The Letter of Aristeas and the Authority of the Septuagint

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16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ‘ideological’ features of the Letter of Aristeas have attracted the attention of scholars in the past, and have gained renewed importance in some recent studies. The present study focuses on a specific ‘ideological’ feature, viz. the question of authority. Starting from the latest insights in its literary structure, it identifies two major focal points in the writing and briefly reviews the major characters involved in the translation of the Law into Greek. This analysis leads to the identification of two structures of authority, one text-centred, the other community-centred. These are both justified by the central quality of eusebeia that is shown to be operative in the text on two different levels, as put forth in the rhetorical theory of ethos (self-representation).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)141-160
JournalJournal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha
Volume17
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes

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