Philo Judaeus: Moses II. 25-45
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V. (25) And that beauty and dignity of the legislation of Moses is honoured
not among the Jews only, but also by all other nations, is plain, both from
what has been already said and from what I am about to state. (26) In olden
time the laws were written in the Chaldaean language, and for a long time
they remained in the same condition as at first, not changing their language
as long as their beauty had not made them known to other nations; (27) but
when, from the daily and uninterrupted respect shown to them by those to
whom they had been given, and from their ceaseless observance of their ordinances,
other nations also obtained an understanding of them, their reputation spread
over all lands; for what was really good, even though it may through envy
be overshadowed for a short time, still in time shines again through the
intrinsic excellence of its nature. Some persons, thinking it a scandalous
thing that these laws should only be known among one half portion of the
human race, namely, among the barbarians, and that the Greek nation should
be wholly and entirely ignorant of them, turned their attention to their
translation. (28) And since this undertaking was an important one, tending
to the general advantage, not only of private persons, but also of rulers,
of whom the number was not great, it was entrusted to kings and to the most
illustrious of all kings. (29) Ptolemy, surnamed Philadelphus, was the third
in succession after Alexander, the monarch who subdued Egypt; and he was,
in all virtues which can be displayed in government, the most excellent
sovereign, not only of all those of his time, but of all that ever lived;
so that even now, after the lapse of so many generations, his fame is still
celebrated, as having left many instances and monuments of his magnanimity
in the cities and districts of his kingdom, so that even now it is come
to be a sort of proverbial expression to call excessive magnificence, and
zeal, for honour and splendour in preparation, Philadelphian, from his name;
(30) and, in a word, the whole family of the Ptolemies was exceedingly eminent
and conspicuous above all other royal families, and among the Ptolemies,
Philadelphus was the most illustrious; for all the rest put together scarcely
did as many glorious and praiseworthy actions as this one king did by himself,
being, as it were, the leader of the herd, and in a manner the head of all
the kings.
VI. (31) He, then, being a sovereign of this character, and having conceived
a great admiration for and love of the legislation of Moses, conceived the
idea of having our laws translated into the Greek language; and immediately
he sent out ambassadors to the high-priest and king of Judea, for they were
the same person. (32) And having explained his wishes, and having requested
him to pick him out a number of men, of perfect fitness for the task, who
should translate the law, the high-priest, as was natural, being greatly
pleased, and thinking that the king had only felt the inclination to undertake
a work of such a character from having been influenced by the providence
of God, considered, and with great care selected the most respectable of
the Hebrews whom he had about him, who in addition to their knowledge of
their national scriptures, had also been well instructed in Grecian literature,
and cheerfully sent them. (33) And when they arrived at the king’s court
they were hospitably received by the king; and while they feasted, they
in return feasted their entertainer with witty and virtuous conversation;
for he made experiment of the wisdom of each individual among them, putting
to them a succession of new and extraordinary questions; and they, since
the time did not allow of their being prolix in their answers, replied with
great propriety and fidelity as if they were delivering apophthegms which
they had already prepared. (34) So when they had won his approval, they
immediately began to fulfil the objects for which that honourable embassy
had been sent; and considering among themselves how important the affair
was, to translate laws which had been divinely given by direct inspiration,
since they were not able either to take away anything, or to add anything,
or to alter anything, but were bound to preserve the original form and character
of the whole composition, they looked out for the most completely purified
place of all the spots on the outside of the city. For the places within
the walls, as being filled with all kinds of animals, were held in suspicion
by them by reason of the diseases and deaths of some, and the accursed actions
of those who were in health. (35) The island of Pharos lies in front of
Alexandria, the neck of which runs out like a sort of tongue towards the
city, being surrounded with water of no great depth, but chiefly with shoals
and shallow water, so that the great noise and roaring from the beating
of the waves is kept at a considerable distance, and so mitigated. (36)
They judged this place to be the most suitable of all the spots in the neighbourhood
for them to enjoy quiet and tranquillity in, so that they might associate
with the laws alone in their minds; and there they remained, and having
taken the sacred scriptures, they lifted up them and their hands also to
heaven, entreating of God that they might not fail in their object. And
he assented to their prayers, that the greater part, or indeed the universal
race of mankind might be benefited, by using these philosophical and entirely
beautiful commandments for the correction of their lives.
VII. (37) Therefore, being settled in a secret place, and nothing even
being present with them except the elements of nature, the earth, the water,
the air, and the heaven, concerning the creation of which they were going
in the first place to explain the sacred account; for the account of the
creation of the world is the beginning of the law; they, like men inspired,
prophesied, not one saying one thing and another another, but every one
of them employed the self-same nouns and verbs, as if some unseen prompter
had suggested all their language to them. (38) And yet who is there who
does not know that every language, and the Greek language above all others,
is rich in a variety of words, and that it is possible to vary a sentence
and to paraphrase the same idea, so as to set it forth in a great variety
of manners, adapting many different forms of expression to it at different
times. But this, they say, did not happen at all in the case of this translation
of the law, but that, in every case, exactly corresponding Greek words were
employed to translate literally the appropriate Chaldaic words, being adapted
with exceeding propriety to the matters which were to be explained; (39)
for just as I suppose the things which are proved in geometry and logic
do not admit any variety of explanation, but the proposition which was set
forth from the beginning remains unaltered, in like manner I conceive did
these men find words precisely and literally corresponding to the things,
which words were alone, or in the greatest possible degree, destined to
explain with clearness and force the matters which it was desired to reveal.
(40) And there is a very evident proof of this; for if Chaldaeans were to
learn the Greek language, and if Greeks were to learn Chaldaean, and if
each were to meet with those scriptures in both languages, namely, the Chaldaic
and the translated version, they would admire and reverence them both as
sisters, or rather as one and the same both in their facts and in their
language; considering these translators not mere interpreters but hierophants
and prophets to whom it had been granted it their honest and guileless minds
to go along with the most pure spirit of Moses. (41) On which account, even
to this very day, there is every year a solemn assembly held and a festival
celebrated in the island of Pharos, to which not only the Jews but a great
number of persons of other nations sail across, reverencing the place in
which the first light of interpretation shone forth, and thanking God for
that ancient piece of beneficence which was always young and fresh. (42)
And after the prayers and the giving of thanks some of them pitched their
tents on the shore, and some of them lay down without any tents in the open
air on the sand of the shore, and feasted with their relations and friends,
thinking the shore at that time a more beautiful abode than the furniture
of the king’s palace. (43) In this way those admirable, and incomparable,
and most desirable laws were made known to all people, whether private individuals
or kings, and this too at a period when the nation had not been prosperous
for a long time. And it is generally the case that a cloud is thrown over
the affairs of those who are not flourishing, so that but little is known
of them; (44) and then, if they make any fresh start and begin to improve,
how great is the increase of their renown and glory? I think that in that
case every nation, abandoning all their own individual customs, and utterly
disregarding their national laws, would change and come over to the honour
of such a people only; for their laws shining in connection with, and simultaneously
with, the prosperity of the nation, will obscure all others, just as the
rising sun obscures the stars.
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