Eupolemus: Third-hand quotations

The work of Eupolemus that’s available for study is another series of quoted

fragments of a history of the Jews written by a Greek-speaking Jewish author

who probably completed his work before 100 BCE.

Once again, scholars are dependent on extensive quotations from the two

Christian writers Clement of Alexandria (150–216 CE) and the voluminous

Eusebius (260–340 CE) to give them a taste of this Jewish writer’s work. Both

of these Christian writers, however, quote another work by Alexander

Polyhistor, and so the Eupolemus fragments are third-hand quotations! This

separation from the source has led to some interesting mistakes; in one case,

scholars have figured out what may have happened to cause a change in the

text. Consider this fragment that discusses King David’s decision to build a

Temple for God in Jerusalem, described in the Bible in 2 Samuel and repeated

in 1 Chronicles:

Since David wanted to build a temple for God, he asked God to show him a

place for the altar. Then an angel appeared to him standing above the place

where the altar is set up in Jerusalem and ordered him not to set up the

temple, because he was defiled with human blood and had waged war for

many years. His name was Dianathan. He gave him a command that he

should entrust the building to his son . . .

—Fragment 2, 30 (ed. Charlesworth, 866)

The biblical story of David and the Temple doesn’t describe an angel in this

episode about the Temple, but it does describe the intervention of the

Prophet Nathan. Furthermore, although the passage in 1 Samuel states that

David was not to build the Temple, it only explains the reason — because

David was a man of war — in 1 Chronicles. It seems clear that somewhere

along the line the prophet Nathan’s involvement turned into the intervention

of an “angel” with the name “Dianathan” (dia means “through” or “by means

of,” so it’s possible that the name was intended to mean “by means of

Nathan”).

The fragment also gives rather extensive details about the actual construc-

tion of the Temple — no doubt intended to impress non-Jewish readers

already familiar with impressive Greek structures!

This work of Eupolemus also contains some interesting letters written by

Solomon to seek assistance in building the Temple — letters to foreign rulers

who seem only too pleased to help him out! None of this is in the Bible, of

course, but you have to admit that it adds a nice flair to the story!