Aristeas is the name assumed by the narrator of the Letter of Aristeas, a Hellenistic Jewish work that gives the earliest extended form of the traditional account of the Greek translation of the Pentateuch associated with the Septuagint.
The name and the letter
The narrator presents himself as a Greek courtier of Ptolemy II Philadelphus writing to Philocrates. He describes a royal initiative, an embassy to Jerusalem, seventy-two Jewish elders, and the translation of the Law for the Alexandrian library.
Modern scholarship generally identifies the real author as an anonymous Alexandrian Jew and therefore uses Pseudo-Aristeas when clarity is needed. Aristeas is not a second biblical author of the Septuagint and should not be confused with other ancient persons who bore the name.
Narrative of the seventy-two
In the story six translators are selected from each of the twelve tribes. Their agreement becomes the literary foundation for the traditional number seventy or seventy-two and the abbreviation LXX. The work concerns the Pentateuch; the later Greek biblical corpus developed across a longer and more complex history.
Literary purpose
The letter commends the Jewish Law to a Greek-speaking world, portrays Jewish wisdom as worthy of royal honor, and defends the authority of the Greek translation. Court narrative, banquet discourses, and apologetic aims shape the presentation.
Historical value
The account cannot simply be used as a transcript of events at Ptolemy's court. Its legendary and apologetic features require historical criticism, and the translation of Greek Jewish Scripture cannot be reconstructed from its story alone.
The letter nevertheless remains primary evidence for the way an ancient Jewish author understood the translation, the Alexandrian community, relations with Greek culture, and the prestige of the Torah. Calling the narrative legendary does not make the work worthless or deny the real antiquity of the Septuagint.
Catholic reception of the Septuagint
The early Church received Greek Jewish Scriptures and quoted them extensively. Catholic biblical tradition therefore gives the Septuagint enduring importance for textual study, patristic exegesis, liturgy, and the history of the canon.[1]
The inspiration of the biblical books does not extend to every historical claim in the Letter of Aristeas. Nor does critical judgment about the letter diminish the authority of inspired Scripture. The categories are different and should remain so.[2]
Terminology
Aristeas may name the literary persona, while Letter of Aristeas names the work and Pseudo-Aristeas names its anonymous author. An encyclopedia should explain the three uses instead of creating duplicate biographies.[3]
Older reference works sometimes repeated Josephus's use of the narrative with few qualifications. Current treatment retains that reception history while distinguishing the ancient tradition from conclusions supported by modern textual and historical study.
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
A name given in Josephus (Ant. XII, ii passim) to the author of a letter ascribing the Greek translation of the Old Testament to six interpreters sent into Egypt from Jerusalem at the request of the librarian of Alexandria. (See SEPTUAGINT VERSION.)[4]
References
- 1.Pontifical Biblical Commission: Jewish Scriptures — Catholic account of Jewish Scripture, the Greek Bible, and Christian reception
- 2.Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint: The Letter of Aristeas — Academic study of the work as ancient historiography and Septuagint reception
- 3.Oxford Classical Dictionary: Letter of Aristeas — Scholarly summary of authorship, literary setting, and modern consensus
- 4.1913 Catholic Encyclopedia: Aristeas