The Letter of Aristeas

Even though the Letter of Aristeas was unmasked as a pseudepigraphon over 400 years ago, the question of its value as a historical source continues to dominate the field of Septuagint Studies. First, this chapter discusses how the genre of the Letter of Aristeas is actually a mix of historiography, rhetorical display, Hellenistic philosophy, and biblical wisdom literature. Next, it discusses several recent approaches to the problem of historicity: the search for a kernel of historical truth in the Letter, the application of insights from the study of ancient historiography, and the Letter as a source for the reception history of the Septuagint. Finally, it addresses the identification of the Aristeas story as a social myth of Alexandrian Jewish society.