The surviving fragment of Cleodemus Malchus is presented here as quoted in Josephus, Ant. 1.15.1 §239-241 and Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 9.20.2-4. Since Eusebius is actually quoting the fragment from Josephus we are clearly dealing here with a single passage from Cleodemus Malchus. Josephus, in turn, credits Alexander Polyhistor with the original quotation. Because of the significant variations between the two surviving forms of the fragment both are presented here. The text is based on the standard critical editions of Josephus and Eusebius (see below).
| Denis, Concordance, 917. | |
| ** Prints the same text employed in Denis' Fragmenta. | |
| L. Bombelli, I frammenti degli storici giudaico-ellenistici (UGFL 103; Genova: Università di Genova, 1986), 55-59, 160-62. | |
| ** Only prints the text of the quotation as it appears in surviving texts of Josephus. The text follows the Niese edition of Antiq. except in the form of several names, where Bombelli has often adopted readings from the Eusebius form of the citation (see below). | |
| Carl R. Holladay, Historians (vol. 1 of Fragments from Hellenistic Jewish Authors; TT 20; PS 10; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1983), 245-59. | |
| ** This is the best print edition currently available, and the only one to include the full text of both forms of the quotation (in Josephus and in Eusebius). Also includes a select critical apparatus for each. Holladay prints the same text presented in this OCP edition, based on the editions of Niese (Josephus, Antiq.) and Mras (Eusebius, Praep. Evang.). Click here to purchase a copy of Holladay's print edition from the Society of Biblical Literature. | |
| Denis, Fragmenta, 196-7. | |
| ** Only prints the text of the quotation as it appears in surviving texts of Josephus. Denis follows the older text of Naber rather than the Niese edition (see below). This results in several differences between Denis' text and that of Holladay in this fragment. The differences are laid out below under "Variations in Denis' Fragmenta." | |
| Felix Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (3 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1954-69), No. 725. 3C.2.686-687. | |
| W. N. Stearns, Fragments from Graeco-Jewish Writers (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1908), 60-61. | |
| J. Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien: Alexander Polyhistor und die von ihm erhaltenen Reste jüdischer und samaritanischer Geschichtswerke (2 vols.; Breslau: Grass, 1874-75), 230. | |
For further bibliography, see DiTommaso, Bibliography, 1015-17.
| Josephus, Ant. | Benedictus Niese, ed., Flavii Iosephi Opera (7 vols.; 2d. ed.; Berlin: Widmann, 1955), 1.58-59. This is the text employed by Holladay and by the presen editors. |
| See also Samuel A. Naber, ed., Flavii Iosephi Opera omnia (6 vols.; Leipzig: B.G. Teubneri, 1888-96). This is the text employed by Denis. For variations between Naber's text and that of Niese, see below, "Variations in Denis' Fragmenta." | |
| Eusebius, Praep. Evang. | Karl Mras, Die Praeparatio Evangelica (2 parts; 2d ed.; vol. 8 of Eusebius Werke; ed. Édouard des Places; GCS 43; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1982-83), 1.507-508. This is the text employed by Holladay and by the presen editors. |
| See also Migne, PG 21 |
In a few places the Naber text of Josephus, Antiq., reprinted by Denis, departs from the Niese text.
| Jos., Ant. 1.239 | Instead of the name Ἑώφρην Denis reads ᾿Ωφρὴν. |
| Where Niese reads Ἀφρικὰ, Denis reads Ἀφρικὴν | |
| Jos., Ant. 1.240 | Denis reads the conjunction καὶ immediately before the name Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ πολυίστωρ. No such conjunction is present in Niese's text. |
| Where Niese reads the name Κατούρας, Denis reads Χετούρας. | |
| Jos., Ant. 1.241 | Throughout this line Denis reads the names Ἀφέραν and Σουρεὶμ in place of the names Ἰαφέραν and Σούρην which we find in Niese. Both identify the third member of the trio as Ἰαφράν. |
| The city which in Niese is named Ἐφρᾶν is in Denis named Ἄφραν. | |
| Here again the region named Ἀφρικὰ in Niese is named Ἀφρικὴν in Denis. | |
| While in Niese the father-in-law of Heracles is named (in the genitive) Ἀφράνου, in Denis the name is simply Ἄφρα. |
Although Bombelli offers what is essentially a reprint of Niese's text of Josephus, Antiq., his text is mildly eclectic in the form of the names mentioned.
| Jos., Antiq. 1.240 | Where Niese reads the name Κατούρας, Bombelli reads Χεττούρας. This reading seems to be taken from the Eusebius version of the quotation and it agrees with Mras' text of Praep. Evang. |
| Jos., Antiq. 1.240 | Throughout this line Bombelli reads the names Ἀφέρ, Ἀσσουρί, and Ἀφράν in place of the names Ἰαφέραν, Σούρην, and Ἰαφράν which we find in Niese. These forms of the names do not agree with the form in Naber's text either. Rather, they are adopted from the version of the citation preserved in Eusebius. |
| The city which in Niese is named Ἐφρᾶν is in Bombelli named Ἀφράν. This reading agrees with both the Naber text of Josephus and with the form of the citation preserved in Eusebius. | |
| While in Niese the father-in-law of Heracles is named (in the genitive) Ἀφράνου, in Bombelli the name is simply Ἄφρα. This reading agrees with both the Naber text of Josephus and with the form of the citation preserved in Eusebius. | |
| In both Niese and Naber, Heracles' son is named (in the accusative) Δίδωρον, but at this point Bombelli reads Διόδωρον. This version of the name agrees with the form of the citation preserved in Eusebius. |
The text of Cleodemus Malchus preserved in Josephus (Niese) and Eusebius (Mras), as re-printed in Holladay (Historians), is published here by permission of the Society of Biblical Literature. Both of the underlying editions may be considered to fall under copyright, although the re-publication (as here) of a short excerpt may be considered to fall under the category of "fair use." Before using this or any 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.