The Letter Of Aristeas
1926 anthology, complete selected publisher reading text
Rutherford H. Platt
38 Of the third tribe, Nehemia, Joseph, Theodosius, Baseas, Ornias, Dakis.
39 Of the fourth tribe, Jonathan, Abraeus, Elisha, Ananias, Chabrias. . . .
40 Of the fifth tribe, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, Sabbataeus, Simon, Levi.
41 Of the sixth tribe, Judas, Joseph, Simon, Zacharias, Samuel, Selemas.
42 Of the seventh tribe, Sabbataeus, Zedekiah, Jacob, Isaac, Jesias, Natthaeus.
43 Of the eighth tribe, Theodosius, Jason, Jesus, Theodotus, John, Jonathan.
44 Of the ninth tribe, Theophilus, Abraham, Arsamos, Jason, Endemias, Daniel.
45 Of the tenth tribe, Jeremiah, Eleazar, Zachariah, Baneas, Elisha, Dathaeus.
46 Of the eleventh tribe, Samuel, Joseph, Judas, Jonathes, Chabu, Dositheus.
47 Of the twelfth tribe, Isaelus, John, Theodosius, Arsamos, Abietes, Ezekiel.
48 They were seventy-two in all. Such was the answer which Eleazar and his friends gave to the king’s letter.
CHAP. III.
In which is described the most exquisite and beautiful table ever produced. Also other rich gifts, Interesting in the light of recent excavations in Egypt.
I WILL now Proceed to redeem my promise and give a description of the works of art.
2 They were wrought with exceptional skill, for the king spared no expense and personally superintended the workmen individually.
3 They could not therefore scamp any part of the work or finish it off negligently.
4 First of all I will give you a description of the table.
5 The king was anxious that this piece of work should be of exceptionally large dimensions, and he caused enquiries to be made of the Jews in the locality with regard to the size of the table already in the temple at Jerusalem.
6 And when they described the measurements, he proceeded to ask whether he might make a larger structure.
7 And some of the priests and the other Jews replied that there was nothing to prevent him.
8 And he said that he was anxious to make it five times the size, but he hesitated lest it should prove useless for the temple services.
9 He was desirous that his gift should not merely be stationed in the temple, for it would afford him much greater pleasure if the men whose duty it was to offer the fitting sacrifices were able to do so appropriately on the table which he had made.
10 He did not suppose that it was owing to lack of gold that the former table had been made of small size, but there seems to have been, he said, some reason why it was made of--this dimension.
11 For had the order been given, there would have been no lack of means.
12 Wherefore we must not transgress or go beyond the proper measure.
13 At the same time he ordered them to press into service all the manifold forms of art, for he was a man of the most lofty conceptions and nature had endowed him with a keen imagination which enabled him to picture the appearance which would be presented by the finished work.
14 He gave orders too, that where there were no instructions laid down in the Jewish Scriptures, everything should be made as beautiful as possible.--
15 When such instructions were laid down, they were to be carried out to the letter.
16 They made the table two cubits [4] long, one cubit broad, one and a half cubits high fashioning it of pure solid gold.
17 What I am describing was not thin gold laid over another foundation, but the whole structure was of massive gold welded together.
18 And they made a border of a hand’s breadth round about it.
19 And there was a wreath of wave-work, engraved in relief in the form of ropes marvellously wrought on its three sides.
20 For it was triangular in shape and the style of the work was exactly the same on each of the sides, so that whichever side they were turned, they presented the same appearance.
21 Of the two sides under the border, the one which sloped down to the table was a very beautiful piece of work, but it was the outer side which attracted the gaze of the spectator.
22 Now the upper edge of the two sides, being elevated, was sharp since, as we have said, the rim was three-sided, from whatever point of view one approached it.
23 And there were layers of precious stones on it in the midst of the embossed cord-work, and they were interwoven with one another by an inimitable artistic device.
24 For the sake of security they were all fixed by golden needles which were inserted in perforations in the stones.
25 At the sides they were clamped together by fastenings to hold them firm.
26 On the part of the border round the table which slanted upwards and met the eyes, there was wrought a pattern of eggs in precious stones, elaborately engraved by a continuous piece of fluted relief-work, closely connected together round the whole table.
27 And under the stones which had been arranged to represent eggs the artists made a crown containing all kinds of fruits, having at its top clusters of grapes and ears of corn, dates also and apples, and pomegranates and the like, conspicuously arranged.