Competition with Egyptian Religious Ideas in the Letter of Aristeas
The article examines afresh statements defining the divine persona of the god of the Judeans in Let. Aris. 9–34 and 128–171. They are interpreted not simply as instances of positive competition with Greek literature and philosophy, but as the product of a triangulated cultural dynamic that also incl...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2023
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| In: |
Journal for the study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period
Year: 2023, Volume: 54, Issue: 1, Pages: 24-62 |
| Further subjects: | B
Hymns of Isidorus
B Ptolemaic Egypt B Isis Hermouthis B Letter of Aristeas B Judeo-Hellenistic religion B intercultural interaction |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The article examines afresh statements defining the divine persona of the god of the Judeans in Let. Aris. 9–34 and 128–171. They are interpreted not simply as instances of positive competition with Greek literature and philosophy, but as the product of a triangulated cultural dynamic that also included Egyptian and Greco-Egyptian religious tenets about major Egyptian deities, first and foremost Isis. The said passages in Aristeas are compared with Isidorus’ hymns to Isis Nermouthis in Narmouthis, the archives of Ḥor, and the Isis aretalogies. It is claimed that Aristeas illustrates how Alexandrian Judean authors competed with Egyptian priests and Greco-Egyptian authors in their respective pursuit of cultural acknowledgment by the socially and culturally dominant group, namely the Greeks. Aristeas replicates the Ptolemies’ “double-faced” dynastic identity, but aims to replace the Egyptian half of this double face with a Judean one. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0631 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700631-bja10044 |