Eupolemus
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Eupolemus () is the earliest
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish historian whose writing survives from Antiquity. Five (or possibly six) fragments of his work have been preserved in
Eusebius of Caesarea 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 Christia ...
's '' Praeparatio Evangelica'' (hereafter abbreviated as ''Praep.''), embedded in quotations from the historian
Alexander Polyhistor Lucius Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Πολυΐστωρ; flourished in the first half of the 1st century BC; also called Alexander of Miletus) was a Greek scholar who was enslaved by the Romans during the Mithrida ...
, and in the ''
Stromata The ''Stromata'' ( el, Στρώματα), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christ ...
'' (hereafter abbreviated as ''Strom.'') of
Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
. A sixth passage which Polyhistor attributes to Eupolemus in Eusebius' quotations of Polyhistor is usually considered spurious as being dissimilar to the other passages quoted and has come to be called ''Pseudo-Eupolemus''. Style and vocabulary indicate the writing as also originally in Greek and the date of composition of the seemingly genuine passages is about 158/7 BC. That the author dates his work by the
Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
s rather than the
Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic K ...
suggests
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
rather than
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
origin. It has been speculated that the author might be the Eupolemus who was ambassador of
Judas Maccabeus Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabeus, also spelled Machabeus, or Maccabæus, Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, ''Yehudah HaMakabi'') was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleuci ...
to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
as found in
1 Maccabees The First Book of Maccabees, also known as First Maccabees (written in shorthand as 1 Maccabees or 1 Macc.), is a book written in Hebrew by an anonymousRappaport, U., ''47. 1 Maccabees'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)The Oxford Bible Comme ...
8.17f and
2 Maccabees 2 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Β´, translit=Makkabaíōn 2 also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus I ...
4.11.


Writings

The fragments usually considered Eupolemus' genuine work are: * A statement that
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
was the first wise man, that he taught the alphabet to the Jews who passed it on to the
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
ns who passed it on to the Greeks, and that
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
first wrote laws for the Jews (''Praep.'' 9.26.1). * Some chronology about the period from Moses to
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and some details of David's arrangements for building the temple followed by purported transcripts of letters exchanged between King
Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
and "Vaphres King of Egypt" and between Solomon and "Souron the King of Tyre", the Biblical Hiram (''Praep.'' 9.30.1–34.18). * A short statement about gold shields made by Solomon (''Praep.'' 9.34.20). * A very short account of the persecution of the prophet
Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern:   , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
by King "Jonachim" who seems to correspond to the Biblical kings
Jehoiakim Jehoiakim, also sometimes spelled Jehoikim; la, Joakim was the eighteenth and antepenultimate king of Judah from 609 to 598 BC. He was the second son of king Josiah () and Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. His birth name was Eliakim.; ...
,
Jehoiachin Jeconiah ( he, יְכָנְיָה ''Yəḵonəyā'' , meaning " Yah has established"; el, Ιεχονιας; la, Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( he, יְהוֹיָכִין ''Yəhōyāḵīn'' ; la, Ioachin, Joac ...
, and
Zedekiah Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθθ ...
followed by a short fictionalized account of the fall of Judah ending with the note that Jeremiah preserved the ark and the tablets (''Praep.'' 9.39.2–5). * A chronological summary indicating 5,149 years from
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
to the 5th year of
Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...
(''Strom.'' 1.141,4).


Writing of Pseudo-Eupolemus

The fragment usually known as ''Pseudo-Eupolemus'' (''Praep.'' 9.17.2–9) relates: * The Assyrian city of
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
icwas built by giants who escaped the
Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
and they also built the tower. After its destruction the giants were scattered. * There follows a summary of
Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
's career based on the Biblical account with some changes and details similar to those found in the ''
Genesis Apocryphon The Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20), also called the Tales of the Patriarchs or the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 by Bedouin shepherds in Dead Sea scrolls#Cave 1, Cave 1 near Q ...
'' and
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
and in Enochite tradition. Abraham is particularly knowledgeable about
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and when he goes down to Egypt he teaches
astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
to the Egyptian priests and explains that Enoch first discovered astrology. * Then follows a puzzling passage which seems to have little to do with the context and may be garbled: ::For the
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
ns say that the first was Belus, who is the same as
Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...
, and that of him were born sons named Belus and
Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
. This Canaan fathered the father of the
Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
, whose son was Chum/Chus, called by the Greeks Asbolus and was the father of the
Ethiopians Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
and the brother of Mestraim, the ancestor of the
Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
. :Traditionally many translators have emended ''Canaan'' to ''Cham'', that is ''Ham'' since in
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
 10.6
Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
is the father of Cush and
Mizraim Mizraim (; cf. Arabic مصر, ''Miṣr'') is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix ''-āyim'', perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Mizraim is the dual form of matzor, meaning a "moun ...
. However the author here claims to be relating Babylonian tradition, not Hebrew tradition, for whatever that is worth. ''Asbolus'' means 'sooty'. :Robert Doran in his translation in ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'', Volume 2, emends ''einai Kronon'' 'is the same as Cronus' to ''einai Kronou'' 'is son of Cronus' noting that in no other text is anyone called Belus ever equated with Cronus. However, in
Sanchuniathon Sanchuniathon (; Ancient Greek: ; probably from Phoenician: , "Sakon has given"), also known as Sanchoniatho the Berytian, was a Phoenician author. His three works, originally written in the Phoenician language, survive only in partial paraphras ...
's Historie, we find the gods Cronus & Elus in the same place on the genealogical tree, even though Elus is equated to El in this case. * The account concludes by indicating that the Greeks relate that
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
discovered astrology but that Atlas is really Enoch and that Enoch learned from the angels of God. Robert Doran gives reason for believing that this fragment may be part of the genuine work of Eupolemus despite earlier doubts.Cf also Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spano, "(Pseudo-)Eupolemus and Shechem: Methodology: Enabling the Use of Hellenistic Jewish Historians' Work in Biblical Studies", in: Lester L. Grabbe (ed.), ''Enquire of the Former Age. Ancient Historiography and Writing the History of Israel'' (ESHM 9; LHB/OTS 554), New York: T & T Clark 2011, 77-96


References


Selected bibliography

* "Eupolemus", translated by F. Fallon (pp.861-872), and "Pseudo-Eupolemus", translated by R. Doran (pp. 873-879) in ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'', Volume 2, edited by James H. Charlesworth, Doubleday; New York, 1985. . * Eusebius ** Eusebius, ''Werke: Band'' 8: '' De Praeparatio Evangelica'', ed. K. Mras. (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte), 43,1–2 Berlin, 1954–56. (This is the standard critical edition of Eusebius.) ** Eusebius, ''Preparation for the Gospel: Part 1, Books 1–9'' , translated by Edward Hamilton Gifford, Clarendon Press; Oxford, 1903. Reissued by Baker House Company, 1991. (ppr), (clth). This is available on the web and the Eupolemus material begins i
Tertullian Project: Praeparatio: Book 9
* Clement of Alexandria ** Clemens Alexandrinus, ''Werke'', eds. Stählin. O. and Fruechtel. L. (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte, 15), Berlin, 1960. ''This is the standard critical edition of Clement of Alexandria.'' ** Clement of Alexandria, "Stromata" in ''Ante-Nicene Fathers: Fathers of the Second Century'', Vol. 2, edited by Alexander Roberts, reissued by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988. . This is available on the web and the Eupolemus fragment begins i

{{Authority control Hellenistic-era historians Hellenistic Jewish writers 2nd-century BC historians Jewish historians