Artapanus of Alexandria - Works and Portrayal of Moses

Works and Portrayal of Moses

There is general scholarly consensus that Artapanus used the Septuagint as a framework for his historical narrative, liberally manipulating its stories to create his own unique account. He describes the Egyptian adventures of the three major Jewish patriarchs, Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, depicting them as heroes responsible for many of the cultural innovations of the ancient Near East.

According to Artapanus, Abraham taught an Egyptian pharaoh the science of astrology, while Moses bestowed many “useful benefits on mankind” by inventing boats, Egyptian weapons, and philosophy. (Eusebius, PrEv 9.27.4) He also recounts that the Greeks called Moses Musaeus and that he taught Orpheus, who was widely considered to be the father of Greek culture. Similarly, Artapanus credits Moses with the division of Egypt into 36 nomes as well as the successful conquest of Ethiopia, two accomplishments traditionally attributed to the Egyptian folk hero Sesostris. Throughout the narrative Artapanus insists that the public loved these Jewish figures for their impressive innovations and achievements. In fact, he remarks that the Ethiopians went so far as to circumcise themselves out of admiration for Moses. While some of Artapanus’ history clearly references accounts in Genesis and Exodus, such as his description of the plagues, most of his story is completely fabricated.

One of the most striking aspects of Artapanus' works is the ease with which he syncretizes Jewish and Egyptian culture and religion. Artapanus also writes that Moses is responsible for appointing "for each of the nomes the god to be worshipped, and that they should be cats and dogs and ibises." There is no doubt that Artapanus was familiar with the animal cults of Egypt and many cult centers for the worship of cats, such as Tell el-Bubastis, and ibises, such as Tuna el-Gebel (outside of Hermopolis), were flourishing in the time Artapanus was writing. Unfortunately, the mention of "cats and dogs and ibises" does not give us enough knowledge about the various cult centers that might be used for dating the work. However, we cannot know from only Artapanus' account the extent to which this religious syncretism existed in the minds of other Jews or Egyptians writing or living at this time. It should be noted that while Artapanus credits Moses with the foundation of the animal cults, he also claims that the "consecrated animals" were destroyed during the crossing of the Red Sea. This suggests that, according to Artapanus, Moses' contributions to Egyptian society were ultimately less important than the original purpose of this folk hero: to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Moses is also identified with Hermes in 9.27.6 (Eusebius, PrEv): "On account of these things Moses was loved by the masses, and was deemed worthy of godlike honor by the priests and called Hermes, on account of the interpretation of sacred letters." Hermes was a Greek messenger god who was in Egyptian traditions associated with Thoth (Djehuty), the god of wisdom and time who invented writing. John J. Collins points out the Greek linguistic play that must have existed in Artapanus' day of Moses, Thoth, and the common name Thutmosis; yet this is not why Artapanus associates Moses with Thoth. Instead, Artapanus makes the connection between the Jewish patriarchs who taught the Egyptians skills such as astrology (Abraham, Eusebius PrEv 9.18.1) and Moses who, by interpreting the sacred letters (presumably Hebrew Script), attained the godlike knowledge of Thoth. Moses' connection to the obscure Jewish figure Enoch has also been made by some scholars, as Enoch was said to have taught human beings the "right" kind of astrology (for instance, the solar calendar; 1 Enoch 1-36), however Artapanus only clearly denotes Moses' association with Hermes/Thoth. This makes sense, because Artapanus is not trying to reconcile Moses with Jewish mythological figures, but rather with Egyptian history, culture, and religion in general.