we who live. XXIV. 6. Who shall go and tell the righteous Moses (that Joshua is dead)? XXXI. 7. (To Sisera) Go and boast thyself to thy father in hell. XXXII. 13. Go, ye angels, tell the fathers in the treasuries of souls. LXI. 6. (To Goliath) then shall ye tell your mother (after death). XV. 5. Unless he had accepted my law. Emphasized in XLIV. 6 seq. (Cf. XI. 2). XVII. 4. brought the law to the seed of Jacob and lighted a lamp for the nation of Israel (cf. LIX.). IX. 8. I will light for (Moses) my lamp. XV. 6. I came down to light a lamp for my people. LIX. 2. the lamp of the eternal law. XIX. 4. kindling among you an eternal lamp. Besides repeated references to the Law as a light. XIX. 1. (Moses) called heaven and earth to witness against them; also LXXXIV. 2. Occurs 4 times, of Moses (twice), Joshua, Jonathan. XX. 1. The times shall hasten more than the former, and the seasons shall speed on . . . the years shall pass more quickly. LIV. 1. Thou dost hasten the beginnings of the times. LXXXIII. 1. The most High will assuredly hasten his times and . . . bring on his hours. XIX. 13. When I shall draw near to visit the world, I will command the times and they shall be shortened, and the stars shall be hastened, and the light of the sun shall make haste to set, etc. XX. 2. That I may the more speedily visit the world in its season. XIX. 12. Until I visit the world. (See also III. 10, XXVI. 12, XLVIII. 1.) XXI. 23. Let Sheol be sealed, so that from this time forward it may not receive the dead, and let the treasuries of souls restore those which are enclosed in them (Cf. XXX. 2). III. 10. Hell shall pay its debt and destruction restore its deposit . . . hell shall shut its mouth. XXXIII. 3. Death is now sealed up. XLII. 7, 8. the dust shall be called, and there shall be said to it: Give back that which is not thine, and raise up all that thou hast kept until this time (cf. L. 2). Hell will not restore its deposit unless it be required of him who gave it. XXI. 9. our fathers in the hidden places of souls. XXXII. 13. the fathers in the treasuries of their souls. XXV. 4. The Mighty one doth no longer remember the earth. XXVIII. 2. The measure and reckoning of that time are two parts a week of seven weeks. XXVI. 13. until I remember the world. The phrase occurs at least five times. (See the Note on Ph. XIX. 15.) XXIX. 8. the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high. XIX. 10. the place whence the manna rained upon the people. XXX. 4. the souls of the wicked . . . shall then waste away the more. XVI. 3. Korah shall pine away until I remember the world. XLIV. Micah's mother is to waste away in his sight. So also Doeg LXIII. 4. XLIV. 15. the dwelling of the rest who are many shall be in the fire. XXXVIII. 4. (of Jair) in the fire wherein thou shalt die, therein shalt thou have thy dwelling-place. LXIV. 7. (Manasseh) finally his abode was in the fire. LXIII. 4. (of Doeg) his dwelling shall be with Jair in unquenchable fire for ever. L. 3, 4. it will be necessary to show to the living that the dead have come to life again . . . and . . . when they have severally recognized those whom they now know. XXIII. 1. until I restore you to the fathers and the fathers to you. LXII. 9. (Jonathan) Even if death part us, I know that our souls will recognize each other. LI. 11. the armies of the angels. militiae, of angels, occurs five times. LIV. 1. the inhabitants of the earth. one of Philo's most frequent catchwords. 5. thou breakest up the enclosure (of the ignorant). XXXIII. 6. Deborah closed up the hedge of her generation. 9. What am I amongst men? Cf. Gideon XXXV. 5, Saul LVI. 6. 11. I will not be silent in praising. Cf. Deborah and Hannah. LV. 3. Ramiel who presides over true visions. XVIII. 6. the angel who was over the praises. XXVII, 10. Gethel set over hidden things. Zeruel, over strength (LXI. 5). XXXIV. 2. angels are sorcerers. XXXVIII. 3. Nathaniel who is over fire. LVI. 6. The list of disasters that followed the Fall is much in Philo's manner. LIX. 2. The law which announced to them that believe the promise of their reward, and to them that deny, the torment of fire which is reserved for them. XXIII. 6. I set before (Abraham) the place of fire wherein the deeds of them that work wickedness against me shall be expiated, and showed him the torches of fire whereby the righteous that have believed in me shall be enlightened. 3. but also the heavens at that time were shaken from their place. XI. 5. at Sinai. The heavens were folded up. I bared the heavens (XV. 6), XXIII. 10. I stopped the courses of the stars, etc. There are several lists of the portents which accompanied the giving of the law. 4-11. He showed him the pattern of Zion and its measures, "the measures of the fire, the number of the drops of rain," etc., c. 4-11. The greatness of Paradise . . . the number of the offerings. XIX. 10. He showed him the place whence the clouds draw up water, the place whence the river takes its watering the place whence the manna rained . . . up to the paths of Paradise . . . the measures of the sanctuary and the number of the offerings. The splendour of the lightnings. Very frequent in Philo. LX. 1. The works which the Amorites wrought and the spells of the incantations which they wrought, and the wickedness of their mysteries. 1 XXV. 10. seq. The Amorites figure as great idolaters in the story of Kenaz the first judge: their idols are called the holy Nymphs. The episode of Kenaz is almost the longest in Philo. XXXIV. A wizard Aod came from Midian who sacrificed to fallen angels, and made the sun appear at night and seduced Israel. 2. But even Israel was then polluted by sins in the days of the Judges, though they saw many signs which were from Him who made them. LXVI. 2. Josiah removed the magicians and enchanters and necromancers from the land. LXIV. 1. Saul said: I will surely remove the wizards out of the land of Israel (though for unworthy motives). LXXI. 1. The holy land will . . . protect its inhabiters at that time. Compare the statement (VII. 4) that the holy land was not touched by the Flood. LXXVI. 2. Baruch is to be taken up (cf. XIII. 3; XXV. 1) and is to go up into a certain mountain, and the whole world will be shown to him. (See on LIX.) XLVIII. Phinehas is to go and live in a named mountain till be has fulfilled his destiny in the person of Elijah and then is to be taken up into the place where those before him have been taken up. These "priores tui" are the "others like thee" who are mentioned in Bar. II. 1; XIII. 5; (LVII.; LIX. 1); XXI. 24; LXVI. 7. LXXVII. 6. if ye direct your ways. At least five times. 13. shepherds of Israel. XIX. 3. Of Moses. 20. he sends a letter by an eagle. XLVIII. An eagle is to feed Phinehas. 25. Solomon's mastery over birds. LX. 3. David predicts Solomon's mastery over evil spirits. LXXXII. 3-5. The Gentiles will be like a vapour ... like a drop . . . as spittle. VII. 3; XII. 4. like a drop and like spittle. 9. as a passing cloud. XIX. 13. like a running cloud. LXXXIV. 4. after Moses' death ye cast them (the precepts) away from you. XXX. 5. Moses (and others) commanded you . . . while they lived ye shewed yourselves servants of God; but when they died, your heart died also. 7. (let this epistle) be for a testimony between me and you. At least nine times. 10. that he may not reckon the multitude of your sins, but remember the rectitude of your fathers. XXXV. 3. God will have mercy, not for your sakes, but because of those that have fallen asleep (cf. XXXIX. 11). 11. for if He judge us not according to the multitude of His mercies, woe unto all us who are born. XIX. 9. What man hath not sinned against thee? How shall thine heritage be stablished if thou have not compassion, etc. XXVIII. 5. Is it not he that shall spare us according to the abundance of His mercy (cf. XXXIX. 7; LV. 2). LXXXV. 9. That we may rest with our fathers. XXVIII. 10. The rest of the righteous after they are dead. 12. There will be no place . . . for prayer . . . nor intercessions of the fathers, nor prayer of the prophets, nor help of the righteous. XXXIII. 5. While a man yet liveth he can pray for himself and for his sons, but after the end he will not be able to pray . . . Put not your trust therefore in your fathers.

It will be seen that these resemblances (not all of which, of course, are supposed by me to be equally strong) are scattered over the whole text of Baruch. To me they seem to constitute one among a good many weighty arguments against the hypothesis that Baruch is a composite work but this is not the place to discuss that matter.

(d) We will examine 4 ESDRAS in the same fashion, only here it will be better to cite the Latin of both texts. We must keep in mind the difference between coincidences of vocabulary and parallels in matter. The versions of the two books are extraordinarily alike in their Latinity. One is tempted to say that they are by the same hand; but it will be safer to regard them as products of the same school and age.

4 Esdr. III. 13. Et factum est cum iniquitatem facerent coram te, elegisti ex his unum (Abraham) . . . et demonstrasti ei temporum finem solo secrete noctu et disposuisti ei testamentum aeternum et dixisti et ut non unquam derelinqueres semen eius.

Philo XXIII. 5. Et cum seducerentur habitantes terram singuli quique post praesumptiones suas credidit Abraham mihi . . . et dixi ei in uisu dicens: semini tuo dabo terram hanc.

VII. 4. Et ante onmes hos eligam puerum meum Abram . . . et disponam testamentum meum cum eo, etc.

17. Et adduxisti eos super montem Sina.

XV. 3. et adduxi eos sub montem Sina.

XXIII. 10. et adduxi eos in conspectu meo usque ad montem Sina.

XXXII. 7. et duxit in montem Sina.

18. et inclinasti coelos.

XV. 3; XXIII. 10. et inclinaui coelos. et statuisti terram et commouisti orbem et tremere fecisti abyssos et conturbasti saeculum. XXIII. 10. mouebantur in descensu meo omnia . . . obturaui uenas abyssi. XXXII. 7. terra mota est de firmamento suo et tremuerunt montes et rupes, etc. 22. permanens. 24. oblationes. 27. tradidisti ciuitatem. All very common words in Philo. 34. pondera in statera. XL. 1. quis dabit cor meum in statera et animam meam in pondere. momentum puncti. XIX. 14. momenti plenitudo. IV. 7. quantae uenae sunt in principio abyssi. uena five to six times; abyssus nine times. exitus paradisi. uiae, semitae paradisi XIII. 9; XIX. 10. 12. (and elsewhere) melius erat nos . . . quam. At least seven times. 16. factus est in uano. Fourteen times. 18. incipiebas (iustificare) = μέλλειν. Three times at least. 35. animae iustorum in promptuariis suis. XXXII. 13. patribus in promptuariis animarum eorum. 42. festinant reddere ea quae commendata sunt. III. 10. reddet infernus debitum suum et perditio restituet paratecem suam. XXXIII. 3. mensura et tempus et anni reddiderunt depositum tuum infernus accipiens sibi deposita non restituet nisi reposcetur ab eo qui deposuit ei. 44. si possibile est et si idoneus sum. LIII. 7. si possibilis sum. si plus quam praeteriit habet uenire, etc. XIX. 14. quanta quantitas temporis transiit, etc.? . . . IV. 50. superhabundauit quae transiuit mensura; superauerunt autem guttae et fumus. cyathi guttum, et omnia compleuit tempus. Quatuor enim semis transierunt et duae semis supersunt. V. 4. relucescet sol noctu. XXXIV. Nunquid aliquando uidistis solem noctu? . . . ostendit populis solem noctu. 12. non dirigentur uiae eorum. Frequent. 16. quare uultus tuus tristis. L. 3. quare tristis es, etc. 18. pastor. XIX. 3. of Moses. 23. elegisti uineam unam (also IX. 21). Israel as vine or vineyard occurs six times. 26. columbam. Israel as dove thrice. 29. sponsionibus. Seven times. 42. adsimilabo. Very common. VI. 2. coruscuum. Six times in varying forms (coruscus -atio -ans). 3. militiae (angelorum). Five times. 8-10. manus Jacob tenebat calcaneum Esau, etc. XIX. 13. apex ma(g)nus remains. 16. finem eorum oportet commutari. XXVIII. 9. cum completum fuerit tempus . . . pausabit uena et sic mutabuntur. VI. 18. quando adpropinquare incipio ut uisitem habitantes in terra. XIX. 13. cum appropinquauero uisitare orbem. IX 2. uisitare saeculum. 12. donec uisitem seculum. XXVI. 13. et uisitabo habitantes terram. VI. 26. qui recepti sunt homines qui mortem non gustauerunt. XLVIII. eleuaberis . . . ubi eleuati sunt priores tui . . . et adducam uos et gustabitis quod est mortis. 39. tenebrae circumferebantur et silentium. LX. 2. Tenebrae et silentium erant antequam fieret seculum. 41. ut pars quidem sursum recederet, pars uero deorsum maneret. Both the song of David and the vision of Kenaz (XX VIII.) dwell on the division of the firmaments. 42. imperasti aquis congregari, etc. XV. 6. nihil simile factum est uerbo huic ex qua die dixi congregentur aquae sub caelo, etc. 56. gentes saliuae adsimilatae sunt, et sicut stillicidium de urceo. VII. 3. et tanquam stillicidium arbitrabor eos et in scuto (sputo) approximabo eos. XII. 4. erit mihi hominum genus tanquam stillicidium urcei et tanquam sputum aestimabitur. VII. 32. terra reddet qui in ea dormiunt. III. 10. erigam dormientes de terra. XIX. 12. excitabo te et patres tuos de terra [Aegypti] in qua dormietis, etc. 74. non propter eos, sed. About five times. 75. creaturam renouare. XVI. 3. ero innouans terram (cf. III. 10). XXXII. 17. ut in innouatione creaturae. 87. detabescent . . . marcescent. XVI. Korah, etc., tabescent. XLIV. Micah's mother, erit marcescens. 92. cum eis plasmatum cogitamentum malum. XXXIII. 3. plasmatio iniqua perdet potestatem suam. 102. etc. Si iusti impios excusare poterint, etc. 5. Adhuc uiuens homo potest orare . . . post finem autem non poterit, etc. VIII. 15. tu magis scis. tu plus scis, tu prae omnibus scis two or three times. 53. Radix signata est a uobis. XXXIII. 3. signata est iam mors. IX. 22. cum multo labore perfeci haec. XXVIII. 4. tu uidisti . . . quantum laborauerim populo meo: also XIX. 5. XII. 20. anni citati. XIX. 13. iubebo annis . . . et breuiabuntur. XIII. 26. liberabit creaturam suam. LI. 5. cum dormierint iusti tunc liberabuntur. 52. scire quid sit in profundo maris. XXI. 2. tu scis . . . quid agat cor maris (cf. XXIX. 4) 53. inluminatus es. Twelve times in this sense. XIV. 3. Reuelans reuelatus sum super rubum. LIII. 8. Illuminans illuminaui domum Israel. et locutus sum Moysi. et elegi tunc mihi prophetam Mosen. et adduxi eum super montem Sina. See above on III. 17. et detinui eum apud me . . . et enarraui ei mirabilia et ostendi ei temporum finem. Cf. XIII. and XIX. quoted above on Bar. LIX. 4. 9. Tu enim recipieris ab hominibus et conuerteris . . . cum similibus tuis. XLVIII. non descendes iam ad homines . . . eleuaberis in locum ubi eleuati sunt priores tui.

In the later chapters of Esdras, which are taken up with visions, we--perhaps naturally--find fewer parallels than in the earlier.

Other instances of words and phrases common to the two books, which are stylistic rather than anything else, are--

Ecce dies uenient, qui inhabitant terram, sensus, delere orbis, sustinere, adinuentio, renuntiare, in nouissimis temporibus, odoramentum, in nihilum deputare, requietio, aeramentum, corruptibilis, plasmare, uiuificare, mortificare, conturbare, exterminare, humiliare, fructus uentris, apponere or adicere (loqui, etc.), oblatio, pessimus in the positive sense, a minimo usque ad maximum, expugnare, scintilla.

With the Assumption of Moses I find no community of ideas. Moses' intercession for the people and Joshua's lament are rather like those of the people over Joshua and Deborah. But Philo discards the story of the Assumption proper. Nor do I find illustrative matter in the Testaments of the XII. Patriarchs.

My general conclusion is that Philo is a product of the circle from which both Baruch and 4 Esdras emanated: and it seems to me clear that the writer of Baruch at least was acquainted with Philo. Let it be noted once more that a feature common to all three books is a remarkable want of interest in the subject of Satan and evil spirits: Esdras never mentions them, Baruch very seldom, Philo rather oftener, but not often, and always vaguely.

(e) What points of contact are there, it will be asked, between Philo and the NEW TESTAMENT?

My answer is that there are not many direct resemblances. There are a few coincidences of language, and one or two illustrations of beliefs. That the author, living at the date to which I assign him, was conscious of the existence of Christianity, I do not doubt: whether he allows his consciousness to find expression in his book, I do doubt. He is not a speculative theologian or a controversialist; he sticks very close to the language of the Old Testament, and steers clear of disputed questions. I see no veiled polemic in his stories of the idolatry under Kenaz, or of Aod the Magician and Micah. The persecution under Jair may very well be an imitation of the Maccabn martyrdoms, or of the story of the Three Children. The stress laid on the eternity of the Law may as well be a prophylactic against heathenism as against Christianity. Paganism is, I think, a more formidable adversary in his eyes than heresy.

The tradition of the "rock that followed them" (X. 7, XI. 15: see the notes) and of the identity of Phinehas with Elijah (XLVIII.) are the chief that bear on New Testament thought. With reference to the latter it should be noted that the words of St. Mark (ix. 13), "as it is written of him," are specially interesting, as showing that Elijah upon his return to earth was to suffer death (in which Philo agrees), and that there was written teaching to that effect.

Among coincidences of language I reckon: new heavens and earth, III. 10; they that sleep, ibid. and elsewhere; justified, ibid.; fiat uoluntas dei, VI. ii; that which shall be born of thee, IX. 10; I will judge all the world, XI. 2; the law shall not pass away, XI. 5; Thou art all light, XII. 9; we shall be the sons of God, XVI. 5; gnashing of teeth, XVIII. 12; the end of the world, XIX. 4, etc.; uerbum (dei) uiuum, XXI. 4; God which knowest before the hearts of all men, XXII. 7 (Acts i. 24); eye hath not seen, etc., XXVI. 13; the righteous have no need of the light of the sun, etc., XXVI. 13; qui tenet (cf. ὁ κατέχων, 2 Thess. ii. 6, 7), LI. 5; lumen genti huic, LI. 6.


Footnotes

43:1 Esther and Judith seem to be quoted, pp. 173 ,
52:1 I see that this parallel is noticed by a writer in the Jewish Encyclopia, s. v. Amorites. He quotes Philo through the medium of Jerahmeel only.

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo, 11. EXTENT OF THE COMPLETE BOOK: THE LOST CONCLUSION DISCUSSED

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION
BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.


11. EXTENT OF THE COMPLETE BOOK: THE LOST CONCLUSION DISCUSSED.

11. A question remains to be discussed, for answered it can hardly be unless fresh manuscript evidence comes to hand. It is this: How far did Philo carry on his narrative, and are there any traces of the lost conclusion?

There are certain anticipations in our text which, it is reasonable to suppose, were fulfilled. We can predict with confidence that Edab the son of Agag, who appears in the last few lines as the slayer of Saul, will be killed (as in 2 Sam. 1.), with appropriate denunciation. Again, there is a sensational story of the slaying of Ishbi-benob by David and Abishai (Talmud, Tract Sanhedr., f. 45, ap. Eisenmenger, I. 413), in which Abishai kills Orpah the mother of the giant, and eventually David says to Ishbi, "Go, seek thy mother in the grave," whereat he falls. Now, in Philo (LXI. 6) David reminds Goliath that Orpah was his mother, and says to him, "After thy death thy three brethren also will fall into my hands, and then shall ye say unto your mother: He that was born of thy sister (Ruth) did not spare us." I see a foreshadowing here of another tale of giants slain by David. Further, David in his song before Saul (LX.) predicts the mastery over evil spirits that will be attained by Solomon; and elsewhere the writer, in his own person, names Solomon, and speaks of his building the Temple (XXII. 9). The allusion to Solomon and the demons, though unmistakable, is veiled, and, if I may judge from Philo's usual practice, would have received an explanation, accompanied by a reference back to David's song: Nonne haec sunt uerba quae locutus est pater tuus, etc. Another possible instance of foreshadowing is this: Phinehas (XLVIII.), when he has reached the term of 120 years, is commanded to go up into the Mount Danaben and dwell there. In years to come the heavens will be shut at his prayer, and opened again, and then he will be "taken up," and in a yet more remote future will taste of death. In other words, he will be Elijah. I do not think this obscure prediction would have been left hanging in the air: in some form it would have received interpretation. I imagine, therefore, that the story of Elijah (and Elisha) was told in the book. I hardly know if one can fairly adduce here the fact that in an old treatise called Inuentiones Nominum (printed by me in JTS, 1903) some names are given of personages belonging to that period who are anonymous in the Bible. Thus, Abisaac is the 'little maid" of 2 Kings v., Meneria is the Shunamite, and Phua the woman who devoured her child in the siege of Samaria. I lay no stress on this suggestion, for other names are given in the same document which disagree with those in Philo. Still, those I have cited did come from some written source of similar character. 1

Here is another curious phenomenon. In the Apostolic Constitutions (II. 22, 23) the whole story of Manasseh is quoted in a text avowedly compounded from 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, with the addition of the Prayer and deliverance of Manasseh, which are non-Biblical, and after a short interval the story of Amon is given, with a spurious insertion to this effect: "Amon said, 'My father did very wickedly from his youth, and repented in his old age. Now therefore I will walk as my soul listeth, and afterward I will return to the Lord.'" just so, in Philo LII. 4, when Eli said to Hophni and Phinehas, "Repent of your wicked ways," they said, "When we are grown old we will repent": and therefore God would not grant them repentance. The resemblance is arresting. The consideration of it suggests the question whether this of Amon and the Prayer of Manasseh and the story of his deliverance can be excerpts from Philo. So far as the Prayer is concerned I cannot think it likely, for that composition is not in our author's manner, and is not believed to be a translation from Hebrew. And, if the Prayer is not from Philo, we need not unnecessarily multiply the authorities used by Const. Ap.

For all that, the story of Manasseh and his deliverance may have been told in Philo: the form of it which appears in the Apocalypse of Baruch (64) rather suggests to me that it was. The Apocalyptist uses Philonic language when he says of Manasseh that "his abode was in the fire"; and, further, he does not account Manasseh's repentance to have been genuine or final, and in this--if I read my author rightly--he writes in the Philonic spirit: for Philo, if he is willing to dwell on the repentance and reform of Israel as a whole, seems to take pleasure in recording the apostasies and transgressions of individuals who do not repent--the sinners under Kenaz, Jair, Gideon, Micah, Doeg.

When Saul protests to Samuel that he is too obscure to be made King, Samuel says (LVI. 6): "Your words will be like those of a prophet yet to come who will be called Jeremiah." This odd prediction is modelled, I suppose, upon the mention of Josiah in 1 Kings 132, and is comparable to Hannah's quotation of a psalm by Asaph (LI. 6). That the fulfilment of it was mentioned is likely enough, but by no means necessary.

Lastly, a phrase in the story of Kenaz demands notice. When God gives him the new set of twelve precious stones to replace certain others that had been destroyed, He says (XXVI. 12) that they are to be placed in the ark, and to be there "until Jahel shall arise to build an house in my name, and then he shall set them before me upon the two cherubim . . . and when the sins of my people are fulfilled, and their enemies begin to prevail over their house, I will take those stones and the former ones (i.e. those already in the priest's breastplate) and put them back in the place whence they were brought, and there shall they be until I remember the world and visit them that dwell on the earth. . . . And Kenaz placed them in the ark . . . and they are there unto this day."

Apart from the mention of Jahel (by whom Solomon is meant, but why so called I know not) this is rather a perplexing passage. Taken as it stands, it ought to mean that the temple, or at least the ark, was extant at the supposed date of the writer, i.e. that the story was not carried down as far as the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; which, on general grounds, one would select as a likely point for the conclusion. We must however, remember the legend that the ark and its contents were preserved and hidden by Jeremiah or by an angel (2 Macc. 2. Apoc. Bar. 64) . Besides, Philo elsewhere says (XXII. 9) that in the new sanctuary which was at Gilgal, "Joshua appointed unto this day (usque in hodiernum diem)" the yearly sacrifices of Israel, and that until the temple was built sacrifice at the other place was lawful. We cannot, then, press his use of the phrase "unto this day"; yet if it be insisted upon, there is a detail in Baruch (67) which may throw some light on Philo's meaning. Baruch says that the angel took, among other things, "the forty-eight precious stones wherewith the priest was adorned" and committed them to the guardianship of the earth. No one offers any reason for the mention of forty-eight (instead of twelve) stones, and though only twelve more figure in the story of Kenaz, I think it not unreasonable to suggest that here as elsewhere the Apocalyptist has our text in his mind, and that a belief in the legend of the hidden ark was common to both.

The sketch of Israel's history contained in Apoc. Bar. 56-67 (a section which shows many resemblances to Philo), with its alternations of righteousness and sin, gives, to my mind, a very fair idea of what Philo may have comprised when it was complete. We begin with the sin of Adam and of the angels: both are alluded to more than once in Philo. Then we have Abraham (important in Philo), the wickedness of the Gentiles, and especially of the Egyptians (not emphasized in Philo), the ages of Moses and Joshua (treated at length), the sorceries of the Amorites under the Judges (dwelt on at great length), the age of David and Solomon (Philo breaks off in David), the times of Jeroboam and Jezebel and the captivity of the nine and a half tribes, the reign of Hezekiah, the wickedness of Manasseh, the reforms of Josiah, the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. Baruch then continues the history to the Messianic kingdom and the final triumph of right, of which Philo speaks only in general terms, though it may have developed clearer views as it proceeded. For the present, my conjecture is that Philo ended with the Babylonian captivity, and not without an anticipation of the Return. 1


Footnotes

61:1 Another book which deserves consideration in this connexion is the Lives of the Prophets, attributed to Epiphanius.
65:1 But see the Additional Note, p. 73 .

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