23. Jewish Literature and the Second Sophistic
23. JewishLiteratureand the Second Sophistic
The Jews sawthemselvesasapeople apart.The Bible affirmed it,and the na- tion’sexperience seemed to confirm it.AsGod proclaimed in the Book of Levi- ticus, “Youshall be holytome, for Ithe Lordamholy, and Ihaveset youapart from otherpeoples to be mine”.¹ The idea is echoed in Numbers: “There is apeo- ple that dwells apart,not reckoned among the nations.”² Other biblical passages reinforce the sense of achosen people, selectedbythe Lord(for both favorand punishment) and placed in acategory unto themselves.³ This notion of Jewish exceptionalism recurs with frequency in the Bible, most pointedlyperhaps in the construct of the return from the Babylonian Exile when the maintenance of endogamyloomed as paramount to assert the identity of the nation.⁴ The imagewas more than amatter of self-perception. Greeks and Romans also characterized Jews as holding themselvesaloof from other societies and keepingtotheirown kind.The earliest Greek writer who discussed Jews at anylength, Hecataeus of Abdera, described them (in an otherwise favorable ac- count) as somewhat xenophobic and misanthropic.⁵ That form of labelingper- sisted through the Hellenistic period and well into the eraofthe RomanEmpire. One need onlycite Tacitus and Juvenal for piercingcomments on the subject: Jews are fiercelyhostile to gentiles and spurn the companyofthe uncircumcised.⁶ Whatever the perceptions or the constructs, however,they did not match conditions on the ground. Jews dwelled in cities and nations all over the eastern Mediterranean, spilling over also to the west,particularlyinItaly and North Af- rica. The diasporapopulation far outnumbered the Palestinian, and the large majority of the dispersed grew up in lands of Greek languageand culture— and Roman political dominance.⁷ Isolation was not an option. Indeedthe Hellenic world of the Roman empire was part and parcel of the Jewishexperience,noaliensetting or foreign intrusion. It had been so for along time. Jewish intellectuals showed familiarity with and engagementinthe genres
Lev. :. Num. :. eg.Gen. :–;Exod. :, :;Deut. :, :, :. Ezra, –;Neh. :–; :–, –. Hecataeus, apud Diod. Sic. ... Tac. Hist. ..–, ..;Juv. .–. John Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora: From Alexander to Trajan ( BCE– CE) (Edinburgh, ); E.S. Gruen, Diaspora:Jews amidst Greeksand Romans (Cambridge, Mass., ). 488 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic and forms of Greek literature from the later 3rd century BCE. Jewish writers com- posed tragic drama,epic poetry,history,philosophy, and even prose fictionin Greek with some frequency (far more thanweknow,since we have but afraction of it). By the time of the Second Sophistic, they weresteeped in Hellenic literary traditions, manyofthem probablyknew no languageother than Greek (the He- brew Bible had long since been translated into Greek), and they werefullycom- fortable with the intellectual horizons of the Hellenic Mediterranean. Did this produce strain and tension?Did workingwithin well established Greek literary conventionsinaworld under Roman swayrequirecompromise of Jewishprinciples and values that had an even longer history and amore com- pelling holdonthe consciousness of the Jews?Arevealing clue lies in the subject matter that pervades Jewishwritings in Greek of every form from the beginning. Epic, tragedy, history,and prose fiction did not celebrate the exploits of Zeus, Herakles, Odysseus,orAeneas. Their heroes were Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. The genres of classicalcultures wereput to use to retell in new shapes and guisesthe ancient tales on which Jews foundedtheir faith. TheHellenic mode served as ameansofexpression rather than an adoption of ideology. That does not,however fullyresolve the issue. The prideinisolation and dis- tinctiveness on the one hand and immersion in Hellenic culture on the other hardlymade for acozyfit.Tensions and strains must have existed as Jewish writ- ers grappled with the amalgamofideas and formulations at the intersection of the cultures. The literary output constituted arich and diverse mix, and no brief survey can do it justice. Somesalient examples will have to suffice.
Philo of Alexandria
Philo of Alexandria stands out as the most prominent and conspicuous instance of the Jewish intelligentsia steepedinGreek learning.His output was vast,and his corpus (of which most,though not by anymeans all, survives) defies summa- ry.Heheld aposition of highesteem in the Jewish community of Alexandria in the period of the earlyRomanEmpire, living into the reign of Claudius.⁸ The di- versityand variety of his writingsreflect alifetime of learning of which onlya small hint can be givenhere.⁹ Philo was adevoted student and adherent of
Daniel Schwartz, “Philo, his Family, and his Times.” In A. Kamesar,ed. TheCambridgeCom- panion to Philo (Cambridge, ), –. JennyMorris, “The Jewish Philosopher Philo.” In E. Schürer, TheHistoryofthe JewishPeople in the AgeofJesus Christ. Rev.and ed. by G. Vermes,F.Millar,and M. Goodman, vol. III.: – Philo of Alexandria 489 the Hebrew Bible in its Greek version (he knew little or no Hebrew), and he dedi- cated much of his energy to biblical exegesis. Interpretation of the Pentateuch, often elaborate allegoricalinterpretation, represented his principal métierand drovehis mission throughout.But he brought to that task awealth of erudition in Greek literature and, especially, Greek philosophy.¹⁰ Philo’sdeep engagement with Hellenic cultureisnobetter illustratedthan by his treatise, Quod Omnis Probus LiberSit (“Every Good Man is Free”). The work tackles afamiliar Stoic “paradox,” the proposition that the Stoic wise man alone is free, regardless of material condition, oppressed circumstances, or even servile status. Philo follows Stoic doctrine in insisting that freedom is aquality of mind or soul, an inward certitude of virtue,unaffected by anything external. Onlythe sageisrich, no matter how poverty-stricken, and onlyheis sovereign, no matter his fetters,brands of servitude, and enduring enslavement.¹¹ Genuine eleutheria comes from scorningthe claims of the pas- sions, resistingthe blandishments of wealth, reputation, and pleasure, and re- nouncinghuman frailties.The wise man is thus immune to the shifts of fortune and unaffected by avarice, jealousy, ambition, fear,orevenpain.¹² Philo assigns due credit to the fountainhead of Stoicism, Zeno, as the peerless practitioner of true virtue,evendefending his doctrines against critics and skeptics.Zenowas the preeminent advocate of living life in accord with nature.¹³ But Philo’sexpo- sition went beyond Stoicism. The sources he cites and the illustrations he em- ploys show awide acquaintancewith Hellenic history,literature,tradition, and mythology. Philo does not hesitate to appeal to Pythagorean teachings, to Plato, to other philosophers like Antisthenes, Anaxarchus,Zenothe Eleatic, and Diogenes, to Sophocles, and indeed to Homer.¹⁴ He makes referencetothe constitutions of Athens and Sparta, and to their lawgivers Solon and Lycurgus, he includes anecdotes about Alexander the Great,and he praises the sentiments and actions of the hero Herakles as conveyedbyEuripides.¹⁵ And he freelyem- ploys tales from Greek history,drama,and legend to reinforce his philosophical
.(Edinburgh, )inparticular –;James Royse, “The Works of Philo.” In A. Kame- sar,ed. TheCambridgeComanion to Philo (Cambridge, ), –. H.A. Wolfson, Philo:Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity,and Islam, vols.(Cambridge,Mass.,): passim;John Dillon, TheMiddle Platonists:AStudy of Platon- ism, B.C. to A.D. . (London, ): –;Maren Niehoff, Philo on JewishIdentity and Culture. (Tübingen, ): –. Philo, Prob., –, –. Philo, Prob., –. Philo, Prob., –, , , . Philo, Prob., , , , , , –, –, . Philo, Prob., , –, , –, . 490 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic propositions.¹⁶ All of this shows Philo comfortable,quite unselfconsciouslyso, in the cultureofthe Hellenes. Yetthe comfort level was incomplete. Reading between the lines shows that the cultivated philosopher did not altogether escape asense of tension in nego- tiating the relationship of his ancestral tradition to the intellectual world of Hel- las. Philo felt obliged to remind his readers thatthe lawgiver of the Jews went beyond the praise of inner virtue to celebrate loveofthe divine thatmakes the devout similar to gods among men.¹⁷ The passagefits ill in its context,almost an afterthought or an insertion, suggesting aneed to reassert foundational prin- ciples, however incongruous in the setting.And Philo goes further stilltopro- pose that Zeno himself drew on the Torahfor some of his precepts.¹⁸ That prop- osition was not novel. Earlier Jewish thinkers toohad advanced the idea that the best in Greek philosophywas prompted by the Bible—and none was deterred by the fact that the Greek translation was unavailable to Zeno or anyofhis predecessors.¹⁹ Philo cites Moses more than once for statements that supposedly anticipated the Stoics.²⁰ He occasionallytakes potshotsatGreek sophists, mere wordsmiths absorbed in logic-chopping and petty quibbling.²¹ And he identifies as the very embodiment of ascetic existenceand devotion to spiritual life the Jewishsect of the Essenes. They need no philosophical justification, onlythe piety that stems from adherencetothe laws of the fathers.²² The digression on the Essenes looks very much like an intrusion in the treatise, hardlyasmooth transition. Although (or perhaps because) this work is as thoroughlyHellenic as anyitem in Philo’slarge corpus, the author felt obliged to reassurereaders, even at the cost of consistency,that his commitment to Jewish teachingsre- mainedunshaken. The motif that Jewish learning lies behind the Hellenic intellectual achieve- ment appears with some frequencyinPhilo’sother writings. In different contexts he has Heraclitus, Socrates, Zeno, and various Greek lawgivers owe their insights to the laws of Moses.²³ In the Life of Moses,Philo goes further still, asserting that Jewishlaw has earned the respect of Hellenic communities everywhereand gen- tiles generallywho, among otherthings, have embraced the Sabbath and the Day
Philo, Prob., –. Philo, Prob., . Philo, Prob., . Erich Gruen, Heritage and Hellenism: TheReinvention of JewishTradition (Berkeley, ) Philo, Prob., – Philo, Prob., , , ;cf. Mos. .–. Philo, Prob., –. Philo, Leg.All. .; QGenesis, .;Philo Spec. .–; Mut. ; Somn. .. Philo of Alexandria 491 of Atonement as nearlyuniversalpractices.²⁴ No Greek legislator comes close to the supreme accomplishments of Moses.²⁵ Philo even accounts for the transla- tion of the Hebrew Bible into Greek by aHellenic desire to emulate the ways of the Jews.²⁶ Extravagant claims of this sort leave more than ahint of the dis- quiet that accompanied the embrace of Hellas even for this most Hellenic of Jews. Philo devoted awhole treatise, De Congressu,todiscussing the value of the various branchesofeducational training.Heranges over grammar, geometry,as- tronomy, rhetoric, dialectic, music, and the whole span of subjects that belong to the traditionalcurriculum of the Hellenic elite. He even provides some autobio- graphical notices of his own educational experience that proceeded through these forms of instruction, for all of which he expressed praise and admiration.²⁷ The combination of disciplines leadsthe mind inexorablytowardits true goal, the acquisition of wisdom through philosophy.²⁸ Philo underscores throughout the contrast between the formation of the mental faculties and the ultimate ob- jective,employing the analogyofHagar and Sarah, and includingahost of bib- lical allusions and allegories.²⁹ But thereare no theological overtones here. The work provides as thoroughlyHellenic apresentation as one could wish for the Stoic doctrine of preliminary teachings that lead to the embrace of philosophy.³⁰ Yetitisnot the whole story. Aremarkable passageencapsulates both Philo’sfirm attachment to Hellenic education and his need to go beyond it.Heprovides astrikingly idiosyncratic version of Moses’ own primary and secondary education. ForPhilo, the Hebraic founderofthe faith had Egyptian teachers at the outset,followed by masters summonedfrom Greecetoadvancehis intellectual training.Egyptians took him through the initial stages in arithmetic,geometry,rhythm, harmonyand as- trology,and Greeks carried him to higher learning,evidentlyliterature, rhetoric, and philosophy. Lest readers conclude, however,that Moses was fullyformedby educators beyond the biblical borders,Philo adds that the young man’sinner genius allowed him swiftlytotranscend his teachers,who had no more to give
Philo, Mos. .–, .. Philo, Mos. .–. Philo, Mos. .–, .. Philo, Congr. –, –, . Philo, Congr. –, –. Sarah Pearce, TheLand and the Body. (Tübingen, ), –; Monique Alexandre, De Congressu Eruditionis Gratia. (Paris, ), passim;Alan Mendelson, Secular Education in Philo of Alexandria (Cincinnati, ), passim. 492 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic him—as if he drew more on his own recollection than on anyone’sinstruction.³¹ Philo’sblendofHellenismand Judaism was less asmoothprocess thanatense negotiation.
4Maccabees
Acomplex interweaving of Greek philosophyand Jewish preceptsappears also in atreatise that our textual tradition labels as 4Maccabees. The genre of the work does not conform readilytoasingle or standard model. Itsform suggests, at least on the face of it,adiatribe, expounding on aphilosophic position and defending it against objections.³² The opening of the treatise indicatesthat its topic will be the mastery of devout reason over the passions, and that motif holds, in various ways,throughout.Yet the bulk of 4Maccabees treats, often in graphic detail, the noble resistance and the cruel fate of Jewish martyrs in the persecutions that led to the Maccabean rebellion. This might recall the genre of the encomium, aeu- logyofpraiseworthypersons, ofteninthe form of afuneraloration.³³ It carries echoes of lofty rhetoric, the epideictic speech, performative oratory that stem- med from Classical Greeceand enjoyed avogue in the eraofthe Second Soph- istic. 4Maccabees appears to be something ahybrid, arare combination of the diatribe and the encomium, or,morelikely, an entity of its own, not aconscious mixture of genres and not easilysubjecttoclassification. Whatever label one ap- plies, however,Hellenic features predominate. The peculiarwork not onlydefies categorization but baffles inquiry into au- thor,provenance,and date. There is little point in probingbeyond its anonymity which leadsnowhere. And the author’slocation could be anywhereinthe Jewish diaspora. Asia MinororAntioch is afavored guessbecause of the “Asianism” of the author’sstyle.³⁴ But “Asianism” is largely apejorative term flungabout by
Philo, Mos. .–. EduardNorden, Die antike Kunstprosavom VI Jahrhundert v. Chr.bis in die Zeit der Renais- sance (Leipzig, ), –, –;Moses Hadas, TheThirdand Fourth Books of Mac- cabees. (New York, ), –. J.C.H. Lebram, “Die literarischeForm des viertenMakkabäerbuches” VC () : –; JanWillem VanHenten, TheMaccabean Martyrs as Saviours of the JewishPeople: AStudy of and Maccabees. (Leiden, ), –;David deSilva, Maccabees (Sheffield, ), – , –, –. Norden, Die antike Kunstprosa I, –;Hadas, TheThirdand Fourth Books of Maccabees,–;H.Anderson, “ Maccabees.’ In J.H. Charlesworth, ed. TheOld Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vol. :–.(Garden City, ), –;H.-J. Klauck, “.Makkabäer- 4Maccabees 493 critics who prefer amoredirect “Attic” style, and has little to do with geography.³⁵ Arough date, on the other hand,isslightlymore accessible. Lan- guageand vocabulary,aswell as historical arguments, have induced most schol- ars to place it anywherebetween the mid1st and mid 2nd centuries CE.³⁶ Simi- larities with philosophicaltreatises and with rhetoricalpieces of the Second Sophistic, in anycase, place the work snuglywithin that culturalcontext. Much ink has spilled over the question of whether the author owes more to Plato or to the Stoics.³⁷ None of the arguments has compellingforce. The issue of reason’scontrol over the emotions, with which the text opens, was astandard Stoic topic, as is the claim that reason is mind choosing with right judgment the life of wisdom, and wisdom, in turn, being the knowledge of thingsdivine and human and their causes.³⁸ But the Stoics had no monopolyonsuch pre- cepts. 4Maccabees’ insistence on the four cardinal virtues, good sense, justice, courage, and self-control, can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, and numer- ous thinkers that followed, includingPhilo.³⁹ The author need not and should not be pinned down. Somehaveplausiblydubbed him an eclectic, though one might as easilysee him as the purveyor of philosophic clichés.⁴⁰ The work, on anyreckoning, resonates with Hellenic philosophy. The encounter be- tween Antiochus, the Hellenistic monarch who was determined to bend Jews to Greek ways,and Eleazer,the elderlyJewish sageofpriestly stock and deep legal training,turns into aphilosophic dialogue.⁴¹ Antiochus indeedchallenges Eleaz- er by asserting that he cannot be atrue philosopher if he adheres to the observ- ances of the Jews, and he brands his beliefs as “foolishphilosophy.” Eleazer re- sponds in kind, affirming that it is preciselyhis philosophythat teaches self-
buch.” JSHRZ () .:–;Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean, ; VanHenten, The Maccabean Martyrs, –;deSilva, Maccabees, –. VanHenten, The Maccabean Martyrs, –. A. Dupont-Sommer, Le QuatrièmeLivre des Machabées. (Paris, ); U. Breitenstein, Beo- bachtungen zu Sprache, Stil und Gedankengut des vierten Makkabäerbuches. nd ed. (Basel, ), ;Anderson, “ Maccabees’, –;Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean, ;Van Henten, The Maccabean Martyrs, –;deSilva, Maccabees, –;J.J.Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem: JewishIdentity in the Hellenistic Diaspora. nd ed. (Grand Rapids, ), –. Hadas, TheThird and Fourth Books of Maccabees, –;R.Renehan, “The Greek Phil- osophic Background of Fourth Maccabees.” RhM () : –;Breitenstein, Beobach- tungen, –;Anderson, “ Maccabees’, –;Klauck,” Makkabäerbuch”, – ;Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem, –. Macc. .–, .–. Macc. ;cf. Philo, Leg.All. .–. Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora, –. VanHenten, The Maccabean Martyrs, –. 494 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic restraint,justice, and courage, the traditional Hellenic virtues, but adds to them the requirementofpiety,thus best to worship the sole godinproperlymagnifi- cent fashion.⁴² The philosophic character of the piece predominates. The author proceedsto detail the torturesand death inflicted by the tyrannical monarch not onlyupon the aged Eleazer but upon asteadfast and devout mother and her seven stalwart sons, horror scenes that occupy most of the treatise.But the horror serves alarg- er purpose. These actions, for the author,represent exemplary instances of the exercise of philosophic principle in the face of autocracy and injustice.⁴³ The text indeed repeats these points, almost to excess,asrecurrent themesthat bind together the story and remind readers of its meaning.After Eleazer’s noble death, the author declares that it represented the triumph of devout reason over the passions.⁴⁴ Onlyaman of wisdom and courage, like Eleazer,can be lord of his emotions.⁴⁵ The author delivers the sameverdict upon the seven brave sons who defied the king and went proudlytotheir deaths. They showed that reason is sovereign over the passions, and thatright reasoning can overcome suffering.⁴⁶ Reasoning powers,sodeclares the author,are more kingly than kingsand freer than free men.⁴⁷ Even the superiority of the martyrs’ convictions over royal power and persecution is described in terms of aGreek athletic con- test,with competitors contending for prizes and the winners metaphorically crowned as spiritual victors.⁴⁸ In all this the Hellenic element prevails, readilyrecognizable, even stereo- typical, for anyreader conversant with Greek philosophyand rhetoric in the ageofthe Second Sophistic. Indeed, the treatise refrains from theology, and it alludes onlyvaguelytoany precepts or practices that could be identified as Jew- ish. The term “Judaism” appears justonce in the text,and “Hebrews” also just once, apart from references to Hebrew as alanguagespoken by characters in the story.The author does state that Antiochus sought to have the people re- nounce their “Judaism” and take up a “Greek form of life,” and he refers to an epitaph that praises the martyrs for resistingthe tyrant who had resolved to de- stroy the polity of “the Hebrews.”⁴⁹ But the treatise shows little interest in pitting
Macc. .–. deSilva, Maccabees, –. Macc. .–. Macc. .. Macc. .–. Macc. .. Macc. .–. Macc. ., .–, .–. 4Maccabees 495
Hellenism against Judaism. 4Maccabees does not depict an ideological war.The focus is on philosophicalprinciples that are thoroughly Greek, rather than on matters of religion. Yetthe author engaged in no pretense or disguise.His heritagestands out unequivocally. The story dwelled on the Maccabean martyrs, not on abstract theory.Wemay not be able to identify precise Greek texts on which the author drew for his philosophic ideas. But we do know that he employed the tale of the origins of the Maccabean rebellion as found in 2Maccabees,although he re- wroteitfor his own purposes, giving little space to the historicalbackground re- counted by 2Maccabees,while dwelling at length upon and significantlyex- panding the narrativeofthe martyrdoms.And, although he avoided depicting aclash of cultures or religions,heinjected afeature that left no doubtabout the special piety of his people. The “reason” (λογισμὸς)towhich the text repeat- edlyrefers is frequentlyaccompanied by the adjective εὐσεβὴς.⁵⁰ Thus, “devout reason,” acoinage of the author,isthe driving forceofthe treatise. And refer- ence to piety, εὐσεβεία,occurs throughout as prime motif and motivation for the actions of the characters.⁵¹ Although the particulars of the author’sreligion are not spelled out,the fundamental principle, that adherencetothe Law, i.e. Mosaiclaw,inspires the steadfastness of its believers, dominates the work.⁵² Fur- ther,the author appeals regularlytothe exemplars of his nation’spast,the fig- ures of the Bible, Abraham,Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, and others.⁵³ Most notably, the text describes Eleazer as “philosopher of the divine life” and as advocate of “divine philosophy”.⁵⁴ The wise and courageous man who masters his own passions is the philosopher who livesinaccord with the rule of philosophy—and has trust in God.Control of the passions comes through reverencefor God.⁵⁵ The author,ineffect,equates true philosophywith the faith of his fathers. 4Maccabees holds enduringinterest as adocument of Jewish intellectual engagement with the cultural world of the Greeks.How best to characterize that engagement poses achallenging task. The aim has been described as “wrap- ping its (Jewish) message in attractive philosophic garb”.⁵⁶ That formulation may not have it quite right.The philosophic garb is the author’sown. His familiarity
e.g., Macc.., ., ., ., ., ., .. e.g. Macc. ., ., .–, ., .–, .–. e.g. Macc. ., .–, ., .–, .–, ., .–, ., .–. Macc. .–, .–, .–, ., ., ., ., ., .–, .–. Macc. ., .. Macc. .–. Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean, . 496 23. Jewish Literatureand the Second Sophistic with currents of philosophyand rhetoric swirlinginthe world of the Second Sophistic suggests awriter thoroughlyathome in thatworld, not one who need- ed to borrowits accouterments for an artificial construct.Heconceivedhis work as a “most philosophical one.”⁵⁷ Itslessons would be conveyedinthe form and style in which he had been trainedthrough the Hellenic paideia of his diaspora community. 4Maccabees wasnomere façade, nor was it apiece of apologetic literaturedesigned to justify the ways of Jews to Gentiles. The mode of expres- sion was deeplyingrained. But so alsowas the religious conviction that underlay it.The blend of the two maynot always have been easy.Stoic logismos was trans- formedinto a “devout logismos.” The exercise of reason became equivalent to obedience to the Law. The four cardinal virtueswereappropriated, but Jewish piety held center stage. Laudatory rhetoric celebrated heroic deeds, but the praise went to murdered martyrs rather than military heroes.Ultimateauthori- ty—and triumph—rested not with tyrants and despotsbut with the God-given Law.
Pseudo-Phocylides
Avery different text in avery different genre speaks to avery similar issue: the expression of Jewish precepts in the language, culture, and modalities of Hellen- ism. The Greek gnomic poet Phocylides dates to the 6th century BCE, in the archa- ic ageofHellenic literature. His reputation in subsequent generations washigh and impressive.Yet onlyafew fragments of his writingssurvive,anunfortunate, probablyquite asignificant,loss. Whatwedohave, however,isapoem of 230 lines in dactylic hexameters attributed to Phocylides but composed probably half amillennium or more later. And this set of verses was written by aJew. No firm datecan be fixed. The text contains anumber of words unattested prior to the 1st century BCE. And parallels with Stoic writingsofthe earlyimperial era, like those of Musonius Rufus and Seneca, offer aclue that might put it in the 1st centuryCE.⁵⁸ Further precision eludes us. But the poem likelyfalls somewhere in the erainhabited by Philo and the author of 4Maccabees. And it serves fur- ther to illustrate Jewish adaptation to the wider world of the Second Sophistic. The work raises anumber of fascinating questions. If one digs below the sur- face, certain telltale signs identify it unmistakablyasaJewish composition. Yet
Macc, .. P.W. vander Horst, TheSentences of Pseudo-Phocylides (Leiden, ), –;Pascale Der- ron, Pseudo-Phocylide: Sentences (Paris, ), lxi–lxvi. Pseudo-Phocylides 497 there are few signs of Judaism thatcould be detected by the most determined researcher,and even fewer by anycontemporary.The author appears to have covered his tracks. To what purpose? Whyproduce awork in apalpably Greek mode, ascribeittoawell-known Greek poet,but use it to conveyJewish think- ing?Was this an elaborate disguise or acharade? Whom was the author seeking to fool, and why? Did the poem represent an effort to bring Jewishideas to the attention of awider Greco-Roman world?Ordid the reverse hold, ademonstra- tion that the ways of that world impinged productively upon Jewishconscious- ness? The work conventionallycarries the designation of TheSentences of Pseudo- Phocylides. That label alludes to the form, aseries of sententiae or statements, set in verse, delivering moral maxims or aphorisms,agenre known in Greek as gno- mai. Gnomic poetry,brief and pithysayingsfor the edification or education of the readership, had its origin in archaic Greece, with Hesiod, Theognis—and Phocy- lides. The reputation of the lastinantiquity made him alogical figure to whom to attach the work that we possess.⁵⁹ There is little doubt,however,that the author is aJew.Parallels in Septuagint pronouncements can readilybefound.Although manyare generic and not exclusively tied to Jewish precepts, others have aspe- cificity that is hard to dismiss.So, for example, the opening lines of the text,ad- monishing readerstorefrain from adultery,murder,theft,falsehoods, or covet- ousness of others’ property,while honoring God and parents,plainly paraphrase parts of the Decalogue.⁶⁰ In similar fashion,the author’sstress on concern for the poor and the laborer,oncharity to the needy, and on philanthro- py by the fortunate echoes biblical pronouncements.⁶¹ So also does the noble in- junction to hold strangers as equal to citizens.⁶² More tellinglystill, the author’s referencetothe physical resurrection of the dead, aconcept quite foreign to Greco-Roman thought,has adirect predecessor in the Book of Daniel.⁶³ Scholars have rightlypointed to manyother parallels.⁶⁴ The connection can be reinforced. Overlappings exist between Pseudo-Pho- cylides’ remarks on sexual behavior,condemnation of homosexuality,marriage
vander Horst, TheSentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, –. Ps-Phoc. –;Exodus, :–. Ps-Phoc. , , –;Deut. :–;Isaiah, :;Prov. :–. Ps-Phoc. –;Exod. :;Lev. :, :. Ps-Phoc. –;Dan. :–. vander Horst, TheSentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, ;Johannes Thomas, Der jüdische Pho- kylides (Göttingen, ), –;Walter Wilson, TheSentences of Pseudo-Phocylides (Berlin, ), –. 498 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic practices,and attitudes toward the elderlyand the poor on the one hand and those expressed by Philo and Josephus in their summaries of Jewish lawon the other.⁶⁵ The correspondence can occur even in the smallest detail, as in the case of the prohibition against taking the mother-bird from her nest.⁶⁶ Whether or not all three drew on the same source, the Jewishinspiration for the pronouncementsisundeniable. The form itself of the work, the staccato- like delivery of maxims and lessons for behavior,readilyrecalls the Book of Proverbs, as well as the 2nd century BCE Jewish writer of ethical and practical counsel, BenSira. The whole tradition of Jewish Wisdom literature lies in the background. In addition to Proverbs and BenSira, Koheletdeservesmention, and the Wisdom of Solomonalso contains comparable adages and aphorisms in atext that maybeapproximatelycontemporary with Pseudo-Phocylides. God himself gains repeated mention. He is the one god, wise and powerful, judge of the wicked, scourge of the perjurer,provider of prosperity,the bestower of reason, whose spirit and imageisgranted to mortals, and who is to be hon- ored first aboveall.⁶⁷ All that said, however,the poem hardlywears its Judaism on its sleeve. The name of Israel appears nowhereinthe text,and the distinguishing characteris- tics of Jews that weremostfamiliar to pagans, such as circumcision, dietary laws, observance of the Sabbath, and prohibition of idolatry,goaltogetherwith- out mention. It causes little surprise that the ascription to Phocylides himself went unquestioned not onlyinantiquity but until the late 16th century.The piece plainlyhad close affinities with the Greek gnomological tradition. Prece- dents exist in Hesiod’s Worksand Days,inTheognis, Isocrates,Menander,and elsewhereinGreek literature. The authors provided ethical and practical advice, with didactic objectives, in some instances perhaps deliberately designed for pedagogicalpurposes. Gnomic poetry enjoyed avogue in the Hellenistic period, employed most notablybythe Cynics, embraced also by otherphilosophers, and used by arangeofotherauthors. Gnomicsayings generatedwide enough inter- est even to prompt collections and anthologies,averitable industry of gnomologia.⁶⁸ Philosophic, especiallyStoic, teachings can be found among the
Jos. C. Ap. .–;Philo, Hyp. .–;Wilson, TheSentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, – . Ps-Phoc. –;Philo, Hyp. .;Jos. C. Ap. .. Ps-Phoc. , , , , , , . Derron, Pseudo-Phocylide, vii-xxxi; Thomas, Der jüdische Phokylides, –;Walter Wil- son, TheMysteries of Righteousness (Tübingen, ), –. Pseudo-Phocylides 499
Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides.The praise of moderation, self-restraint,resist- ance to pride, anger,orexcess of anysort take prominence in the treatise.⁶⁹ The Sentences falls within awell-established Greek tradition of supplying wise counsel for the instructionofits constituencies.Resonance occurs in a text convenientlyreflective of the Second Sophistic. Dio Chrysostom’sthird ora- tion on monarchy, directed probablytothe emperor Trajan, expounds on the qualities and principles desirable in aruler and offers generous advice on how that ruler should comport himself. The counsel provided by Dio includes embrace of the familiar virtues of courage, self-restraint,and justice, only taken to ahigher level since the king must serveasamodel for his subjects. Ashepherd to his flock, the monarch takes full responsibility for their welfare and security, exercisingsound judgment,scorningflattery and false glorifica- tion, preferringduty to self-indulgence, adhering to law, and following the guid- ance of the divine.⁷⁰ In that company, pagan readers would have found the Sen- tentiae of Pseudo-Phocylides arecognizable parallel. The Jewishroots of the text would have been difficult to detect. How then should one understand the aims of the Sentences? Did Pseudo- Phocylides address himself to agentile readership, suppressinghis Jewishness, presentinghis principles as entirelyconsistent with pagan philosophical and ethical teachings,and thus seeking to secure awelcome place for Jews within the largerGreco-Roman society?Orwas his audience aJewish one, the intellec- tual elite who enjoyed aGreek paideia but needed assurance thatthey could par- ticipate in the broader culture because the precepts of the Torahwereconsonant with Hellenic tenets?Ordid he have an intermediate segment in mind, the “god- fearers,” that category of gentiles who weresympathetic to and shared many practices and beliefs of the Jews, without seeking full conversion?Ordid the text express aform of universalizing Judaism, symbolized by the donning of a gentile mask?⁷¹ None of the suggestions has compellingforce. If the author en- deavoredtowin Jewishacceptancebygentile society because of the correspond- ence of theirdoctrines or concepts, whypresent them in strictlyGreek guise and attribute them to acelebrated Greek writer? There would be little point in cover- ing up his Jewishness if he wished to exhibit its consonance with Hellenism. An appeal to fellow-Jews makes more sense if he hoped to reassurethem that they could fullyembrace Greco-Roman culture without deviating from their owntra-
Ps-Phoc. , , , –,, , . Dio Chrys. Orat. , passim. Cf. van der Horst, TheSentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, –; idem , –;Derron, Pseudo-Phocylide, xxxviii-li; Thomas, Der jüdische Phokylides, –, –;Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean, –;Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem, –. 500 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic ditions. Yetthe messagewould seem to be over-subtle and too indistinct for read- ers to catch the meaning when Torahteachings take on pagan trappings,Jewish practices are nowhereinsight,and the author of the tract has the persona of an ancient Greek gnomic poet.Asfor the “god-fearers,” we have onlythe haziest sense of their mind-set,weknow little or nothing of theiraspirations, and we have no reason to believethat they took anyinterest in this form of literature. Aresort to their membership as either authors or audience is amere stab in the dark. Adifferent approach might be salutary.Pseudo-Phocylides need not have been on amission at all. The composition of agnomic poem places him as part of aliterarytradition. By the ageofthe Second Sophistic, Jewish intellectu- als had long since been participants in ashared culture, without needing to cal- culate abalance of Hellenism and Judaism or consciouslybrewingacultural blend.The Jewishauthor worked within the known genre of the didactic poem, possessingadeep familiarity with both Jewish Wisdomliterature and Hel- lenic gnomic poetry.The mix maywell have been ingrainedfor generations in the circles of the Jewishintelligentsia. It did not requireadeliberate scheme to win over gentilesorcomfort Jews. The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides embod- ies the unselfconsciousness of Jewish participation in Greco-Roman intellectual culture. Whythen the application of apseudonym, and recoursetoarenowned writ- er dating to many centuries earlier?Was it camouflageordeception?One might consider instead asimpler answer: the name was chosen because it exemplified amaster of the genre. The real author perhaps indulgedinabit of whimsy.
Joseph and Aseneth
Yetanother genre serves as illuminatinginstance of Jewishinteractionwith Greek literature in the ageofthe Roman Empire. The “novel” had its heyday in thatera,aliterarytype difficult to define, somewhat easier to illustrate. Labels and categories are inevitablyartificial, requiringrepeated exceptions, modifica- tion, and reformulation. The ancients themselveshad no wordfor “novel,” adis- concerting fact thatneeds to be borne in mind. But we do like to think that we know one when we see one. The novel, in general, takes form as apiece of prose fiction that narrates an entertainingand/or edifying tale that can also communi- cate values,ideas, and guidance. In antiquity,the standard examples normally cited fall somewhereinthe period of the 1st through the 4th century CE, though none can be dated with anyprecision. The extant Greek novels of thatperiod are ascribed to Chariton, Xenophon of Ephesus, Achilles Tatius, Longus, and Helio- Joseph and Aseneth 501 dorus. TwocelebratedLatin novels, by Petronius and Apuleius, much influenced by Greek models, servealso as prime exemplars of the category.Itheld favorover an extensive stretch of time and possessed appeal not onlyinthe realm of “pop- ular culture,” often transmitted orally, but also possessed subtleties and com- plexities, while assuming knowledge of earlier literature and intellectual tradi- tions thatcould appeal to more sophisticatedaudiences. Ancients maynot have had aname for the genre. But certain common fea- tures among these works (even if thosefeatures are occasionallyparodied) do suggest apattern that readers came to expect and found welcome: the separation of lovers, theiradventures or misadventures,whether kidnapping,shipwrecks,or the amorous designs of third parties, and eventual reunitingwith ahappy end- ing.The repeated motifs, themes, and narrativetechniques give aunity to the genre, without inhibiting the great variety and diversity in which they were expressed.⁷² One Jewish “romance” falls recognizablywithin the umbrella of these prose narratives. It evidentlypartook of their popularity in the ageofthe RomanEm- pire. Joseph and Aseneth shares anumber of features with the other novels. Among them, alas, is deepuncertainty as to its provenance and date. The story takes place in ancient Egypt,unsurprisingly so, since Joseph is aprincipal figure, but thatneed not be aclue to its place of composition. And the work has been situated anywherefrom the Ptolemaic period to late antiquity,although most scholars put it in the 1st or 2nd century CE.⁷³ In anycase, it belongsinthe companyofthe extant Greek and Latin novels, whether as imitation or model. They thrivedinacommon intellectual atmosphere. The narrative of Joseph and Aseneth can receive onlythe briefest summary here. It has but asmall basis in Scripture.Genesis reports thatthe patriarch Jo- seph took as wife acertain Aseneth, daughter of an Egyptian priest by whom she bore two children.⁷⁴ Thenovel employs thatshortnotice as launchingpad for a full-scale fantasy.Itdivides into two quite different parts. The first takes the form
T. Hâgg, TheNovel in Antiquity (Oxford, ); Graham Anderson, Ancient Fiction: TheNovel in the Graeco-Roman World. (London, ); BryanReardon, The Form of Greek Romance (Princeton, ); Tim Whitmarsh, “Introduction.” In T. Whitmarsh,ed. TheCambridgeCompan- ion to the Greek and Roman Novel (Cambridge, ), –;Simon Goldhill, “Genre.”In T. Whit- marsh, ed. TheCambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel (Cambridge, ), – . Randall Chesnutt, From Death to Life: Conversion in Joseph and Aseneth (Sheffield, ), –;Ross Kraemer, When Aseneth MetJoseph (New York, ), –;Edith Humphrey, Joseph and Aseneth (Sheffield, ), –;Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem, –. Gen. :, :–, :. 502 23. JewishLiterature and the Second Sophistic of an erotic tale in which Joseph meetsand rejects the beautiful teenagerAse- neth until she abandons her idolatrous ways through amystical revelation, thus paving the wayfor amarriagebetween them sanctioned by the Pharaoh himself.⁷⁵ The second consists of an adventure story in which the embittered son of Pharaoh endeavors to murder Joseph and carry off Aseneth, sparking a split among Joseph’sbrothers and afiercebattle in which Aseneth emergesvic- torious with the assistance of some of Joseph’sbrothers while magnanimously sparing the others. The narrativeconcludes with Pharaoh’sappointment of Jo- seph to rule the land of Egypt.⁷⁶ Affinities exist with certain Greek or Roman novels. Aplot set in the distant past,the virginalstatus of the lovers, theirseparation and then uniting,and the attempted kidnappingofthe heroine by arival lover all strike familiar chords. So also does Aseneth’sdramatic conversion to the faith of Joseph and his fathers through amysterious vision which bears comparison to mystical tales and sacred epiphanies, as in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses.⁷⁷ The author was surelyfamiliar with the motifs and devices that occur in pagan romances.⁷⁸ But parallels do not provide the full picture. Joseph and Aseneth has its own characteristics and peculiarities that set it apart from the mainstream. The erotic features central to most of the novels playasubordinaterole in this one. Sepa- ration of the lovers was avoluntary rather than an involuntary one, adramatic tension between the priggish Joseph and the haughty Aseneth.⁷⁹ And the fantasy, imaginative and inventive though it be, did employ aknown setting,that of the biblical narrative of the patriarch in Egypt.The Jewishauthor,moreover,had other novelistic textsasforerunners,Jewish texts quite independent of the Greco-Roman tradition, the tales of Judith, Esther,and Tobit which alsocom- bined marriagenarrativeswith adventure stories.⁸⁰ Both Hebraic and Hellenic
Jos. Asen. –. Jos. Asen. –. Jos. Asen. –;HowardClark Kee, “The Socio-Cultural SettingofJoseph and Aseneth.” NTS () : –. Stephanie West, “Joseph and Asenath: ANeglectedGreek Romance.” CQ () : –; RichardPervo, “Aseneth and her Sisters: Women in Jewish Narrative and in the Greek Novels” in A.J. Levine, ed. ‘Women LikeThis’:New Perspectives on JewishWomen in the Greco-Roman World (Atlanta, ), –;LawrenceWills, TheJewishNovel in the Ancient World (Ithaca, ), –, –;Chesnutt, From Death to Life, –;Angela Standhartinger, Das Frauenbild im Judentum der hellenistischen Zeit: Ein Beitrag anhand von ‘Joseph und Aseneth.’ (Leiden, ), –;Humphrey, Joseph and Aseneth, –. Jos. Asen. –. RichardPervo, “Joseph and Asenath and the Greek Novel.” SBL Seminar Papers (Missoula, ) –. Joseph and Aseneth 503 strandsintertwined in this remarkable text.Itwould be misleading to isolate them—or indeedtoimagine that the author consciouslycombined them. The work reflects amixed milieu. As with the other authors and writings discussed here, asubtle tension swirls below the surface in Joseph and Aseneth. Joseph’sinsistence upon the pu- rity of the faith and the pollution of idolatry,Aseneth’sabject debasement and violent break with her past to achieve absolution, and the favorofGod support- ing the faithful against their idolatrous opponents all seem to suggest astark di- chotomybetween the forces of good and evil, and asharp distancing of Jewfrom gentile.⁸¹ The relationship, however,ismore nuanced and complex. The fact that the weddingofJoseph and Aseneth takes place under the auspices of Pharaoh, who had not himself become aconvert,holds central symbolic significance.The enemiesofthe faithful wereforgiven, harmonyand reconciliation followed, and the gentile ruler of Egypt placed his kingdom in the power of the immigrant from Israel. Indeed it is noteworthythat no mention of “Jew” or “gentile” occurs any- whereinthe text.Aseneth’stransformation amounted essentiallytoabandon- ment of idolatry.Thisisnosimple tale of culturalclash.Distinctions between the people holdatone level in the novel, but they are overcomeatanother. Jo- seph and Aseneth exemplifies the dualitystressed throughout this chapter.The Jewishauthor perpetuatedaliterary tradition thatstemmed from his forefathers, while at the same time he bought into (or perhapshelped to shape) aHellenic literarytradition that reachedits apogeeinthe empire of the Romans.
Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean, –;Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem, – .