The letter of Aristeas and the writing of Aristeas the Exegete “On the Jews”

The prologue to the Letter of Aristeas mentions a certain work on the Jews (Ep. Arist. 6: ἀναγραφὴ περὶ τοῦ γένους τῶν ’Ιουδαίων). The article analyzes various assumptions of scientists about what kind of work this is. In particular, the question of the possible identification of Aristaeus, the author of the Letter, and Aristaeus, the author of the essay “On the Jews”, a fragment of which Eusebius quotes through Alexander Polyhistor (Eus. Praep. Ev. 9.25.1-4), is considered in detail. If this is one and the same person, then perhaps in the Letter Aristaeus had in mind his own essay on the Jews. However, a comparison of the passages from the Praeparatio Evangelica, which mentions both Aristaeus, as well as a textual analysis of the various spellings of this name in the 8th and 9th books of the Praeparatio Evangelica, allow us to conclude that for Eusebius these were two different author. In addition, the article evaluates the hypothesis according to which the work of Aristeas “On the Jews” was known to the author of the Letter. Analyzing in detail the arguments of Michael White [White, 2018], we come to the conclusion that there are no sufficient grounds to bring the Letter of Aristaeus closer to the work of Aristaeus Exegetus. It is hardly possible to determine what the work (ἀναγραφή) mentioned in the sixth paragraph of the Letters of Aristeas was. However, judging by the epitome of Alexander Polyhistor in Eusebius, there were many works devoted to Jewish history in Alexandria. It can be assumed that one of these works is mentioned in the sixth paragraph of the prologue by the author of the Letter.