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Syriac Menander

Third Century A.D.

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James Charlesworth writes: "The writings of this early second-century B.C. historian are lost. He apparently was one of the students of Eratosthenes (276/5-195/4 B.C.). Theophilus of Antioch in his Ad Autolycum extracted a substantial quotation from Pseudo-Menander (Ad. Autol. 22, 23; for the Greek and English, cf. Theophilus of Antioch. Ad Autolycum, ed. R. M. Grant. Oxford: Clarendon, 1970; pp. 130-35). Josephus (Contr. Ap. 1.112-26; Ant. 8.144-49) referred to him, reporting that he wrote a history of Phoenicia, in which Hiram of Tyre's relationships with Solomon are described. Particular attention is given to Hiram's construction of Zeus' golden pillars for the Jerusalem Temple. Josephus claimed Pseudo-Menander translated some of the royal Tyrian archives from Phoenician into Greek (Ant. 8.144). R. Dalven (no. 1133) correctly suggests that Pseudo-Menander may be identical with Menander of Pergamum, who was quoted by Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 1.114). B. Z. Wacholder (no. 819, p. 110) argues that Eupolemus borrowed from Pseudo-Menander." (The Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research, pp. 158-159)

T. Baarda writes: "If a Greek origin is assumed, there are also no clear guides for an exact dating. It is generally taken for granted that the text originated in the Roman period. Some scholars find a latest possible date in the fact that schools for gladiators gradually disappeared after Constantine due to successive imperial rules. This would imply that the advice given in lines 34-44 cannot be dated after c. 400. An earliest possible date is found in the laws of Hadrian and Antonine with respect to the treatment of slaves: The master was not permitted to kill his slave. This would imply that line 159 ought to be dated after c. 150." (The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, p. 585)


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