''Against Apion'' ( el, Φλαΐου Ἰωσήπου περὶ ἀρχαιότητος Ἰουδαίων λόγος α and ;
Latin ''Contra Apionem'' or ''In Apionem'') is a polemical work written by
Flavius Josephus as a defense of
Judaism as a classical religion and philosophy against criticism by
Apion, stressing its antiquity against what he perceived as more recent traditions of the Greeks. One of his main sources was
Menander of Ephesus. ''Against Apion'' cites Josephus' earlier work
Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
, so can be dated after C.E. 94. It was possibly written in the early second century.
Text
''Against Apion'' 1:8 also defines which books Josephus viewed as being in the
Jewish Scriptures:
In the second book, Josephus defends the historicity of the
Jewish Bible against accusations made by
Apion (who Josephus states is not Greek), arguing that Apion in fact rehashes material of
Manetho
Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
's, though there was apparently some confusion between Manetho's references to the
Hyksos and the
Hebrews.
Josephus on Apion's
blood libel (''Against Apion'' 2:8):
Editions
*Josephus, ''The Life. Against Apion'' (
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...
), Harvard University Press, 1926.
*Josephus, ''Flavius Josephus: Against Apion'', trans. and comment. by John M. G. Barclay, Brill, 2013.
References
Further reading
*Tessa Rajak, ''The Jewish Dialogue With Greece and Rome: Studies in Cultural and Social Interaction'', Brill, 2002, chapter 11.
*Juan Carlos Ossandón Widow, ''The Origins of the Canon of the Hebrew Bible: An Analysis of Josephus and Fourth Ezra'', Brill, 2018, Part I.
External links
Gutenberg Project's text of ''Against Apion''Perseus Project's text of ''Against Apion''Loeb Classical Library Josephus Volume 1 ''Life'' and ''Against Apion''
Works by Josephus
Jewish apologetics
{{Judaism-book-stub