Historical allusions

The Asian invader is often identified with Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the young Egyptian king with Ptolemy Philometor, who ruled Egypt at that time.⁴⁵ Antiochus invaded Egypt twice in 170-168 BCE and in his second attempt he was called back by the Romans. Some of the Seleucid kings put the title ruler of Asia on their coins which makes the identification possible.

Gruen, on the other hand, has suggested to separate the passage form historical references altogether.⁴⁶ Threats to Egypt from Asia were endemic in Egyptian lore and the Sibyl may pick up on that circumstance.⁴⁷ Rather than trying to find historical identifications for the

39 Cf. 1 En. 10:18f; 2 Bar 29.5.

40 Cf. lines 367-380, 659b-660a, 741-761, 767-795.

41 Ovid, Met. 1.109-112. See also comments on lines 744-756.

42 Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; 16:13–14; Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9–10, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Josh 5:6; Jer 11:5; 39:22; Ezek 20:6, 15; Sir 46:8; Bar 1:20.

43 Cf. lines 744-757a where similar descriptions of the Golden Age can be found. The passage there also follows a prediction of judgement. This is a recurring pattern in the Third Book (cf. also lines 367-372).

44 Gruen, 1998b, 22.

45 Cf. Gruen, 1998b, 21.

46 Cf. Gruen, 1998b, 22.

47 In 533 BCE Cambyses conquered Egytpt and maintained control there up until 404. In 343 Artaxerxes III reconquered the land and maintained control until the advent of Alexander the Great in 322 BCE. ‘Egyptian memory of this period, exacerbated by Greek propaganda, recalls Persian rule as extremely harsh and irreligious’

kings the references to them should be understood in light of the structure of the book as a whole. The seventh kingdom or king of Egypt is a chronological marker setting the events described into a time frame of a not clearer defined future period which will be at some time while the Ptolemaic dynasty is still intact. This reflects on the author’s time of living. The seventh king is, however, no messianic saviour figure that symbolises a favourable attitude towards the Ptolemies or to Egypt.⁴⁸ There is no hope for the seventh king expressed in the verses in question.⁴⁹ On the contrary, Egypt will be ravaged by an Asian king and the Egyptian king is not mentioned again, he just disappears. Nothing is said about the seventh king's actions and no moral judgement is passed. In each case (lines 193, 318, 608) the seventh king or reign is but a time frame for something else to happen, i.e. a temporary cessation of war and judgement in which the people of God are allotted a role as moral guides for mankind (cf. lines 194-195) which will be fulfilled after the advent of the king from Asia that will ravage Egypt in the seventh generation (lines 608-23).

The Asian king, on the other hand, is an instrument of God. By destroying the Egyptian kingdom he becomes the harbinger of a temporary peaceful period (619-23). Moreover, scholars until Gruen have overlooked the fact that no ancient source enumerates the Ptolemaic kings. Hence, we cannot expect that the number seven would make the reader think of a specific Ptolemy.⁵⁰ Gruen has convincingly pointed out that the number seven holds high symbolic value for the Jews and that it would be inaccurate to apply it to one of the Ptolemaic kings.

However, this is not to say that the oracle contains no historical allusions at all. The

‘original’ prediction about the seventh reign in line 608 is an ex eventu prophecy about the sixth Syrian War and provides a setting for future events heralded by the Sibyl, such as the punishment of the idolaters and the establishment of the divine dominion. The reminiscence of the sixth Syrian War serves as a setting for a future punishment for Egypt’s idolatry. This requires some elaboration.

Excursus: The Cologne Papyrus

That the oracle concerning the seventh king of Egypt and the king from Asia is, to a certain extent, an ex eventu prophecy about the events surrounding the Sixth Syrian War (170-168) has long been observed by scholars.⁵¹ The seventh reign of Egypt would

(Barclay, 2007, 235 n. 486). Cf. Diodorus Sicilus, 1.44.3; Herodotus, Hist. 3.16-18, 27-29, 37-38; Strabo, Geogr.

17.1.27; Plutarch, Is. Os. 368f; Pompeius Trogus apud Justin, 19.1-6.

48 Contra Collins, 1974, 29-30; 39-40.

49 Cf. Gruen, 1998b, 21.

50 Cf. Gruen, 1998, 22.

51 Cf. Kocsis, 1962, 109; Gauger, 1998, 501; Merkel, 2003, 1101 n. 611 a. Collins weakens this aspect: ’The present passage may be influenced by the relatively recent memory of Antiochus, but should be taken as a more general reference.’ (Collins, 1984a, 375 n. v3).

either be that of Ptolemy VI Philometor or Ptolemy VIII Physcon and the Asian King would be none other than Antiochus IV Epiphanes who invaded Egypt twice only to be called out by the Romans on the second attempt. In Jewish history Antiochus is chiefly known for plundering the Temple of Jerusalem on his way back.⁵² Philometor’s benevolence towards the Jews of Egypt is well attested.⁵³ Philometor was sixteen at the time wherefore the description νέος is fitting (608).

The recent publication of a papyrus in Papyrologica Coloniensia supports this dating.⁵⁴ The papyrus contains 15 verses written in hexameter that were partially known from a papyrus in Oslo which scholars have for a long time related to the Sibylline Oracles.⁵⁵ The newly uncovered papyrus from Cologne helps to unveil the damaged verses on the Oslo papyrus.⁵⁶ The two papyri present the same text with a few variants, which is not surprising as the Oslo Papyrus was written approximately 300 years after the Cologne Papyrus.⁵⁷ The Cologne papyrus can be dated to the second century BCE.⁵⁸ It contains a poetic oracle in 15 verses of hexameter. The oracle reconstructed from the two papyri is an ex eventu oracle about the Macedonian rulers in Egypt up until the Syrian War of 170-168 BCE and the invasion of Antiochus IV. The oracle contains no verbatim correspondence to Sib. Or. 3 but it is evident that it is the same type of oracle (namely Sibylline).⁵⁹ It is probably of Jewish origin as can be deduced from verses 1-4 (only on Pap. Oslo) which contain an oracle against idolatry.⁶⁰ However, these lines are damaged so that only a few words are legible.⁶¹ The supposed polemics against idolatry can only be derived from the word ἀψύχ[ος] (lifeless, inanimate) which can also be found in Sib. Or. 5.84 where it refers to idols.⁶² If this holds water, the invasion of Egypt on the papyrus fragment is divine punishment for idolatry just like it is in lines 615-619 of the Third Sibyl. Verses 13-15 (17-19 Pap. Oslo) of the papyrus show a pejorative attitude towards the Egyptians (and possibly their idolatry).

The papyrus furthermore helps to shed light on the elusive young seventh king of Egypt who is repeatedly mentioned in the Third Sibyl. The oracle in the papyrus lists several rulers without giving their names: it speaks of a lion⁶³ that will reign first (ἄρξει πρῶτα λέων), the fifth (πέµπτος) that will have no name (ἀνώνυµος)⁶⁴, a woman that will reign (probably Cleopatra), and a child (παῖς) that will reign after her. The oracle then turns to a hubristic ruler (κοίρανος ὐβριστής) that will raise up the strife (ἔρις) of Zeus and war. The Egyptians will then remember their flight (φυγή) while most

52 1 Macc 1:17-29; 2 Macc 5:1, 11-21.

53 Cf. Josephus, C. Ap. 2.49; Ant. 13.62-80; 2 Macc 1:10.

54 P.Köln Inv. 20380 R. Editio Princeps: Gronewald, 2010.

55 Cf. Gauger, 1998, 367 n. 55. Edito princeps Wilhlem Crönert, “Oraculorum Sibyllinorum Fragmentum

59 Cf. Gronewald, 2010, 3. Crönert was the first to relate the oracle to the Sibyl (Crönert, 1928, 58).

60 „Der jüdische Hintergrund wird nahegelegt durch die ersten Verse des Papyrus, die sich in einer Digression gegen heidnische Opferpraxis und Götzendienst zu richten scheinen.“ Gronewald, 2010, 3.

61 [....]… εν Ἀργείων [....] κατ’Αἴγυπτον .. [….]σιν καὶ ἐν ἀψύχ[….]σαί τε θεῶν ε ..

62 Cf. also Sib. Or. 3.554 and 588.

63 Lions are typical imagery of rulers ever since the Archemenides. According to Plutarch (Alex. 40.3f) Alexander battled a great lion (Darius). In relation to the Persian king, the lion usually represented the zodiac sign whose true role is unfolded in relation to the sun. By the time of Alexander the image was adapted into the imagery of the Hellenistic rulers. In Herodotus, Hist. 5.92b.3 a lion announces the birth of a ruler, cf.

Aristophanes, Eq. 1037. In Sib. Or. 11.215 and 290 a lion designates a ruler. Cf. also Lycophron, Alexandra, 1441 for Alexander the Great. According to Gronewald, 2010, 10 the reference here is not to Alexander but to Ptolemy I because ἕτερος refers to Ptolemy II. He acknowledges, however, that the lion imagery may be of Egyptian influence. It is a known fact, that the Ptolemies drew on Hellenistic as well as on Pharaonic imagery.

That the lion is a symbol for rule is also attested in the Bible (cf. Gen 49:9; Deut 33:20, 23; 2 Sam 1:23; Num 23:24; 24:9; Isa 31:4; Hos 5:14; Dan 7:3; Rev 4:7; 5:5). Be that as it may, the reference here is with all likelihood to a Hellenistic ruler.

64 I.e. he will not be loved by the people.

Egyptians will be killed during the flight.⁶⁵ The oracle contains but contextual parallels to lines 608-615 of Sib. Or. 3. However, supposed the oracle is indeed of Jewish origin from second century BCE Egypt it proves what has long been assumed by most scholars, namely that lines 608-615 contain reminiscences to an older, possibly non-Jewish oracle from second century BCE Egypt. Nonetheless, this does not mean that the core of Sib. Or. 3 was written there and then but that it had a precursor.⁶⁶ If we relate the papyrus to lines 608-615 of the Third Sibyl, Philometor would indeed be the seventh young king of Egypt of Greek decent. Nonetheless, most of Sib. Or. 3 was not compiled until the first century BCE, approximately one hundred years after the sixth Syrian War.

It can therefore not be said with certainty when the oracle in the Third Sibyl was written. It is safe to assume, however, that the two other predictions about the seventh king of Egypt were composed in light of lines 608-615. The papyrus shows that (Jewish) Sibylline oracles did circulate long before the establishment of the collection we now have. The Syrian war provides the terminus post quem for the oldest strata of Sib. Or. 3. The predictions surrounding the seventh king, however, are a literary transformation based on these events. Even though Philometor may be the historical seventh king, the Sibyl’s seventh king is to be expected in the Roman period as we have seen in line 193 and 318 respectively. Whereas line 608 contains allusions to actual historical events and combines them with a sin-punishment scheme (and a mass-conversion), lines 193 and 318 simply serve as a setting, a time frame in which the Sibyl expects her oracles to be fulfilled (see comments there). Egypt is not necessarily the origin of the rest of the book. For the Sibyl, the seventh reign designates the period in which the people of God will be strong again and be guides in life for all mortals (194-195). That this will be in the Roman period has become clear from the related passages.⁶⁷

Aside from the references to the sixth Syrian War the oracle contains another feature known from Sib. Or. 3, namely, the succession of rule. In Gronewald’s reconstruction of the two papyri, a possible succession of rule in Egypt containing Medes, Egypt and Macedonia can be discerned.⁶⁸

In the remainder of the third book, the Greeks seem to be the intended addressees. A positive attitude towards Egypt cannot be discerned in my opinion. By the time that the Third Sibyl was written the events surrounding Philometor were but memories of the past so that the young seventh king of Egypt is allotted a new role in a not too distant future.

7.4.5 Conclusion

The punishment of the idolaters in lines 601-7 and the coming of the Asian king during the seventh reign of Egypt and the mass conversion it will bring about (608-623) evidently focus on idolatry. The two passages are modelled upon each other. In lines 601-607 the idolater are contrasted with the people of God who are embellished in lines 573-600 (see comment there).

The retribution of the idolaters is set in the seventh reign of Egypt which matches the statement made in lines 193-195, that the people of God would be guides in life for all mortals during the seventh reign. The seventh reign is the Sibyl’s setting for the role of the

65 Cf. 1 Macc 1:18: … And Ptolemy was afraid of him (Antiochus) and fled, and many were wounded and fell.

66 Cf. Gronewald, 2010, 4: „Der Kölner und der Osloer Papyrus bieten den Beweis einer Rezension von Orakeln, die unabhängig ist von derjenigen der or. Sib. Und mit Sicherheit bereits im zweiten Jahrhundert vor Chr. vorgelegen und sich wenigstens bis ins zweite Jahrhundert nach Chr. erhalten hat.“

67 See according comments.

68 Cf. Gronewald, 2010, 8-10.

people of God as moral guides, divine retribution of the idolaters, and conversion to the true king once judgement has come to pass.The Egyptian kingdom will be destroyed because of its idolatry and immoral behaviour and only redeemed when the Egyptians convert to God.

The king from Asia is merely an agent of God and a literary creation of the Sibyllist.⁶⁹ The compiler of Sib. Or. 3 looks to these events in the near future, probably in his own lifetime.

The passage is in consonance with other passages concerning the Egyptian dynasty and the future role of the people of God (192-93, 314-18, 652-656).⁷⁰

The evaluation of idolatry is continued here and is once more the crossroads of judgement and salvation. The passage looks ahead to the smashing of idolatry, the transformation of the earth, conversion, and redemption. ‘A narrow political interpretation would be simplistic and distorting.’⁷¹

On the horizontal line the sixth Syrian War provides the terminus post quem for the prediction about the seventh king of Egypt. On the vertical line, however, it provides the setting when God will punish the idolaters at the hands of an Asian king and the people of God will be moral guides via their obedience to the law.

Again, it comes to the fore that kingdoms and dominion mean nothing if the people do not heed the law of God. Again, the passage is closely related to the role of the people of God on the vertical line. Destruction and punishment await the idolaters but also eventual redemption and salvation should they convert to God. In the next passage, the Sibyl admonishes them to do so. The vertical and horizontal lines draw to their conclusion.