He claimed they swore "by God, the Maker of the heaven, and earth, and sea, to bear no good will to any foreigner, and particularly to none of the Greeks."
Now, Josephus, the Jewish historian who wrote Against Apion to defend his people against these kinds of slanders, absolutely tears this claim apart. Can you just picture him, pen in hand, practically spitting ink as he writes?
He points out the sheer absurdity of it all. If you were going to invent such a hateful oath, wouldn't it make more sense for it to target the Egyptians? After all, according to Apion’s own twisted narrative, the Jews were supposedly driven out of Egypt! Josephus argues that Apion should have claimed the oath was against Egyptians, because that would at least align with Apion's other false claims.
But the Greeks? Josephus makes it clear that there was no inherent enmity between Jews and Greeks. In fact, he notes something quite remarkable: many Greeks had actually converted to Judaism! Some, he admits, didn't have the strength to stick with it, but the fact remains that there was a clear attraction to Jewish law and tradition for some.
Think about that for a moment. Greeks, embracing Judaism. Does that sound like a people consumed by hatred for foreigners?
Josephus is basically saying, "Nobody ever heard of this oath! Apion, you're the only one who ever 'heard' it because you made it up yourself!" He exposes the lie for what it is: a fabrication designed to paint the Jewish people as xenophobic and hateful.
And it makes you wonder, doesn't it? Why this need to invent such outrageous claims? What motivates someone to create such a blatant falsehood? Perhaps it's fear, perhaps ignorance, perhaps just plain old prejudice. Whatever the reason, it serves as a stark reminder of the power of words to wound and the importance of challenging those who spread lies.