Greek thought.
History
He lived in the third or 2nd century BC. The period of his life is doubtful :
Alfred Gercke places him in the time of
Ptolemy Lathyrus
Ptolemy IX Soter II Ptolemy IX also took the same title 'Soter' as Ptolemy I. In older references and in more recent references by the German historian Huss, Ptolemy IX may be numbered VIII. ( el, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτή ...
(latter part of 2nd century BC); reliable testimony indicates that he was a contemporary of
Ptolemy Philometor (middle of 2nd century BC).
Aristobulus was among many philosophers of his day who argued that the essentials of Greek philosophy and metaphysics were derived from Jewish sources. Philosopher
Numenius of Apamea
Numenius of Apamea ( grc-gre, Νουμήνιος ὁ ἐξ Ἀπαμείας, ''Noumēnios ho ex Apameias''; la, Numenius Apamensis) was a Greek philosopher, who lived in Apamea in Syria and Rome, and flourished during the latter half of the 2 ...
(2nd century AD) echoes this position in his well-known statement "What is Plato but Moses speaking Attic Greek?" (1.150.4) Aristobulus maintained, 150 years earlier than Philo, that not only the oldest Grecian poets,
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
,
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
,
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
, etc., but also the most celebrated Greek thinkers, especially
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
, had acquired most of their wisdom from Jewish sages and ancient Hebrew texts (Gfrorer i. p. 308, also ii. 111-118) (
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
citing Aristobulus and Numenius Ev ix. 6, xi. 10).
He was among the earliest of the Jewish
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
n philosophers whose aim was to reconcile and identify Greek philosophical conceptions with the
Jewish religion
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...
. Only a few fragments of his work, apparently entitled ''Commentaries on the Writings of Moses'', are quoted by
Clement
Clement or Clément may refer to:
People
* Clement (name), a given name and surname
* Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People
Places
* Clément, French Guiana, a town
* Clement, Missouri, U.S.
* Clement Township, Michigan, U.S.
Other uses
* ...
, Eusebius and other theological writers, but they suffice to show its object.
Fragment 1 survived in Eusebius' ''
Ecclesiastica Historia'' (book 7, chapter 32),
while ''
Praeparatio Evangelica'' (book 8, chapter 10, and book 13, chapter 12) has preserved fragments 2-5,
and, more particularly, two fair-sized fragments of it, in which are found all the quotations from Aristobulus made by Clement. Parallels to parts of fragments 2-5 are found in ''
Stromata'', books 1, 5, and 6.
[ A. Yarbro Collins, ''Aristobulus (Second Century B.C.). A New Translation And Introduction'', in James H. Charlesworth (1985), ''The Old Testament Pseudoepigrapha'', Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company Inc., Volume 2, (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2), p. 831.]
In addition, there is extant a small passage concerning the time of the
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
festival, quoted by Anatolius.
Incorrect or heterodox descriptions
He is incorrectly named "Aristobulus of Paneas" in
Rufinus' Latin translation of Eusebius' ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (7, 32, 16). It is a wrong translation of the Greek ὁ πάνυ, "the Great". In addition, the author here quoted by Eusebius,
Anatolius of Laodicea
Anatolius of Laodicea (early 3rd century – July 3, 283), also known as Anatolios of Alexandria, became Bishop of Laodicea on the Mediterranean coast of Roman Syria in AD 268. He was not only one of the foremost scholars of his day in the physi ...
(270 AD), was mistaken in believing that Aristobulus was one of the 70 priests who translated the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
into Greek (the ''
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
'') during the reign of
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208
, predecessor = Ptolemy I
, successor = Ptolemy III
, horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth
, nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength
, gol ...
(3rd century BC). Anatolius of Laodicea incorrectly said that he lived in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus.
A further mistake in Rufinus' Latin translation of the Anatolius fragment gave rise to the legend that Aristobulus was from Paneas, in the Golan Heights. He is the author of a book the exact title of which is not certain, although there is sufficient evidence to prove that it was an exposition of the
Law of Moses
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God.
Terminology
The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
.
Aristobulus endeavoured to prove that early Greek philosophers had from
Linus
Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...
,
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
,
Musaeus Musaeus, Musaios ( grc, Μουσαῖος) or Musäus may refer to:
Greek poets
* Musaeus of Athens, legendary polymath, considered by the Greeks to be one of their earliest poets (mentioned by Socrates in Plato's Apology)
* Musaeus of Ephesus, liv ...
and others, passages which strongly resemble the
Mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
writings. It is suggested that the name Aristobulus was taken from . The hypothesis
[Schlatter, ''Das Neugefundene Hebräische Stück des Sirach'', 1897.] that it was from Aristobulus that the philosophy of the
Wisdom of Sirach
The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...
was derived is not generally accepted.
References
*
{{Authority control
Jewish philosophers
Jews of Ptolemaic Alexandria
Hellenistic Jewish writers
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown