When did the Greeks Encounter the Jews?

A Conversation with ChatGPT

BEEZONE: I want to explore the ‘Greek knowledge of Jews’ with you. I’m reading a book from the Graduate Theological Union & University of California at Berkeley, Colloquy 40 from The Center for Hermeneutical Studies, published in 1981 by Emilio Gabba. There is a response to Gabba’s article by Erich Gruen, Professor of History at Berkely, where he references Professor Gabba’s reference to the discovery of the Jewish world by Greek intellectuals. Hecataeus of Abdera is the central figure, a contemporary of Alexander the Great, author of a book on Egyptian antiquities, and perhaps the first Greek to take a serious interest in the Jews. Can you shed some light on when the Greeks became aware of the Jewish people and when they started to take them seriously?

ChatGPT: The awareness and engagement of Greeks with the Jewish people began in earnest during the Hellenistic period, particularly in the late 4th century BCE after Alexander the Great’s conquests. This period facilitated extensive cross-cultural interactions across the eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds. The writings of Hecataeus of Abdera, a Greek historian who flourished around 300 BCE, provide an essential early testimony to Greek intellectual interest in Jewish customs, religion, and history. His works reflect an effort to contextualize Jewish culture within the broader framework of ancient civilizations that fascinated Greek scholars, like those of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Key Moments and Figures

  1. Alexander the Great’s Conquest (334–323 BCE):

    • The conquest of the Persian Empire brought the Jewish homeland under Greek influence. Judea became a point of cultural and strategic importance as part of the Seleucid and later Ptolemaic territories.
    • Greek settlers, traders, and soldiers became aware of Jewish practices and religion, which seemed markedly distinct, particularly in their monotheism and dietary laws.

  2. Hecataeus of Abdera (late 4th century BCE):

    • Hecataeus is considered the first Greek to take a serious interest in the Jews, mentioning them in his Aegyptiaca (a treatise on Egyptian history and culture). His work contextualizes the Jews as a distinctive people with an ancient heritage, a monotheistic religion, and laws that shaped their communal life.
    • He described Moses as a significant lawgiver, comparing him to figures such as Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Athens, thus placing Jewish tradition within a Hellenic framework of venerable legal and cultural systems.

  3. Ptolemaic Egypt (3rd–2nd centuries BCE):

    • The translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, the Septuagint, commissioned under Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE), marked a major step in Greek intellectual engagement with Jewish texts. The translation enabled Greek-speaking audiences to access Jewish theology, history, and law.
    • Jewish communities in Alexandria grew to be significant cultural and religious presences, prompting Greek intellectuals to address and sometimes critique Jewish ideas.

  4. Apologetics and Polemics:

    • Jewish writers like Philo of Alexandria (1st century BCE–1st century CE) and earlier authors developed works explaining and defending Judaism to a Greek-speaking audience, often drawing on Platonic and Stoic ideas to frame Jewish theology as compatible with Hellenic philosophical traditions.
    • Some Greek authors, like Manetho and later anti-Jewish polemicists, presented less favorable views, portraying the Jews as culturally alien or socially separatist.

The Greeks’ Awareness of Jews

The Greeks likely became aware of Jews before Hecataeus’s time through trade, the Persian Empire (where Jews held administrative roles), and encounters with the Jewish exilic communities in Mesopotamia and Egypt. However, the deep cultural and intellectual engagement emerged post-Alexander, when Judea was no longer an isolated province but a crossroads of Hellenistic culture.

Why Did Greeks Take Jews Seriously?

  1. Unique Monotheism: The Jewish commitment to a singular deity, Yahweh, stood in stark contrast to Greek polytheism and intrigued Greek thinkers accustomed to theological pluralism.
  2. Ancient Traditions: The Greeks admired the antiquity of Jewish laws and customs, as they often associated longevity with wisdom and divine favor.
  3. Philosophical Resonance: Greek intellectuals like the Stoics found parallels between Jewish ethics and their philosophies, particularly in the areas of universal law and morality.

The Legacy of Hecataeus and Later Figures

Hecataeus set a precedent for viewing the Jewish people as a distinctive and noteworthy civilization within the Hellenistic world. His writings were foundational for subsequent Greek authors, such as Josephus, who engaged with Hellenistic perspectives while defending Jewish traditions. The Greek intellectual encounter with Judaism ultimately paved the way for a cross-fertilization of ideas, influencing early Christianity and the broader cultural landscape of the Mediterranean.

This subject remains rich with interpretative possibilities, illustrating how cultural encounters shape mutual understanding and intellectual curiosity across civilizations.

 
BEEZONE: Could you add something to this matter that Felix Jacoby, a prominent German classicist may have written about the Greeks and the jews.
ChatGPT: Felix Jacoby, a distinguished German classicist, is renowned for his monumental work, Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (The Fragments of the Greek Historians), which compiles and analyzes the surviving fragments of numerous ancient Greek historians. This extensive collection includes fragments from historians who wrote about various cultures, including the Jews.

In his compilation, Jacoby assigned each historian a unique number for reference. For instance, Hecataeus of Abdera, who is noted for his early accounts of the Jews, is designated as FGrHist 264. Jacoby’s work provides critical editions of these fragments, accompanied by thorough commentaries that offer insights into the historical context and the perspectives of these ancient authors.

Through his meticulous scholarship, Jacoby illuminated how Greek historians perceived and recorded information about other cultures, including the Jewish people. His analyses reveal the complexities of these intercultural encounters and the ways in which Greek intellectuals, such as Hecataeus, engaged with Jewish traditions and history.

Jacoby’s contributions have been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the interactions between Greek and Jewish cultures in antiquity. His work continues to serve as a foundational resource for scholars exploring the historiography of ancient civilizations and their interrelations.