The Letter of Aristeas, an ancient text that purports to describe how the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, touches on this very thing.
Why, it asks, should we even bother talking about those "infatuated people, Egyptians and the like, who place their reliance upon wild beasts and most kinds of creeping things and cattle, and worship them, and offer sacrifices to them both while living and when dead?" Ouch. Strong words. But behind this seemingly harsh criticism lies a fascinating insight into the worldview of the author, and perhaps the broader worldview of ancient Judaism. It wasn't just about saying other religions were wrong; it was about defining what made Judaism unique.
The Letter of Aristeas presents Moses, the Lawgiver, as not just a leader but a divinely inspired sage. He was "a wise man and specially endowed by God to understand all things." What did Moses do with that divine understanding? He built, metaphorically speaking, a fortress around the Jewish people.
This fortress wasn't made of stone and mortar, but of laws and customs designed to keep them separate and distinct. As the Letter says, Moses "fenced us round with impregnable ramparts and walls of iron, that we might not mingle at all with any of the other nations, but remain pure in body and soul, free from all vain imaginations, worshiping the one Almighty God above the whole creation." image: "impregnable ramparts and walls of iron." It's a powerful metaphor for a culture determined to maintain its identity in a world of diverse beliefs and practices. The goal? To avoid "mingling" with other nations and to remain pure, both in body and soul.
But what does "pure" mean in this context? It means being free from "vain imaginations" – likely referring to the idolatrous practices of other cultures, like the animal worship mentioned earlier. Instead, the focus was to be solely on "worshiping the one Almighty God above the whole creation."
So, the next time you hear someone talk about ancient cultures and their beliefs, remember the Letter of Aristeas. It offers a glimpse into how one group, the ancient Jewish community, saw themselves in relation to the world around them. They weren't just different; they were deliberately, consciously building walls – not to shut others out entirely, perhaps, but to protect something they held sacred: their unique relationship with the one God.
And isn't that a fundamental question for any community, even today? How do we maintain our identity while engaging with a diverse and ever-changing world? It’s something to ponder, isn’t it?