On the Text of the Letter of Aristeas §168

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An im portant part of the Letter o f Aristeas is the defense or explanation of the Jewish law undertaken by the high priest Eleazar ( 128-71).In this discourse, Eleazar is especially concerned to make clear the deeper significance of the laws about clean and unclean foods.He appeals to the symbolic or allegorical m ean ing of these rules, showing that they generally hint at or imply some moral teaching.In concluding his rem arks ( 168), he explains to the visitors from Alexandria that his aim has been to demonstrate that (Eusebius, Praep.ev.8.9.34; (Parisinus gr.129); codd.rei.).* 1 M odern editors and translators have universally endorsed the reading .2The main reason for this seems to be that parallels for this form of expression are attested in other Judaeo-Hellenistic writers.Of particular im por tance is the Jewish philosopher Aristobulus, also of the second century, who tells 'King Ptolem y' that he m ust reach a 'physical' or allegorical understanding of the M osaic writings (cf

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