Letter of Aristeas

E37290

The Letter of Aristeas is a Hellenistic Jewish pseudepigraphal work that narrates the legendary origins of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint.

All labels observed (6)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Hellenistic Jewish text
ancient Greek prose work
pseudepigraphal work
alsoKnownAs Epistle of Aristeas
linked to: Letter of Aristeas
associatedWith Hebrew Bible
linked to: Tanakh

Library of Alexandria
Ptolemaic dynasty
linked to: Ptolemaic Kingdom

Septuagint
Torah
claimsNumberOfTranslators 70
72
claimsToBeAddressedTo Philocrates
dateOfComposition 3rd–2nd century BCE
describes court of Ptolemaic Egypt
linked to: Ptolemaic Kingdom

legendary origins of the Septuagint
library of Alexandria
translation of the Torah into Greek
describesEvent commissioning of Greek translation of the Law
sending of Jewish elders from Jerusalem to Alexandria
featuresCharacter Eleazar the high priest
linked to: Eleazar the priest

Ptolemy II Philadelphus
seventy-two translators
genre apologetic literature
epistolary narrative
historical romance
influenced later accounts of the origin of the Septuagint
language Greek
Koine Greek
literaryTradition Hellenistic Judaism
mainSubject Jewish law and customs
origin of the Septuagint
relations between Jews and Hellenistic rulers
translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek
narratorRole courtier of Ptolemy II Philadelphus
placeOfOrigin Alexandria
preservedIn Christian manuscript tradition
purportedAuthor Aristeas
religiousTradition Judaism
scholarlyAssessment considered important for understanding Hellenistic Judaism
not considered historically reliable in detail
setting Alexandria
Ptolemaic Egypt
linked to: Ptolemaic Kingdom
theme divine inspiration of the Septuagint
harmony between Jewish and Greek culture
praise of Jewish law
universal wisdom of the Torah
title Letter of Aristeas
usedBy Church Fathers
early Christian authors

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hellenistic Jews notableWork Letter of Aristeas
Second Temple Judaism producedText Pseudepigrapha
linked to: Letter of Aristeas
Letter of Aristeas title Letter of Aristeas
Letter of Aristeas alsoKnownAs Epistle of Aristeas
linked to: Letter of Aristeas
Books of the Maccabees tradition Hellenistic Jewish literature
linked to: Letter of Aristeas
Aristeas traditionallyAssociatedWith Letter of Aristeas
Aristeas describedIn Letter of Aristeas
Aristeas primaryWork Letter of Aristeas
Philocrates mentionedIn Letter of Aristeas
Philocrates hasPrimarySource Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates
linked to: Letter of Aristeas
Kitab al-Sab'in titleTranslation Book of the Seventy
linked to: Letter of Aristeas