The surviving fragments of Aristobulus are published here based on the standard critical editions of the underlying authors. The main fragments are all drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea and are numbered according to the scheme established by A.-M. Denis. Parallels to these also appear in Clement of Alexandria. These fragments appear in Eusebius and Clement as follows (numbered as in Holladay):
| Fragment 1 | Eusebius of Caesarea, Hist. Eccl. 7.32.13-19 | |
| Fragment 2 | Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 8.9.38-8.10.18 | |
| frag. 2a | Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 6.3.32.3-33.1 (par. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 8.10.12b-16a) | |
| Fragment 3 | Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 13.11.3-13.12.2 | |
| frag. 3a | Clement, Stromata 1.22.150.1-3 (par. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 13.12.1) | |
| frag. 3a1 | Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 9.6.6-8 (par. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 13.12.1) | |
| frag. 3b | Clement, Stromata 1.22.148.1 (par. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 13.12.2) | |
| Fragment 4 | Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 13.12.3-8 | |
| frag. 4a | Clement, Stromata 5.14.99.3 = Praep. Evang. 13.13.21 (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.4) | |
| frag. 4b | Clement, Protrepticus 7.73.2a (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.7a; cf. 13.12.4) | |
| frag. 4c | Clement, Stromata 5.14.101.4b = Praep. Evang. 13.13.26 (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.7b) | |
| Fragment 5 | Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 13.12.9-16 | |
| frag. 5a | Clement, Stromata 6.16.137.4-138.4 (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.9-11a + 12b) | |
| frag. 5b | Clement, Stromata 6.16.141.7b-142.1 (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.11b) | |
| frag. 5c | Clement, Stromata 6.16.142.4b + 144.3 (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.13a) | |
| frag. 5d | Clement, Stromata 5.14.107.1-108.1 = Praep. Evang. 13.13.34-35a (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.13-16) | |
| frag. 5e | Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 7.13.7-14.1 (par. Praep. Evang. 13.12.10-11a) | |
No attempt has been made here to reconstruct the original text of Aristobulus' work or to harmonize the various sources for each fragment. On the other hand, the texts presented here for Eusebius and Clement (the writers who have preserved Aristobulus in their quotations) are themselves eclectic texts reconstructed from the many manuscripts available for the work of those church fathers.
Double asterisks (**) mark those editions underlying the text published here.
| Eusebius | Hist. Eccl. | G. Bardy, Eusèbe de Césarée. Histoire ecclésiastique (3 vols.; SC 31, 41, 55, 73; Paris: Cerf, 1952-58). |
| ** E. Schwartz, ed., Eusebius Kirchengeschichte (3 parts; vol. 2 of Eusebius Werke; GCS 9; Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1903-09). | ||
| Cf. K. Lake's LCL edition which employs Schwartz's text. | ||
| Migne, PG 20. | ||
| Eusebius | Praep. Evang. | Karl Mras, Die Praeparatio Evangelica (2 parts; vol. 8 of Eusebius Werke; 2d ed.; ed. édouard des Places; GCS 43; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1982-83), p. 1.451-54 (frag. 2), 1.493 (frag. 3a1), 2.190-97 (frag. 3-5), 2.204 (frag. 4a), 2.206 (frag. 4c), 2.210-11 (frag. 5d). |
| Migne, PG 21. | ||
| Clement of Alexandria | Stromata | ** O. Stählin, L. Früchtel, and U. Treu, Clemens Alexandrinus (vol. 2; 4th ed.; GCS 52(15); Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1985), 92-3 (frag. 3a, b), 392 (frag. 4a), 394 (frag. 4c), 397-8 (frag. 5d), 447 (frag. 2a), 501-5 (frag. 5a-c). |
| Migne, PG 8-9. | ||
| Clement of Alexandria | Protrepticus | C. Mondésert, Clément d'Alexandrie. Le protreptique (2d ed.; SC 2; Paris: Cerf, 1949). |
| ** O. Stählin and U. Treu, Clemens Alexandrinus (vol. 1; 3d ed.; GCS 56 [12]; Berlin: Akademie, 1972). |
| Carl R. Holladay, Aristobulus (vol. 3 of Fragments from Hellenistic Jewish Authors; TT 39; Pseudepigrapha Series 13; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995). | |
| ** Currently the best print edition. The text presented by Holladay is identical to that published in the OCP edition with the exception of two minor corrections (see below). He also includes an excellent critical apparatus. Holladay's sources are K. Mras (Eus. Praep. Evang.), O. Stählin, L. Früchtel, and U. Treu (Clem. Alex. Stromata), O. Stählin and U. Treu (Clem. Alex. Protrepticus), and E. Schwartz (Eus. Hist. Eccl.). See below for details. Click here to purchase a copy of Holladay's print edition from the Society of Biblical Literature. | |
| Denis, Concordance, 922-23. | |
| C. Angelino, "I frammenti di Aristobulo," in Σύγκρισις: Testi e studi di storia e filosofia del linguaggio religioso (ed. C. Angelino et al.; Genova: Melangolo, 1982), 2.41-82. | |
| J. P. Martin, "Fragmentos de Aristóbulo, el primer filósofo del Judaismo: Introducción, traducción y commentarios," Orient-Occident 3 (1982): 65-95. | |
| Denis, Fragmenta, 217-28. | |
| ** Prints essentially the same text as does Holladay, except that Holladay's text is more complete. Denis lacks part of the first verse in Frag. 2 (Praep. Evang. 8.9.38), all of Holladay's frags. 3a, 3a1, 4b, 4c, the last line of 5d (Clem. Alex. Stromata 5.14.108.1), and all of frag. 5e. Denis' sources are K. Mras (Eus. Praep. Evang. [1st ed.]), O. Stählin and L. Früchtel (Clem. Alex. Stromata [3rd ed.]), and E. Schwartz (Eus. Hist. Eccl.). Note, too, that Denis numbers the fragments differently than does Holladay. | |
| W. N. Stearns, Fragments from Graeco-Jewish Writers (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1908), 77-91. | |
| ** Stearns employs quite a different text from the now-standard editions followed by Denis and Holladay. See below for details of the variations. | |
For further bibliography see DiTommaso, Bibliography, 1001-8.
Two corrections have been made here to Holladay's text:
| Frag. 1 | Euseb., H. E. 7.32.15 | Holladay's text reads δἰ where it should read δι’. |
| Frag. 5e | Euseb., Praep. Evang. 7.14.1 | Holladay's text reads δἰ where it should read δι’. |
In several places Stearns' text varies from the now-standard texts of Schwartz and Mras:
| Frag. 1 (Stearns' frag. 4) | Euseb., Hist. Eccles. 7.32.17 | Mid-way through line 17 Stearns reads ζῳοφόρον where Schwartz reads ζῳοφόρου. |
| Near the end of line 17 Stearns reads the definite article τό before ἰσημερινὸν, while in Schwartz's text the noun lacks the article. | ||
| Euseb., Hist. Eccles. 7.32.18 | Mid-way through line 18 Stearns reads the verb ἑστήξεται, where Schwartz reads ἐνστήξεται. | |
| Near the end of line 18 Stearns places an iota subscript under the α in ὁρᾷν, while Schwartz's text lacks the subscript. | ||
| At the end of line 18, at the start of the clause ἣ δὲ ἐξ ἀνάγκης κατὰ τὸ φθινοπωρινὸν ἰσημερινόν . . . , Schwartz reads the definite article ἣ. Stearns reads instead the conjunction ἠ. | ||
| Frag. 2 (Stearns' frag. 3) | Euseb., Praep. Evang. 8.10.6 | Stearns places an iota subscript under the ὦ in the phrase ὅσον ἂν ὦ δυνατός. This is not present in Mras' edition. |
| In the second sentence, immediately following the verb τεύξομαι, Stearns reads τἀληθοῦς instead of τοῦ πράγματος. | ||
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 8.10.8 | In the introduction to the second quotation from "Moses," Stearns omits the words εἰρηκέναι αὐτῷ φησι τὸν θεόν. Instead Stearns reads the words φησὶν ὁ θεὸς immediately following the verb ἀποστελῶ which begins the quotation. | |
| Stearns has an entirely different reading for the sentence which in Mras reads καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ γεγονότος θανάτου τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων φησὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων λέγων. In Stearns we find instead καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τῶν κτηνῶν θανάτου φησὶ τῷ Φαραῷ ὁ Μωσῆς. | ||
| In the sentence Ἰδοὺ χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπέσται . . . Stearns reads simply ἔσται instead of the ἐπέσται which we find in Mras. | ||
| Stearns has a quite different reading for the sentence which in Mras runs ὥστε δηλοῦσθαι τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ δυνάμεως εἶναι θεοῦ. Instead, Stearns reads ὥστε αἱ χεῖρες ἐπὶ δυνάμεως νοοῦνται θεοῦ. | ||
| Stearns omits the participle μεταφέροντας in the clause ἔστι μεταφέροντας νοῆσαι. | ||
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 8.10.12 | Stearns does not read the conjunction καὶ in the clause λέγεται δὲ καὶ κατάβασις. | |
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 8.10.15 | In the clause πάντη γὰρ ὁ θεός ἐστιν Stearns reads πανταχοῦ instead of πάντη. | |
| Stearns reads a final α on πάντα in the phrase διὰ τὸ πάντ᾽ ἀναλίσκειν, where Mras reads the elided form πάντ᾽. | ||
| Stearns reads the negative οὐκ ἄν immediately before the clause ἔδειξε φλεγομένην ἀνυποστάτως, while Mras reads no negation there. | ||
| Stearns omits the conjunction δέ which Mras reads in the clause μηδὲν δ᾽ ἐξαναλίσκουσαν. | ||
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 8.10.16 | Stearns reads a very different sentence at the opening of line 16 than Mras does. Mras' text reads τῶν γὰρ φυομένων κατὰ τὸ ὄρος, τόπων φλεγομένων σφοδρῶς. Stearns reads τῶν γὰρ φυομένων ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἐκείνῳ ἐξαναλισκομένων σφοδρῶς. | |
| Near the end of line 16 Stearns reads the participle φωνήσαντος where Mras reads φωνήσοντος. | ||
| At the end of line 16 Stearns reads πάντων, while Mras reads ἁπάντων. | ||
| Frag. 4 (Stearns' frag. 1) | Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.7 | At the beginning of line 7 Stearns reads οἶμαι where Mras reads οἴομαι. |
| Near the beginning of line 7 Stearns reads ὅτι where Mras reads διότι. | ||
| At the beginning of the second sentence in line 7 Stearns reads δή where Mras reads δεῖ. | ||
| In the phrase τῆς διανοίας αὐτῶν Stearns reads αὐτόν in place of αὐτῶν. | ||
| Near the end of line 7 Stearns reads ἐπιζητουμένοις where Mras reads ἐπεζητημένοις. | ||
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.8 | Near the beginning of line 8 Stearns reads ὅτι where Mras reads διότι. | |
| Frag. 5 (Stearns' frag. 2) | Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.9 | Stearns reads the article τήν immediately before the words ἑβδόμην ἡμέραν, where it is absent in Mras' text. |
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.11 | At the opening of the second sentence, Stearns reads δέ instead of δή in the phrase τὸ δὴ σύμφωνόν. | |
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.12 | Stearns reads the negative οὐ before the verb μεταποιεῖ, while the negative is lacking in Mras. | |
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.13 | At the beginning of the second sentence of line 13 Stearns reads the article τό instead of τῷ in the phrase τῷ δὲ σάββατον. | |
| In the first quotation from Hesiod, Stearns reads ἕνη where Mras reads ἔνη. | ||
| In the second quotation from Hesiod, Stearns reads αὖθις where Mras reads αὖτις. | ||
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.14 | In the third quotation from Homer Stearns reads δὴ οἱ where Mras reads δ᾽ ἠοῖ. Stearns seems, though, to express some hesitation about this reading in the note on p. 84. | |
| Euseb., Praep. Evang. 13.12.16 | In the first quotation Stearns again reads δὴ οἱ where Mras reads δ᾽ ἠοῖ. Stearns seems, though, to express some hesitation about this reading in the note on p. 84. | |
| Stearns omits the καί between the second and third quoted lines, treating the set as a cohesive section of poetry. |
| < > | conjectural addition |
| { } | conjectural deletion |
| [ ] | lacunae resulting from physical damage to the manuscript |
| " " | the beginning and ending of a quotation within a text. In the case of fragments preserved in later authors, these quotation marks indicate the beginning and end of the quoted author's words. |
| . . . | at the beginning or end of a verse indicates that additional text precedes or follows the text presented. This is usually used in presenting fragments preserved as quotations in a later author. Only part of the opening or closing verse from the later author may be necessary to establish the context of the quotation. |
The text of the fragments of Aristobulus published here is identical to that in Holladay's edition and is used by permission of the Society of Biblical Literature. In fact, however, O. Stählin's text of Clem. Alex. Protrepticus is in the public domain, as is his text of the Stromata (the 4th ed. rev. by L. Früchtel, and U. Treu being identical in this passage to Stählin's 1st ed.). So too is E. Schwartz's text of Eus. Hist. Eccl.. Hence only Mras' text of Eus. Praep. Evang. is covered by copyright, and in this case the re-publication (as here) of a short excerpt may qualify as "fair use." Before using this or other OCP text for another purpose, please click on the "copyright and permissions" link below to read the policy on re-use and re-publication.