The king from the east (652-656)

652 καὶ τότ᾿ ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο θεὸς πέµψει βασιλῆα, 653 ὃς πᾶσαν γαῖαν παύσει πολέµοιο κακοῖο, 654 οὓς µὲν ἄρα κτείνας, οἷς δ’ ὅρκια πιστὰ τελέσσας.

655 οὐδέ γε ταῖς ἰδίαις βουλαῖς τάδε πάντα ποιήσει, 656 ἀλλὰ θεοῦ µεγάλοιο πιθήσας δόγµασιν ἐσθλοῖς.

And then God will send a king from the east who will give the entire earth rest from evil war by killing some and making treatise with others.

He will not do all these things by his own will but trusting the noble orders of the great God.

The phrase καὶ τότε + future in line 652 marks the beginning of a new section and of a new event within the Sibyl's time frame. God will send a king from the east who will give the entire earth rest from war. The king from the east will be the harbinger of a peaceful period.

After the cataclysmic events God will send a king from the east to put an end to war, slaying some and binding others by oath. The king described in lines 652-656 has received much attention from scholars. In the passage the Sibyl’s debt to pagan as well as Jewish sources is particularly visible.⁸⁴ Collins in particular has been advocating that the passage describes a Ptolemaic king that God will send from the sun and to whom the author of the Third Sibyl looks to as a messianic figure. He identifies the king with the seventh young king of Egypt

80 Cf. 270, 532-33.

81 Cf. lines 189, 204-5, 234-36, 638.

82 In line 647 the Sibyl repeats the prediction that the earth will be unsown and unploughed that was already made in 542 with regard to Greece.

83 Cf. Geffcken, 1902, 81; Gauger, 1998, 103; Buitenwerf, 2003, 272; Merkel, 2003, 1102 n. 648 a.

84 Lightfoot, 2007, 238.

(see above). According to Collins the sun imagery is taken from the Oracle of the Potter, a demotic oracle from the third century BCE⁸⁵, where Isis appoints a king from the sun (actually from Helios/Re)⁸⁶ to end a period of foreign rule.⁸⁷ According to Collins the Jews of Egypt have made use of traditional motifs in Egyptian prophecy in order to express solidarity with the Ptolemaic rulers rather than hostility against them. However, the hopes expressed in the Potter’s Oracle stem from the old Egyptian religion and Pharaonic imagery which is essentially anti-Ptolemaic.⁸⁸ Although it is probable that the Ptolemies drew on the Pharaonic ideology to legitimise themselves, the idea that the concept was then adapted by a Jewish Sibyllist who probably was not from Egypt rests on a lot of assumptions. However, structural similarity with the Oracle of the Potter is undeniable.⁸⁹ Since the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century it has been acknowledged in biblical scholarship that biblical prophecy and apocalypticism have a certain relation to Egyptian demotic material.⁹⁰ An absolute chronology for this material, however, needs to be established still.

Several centuries after the Oracle of the Potter was written, the apocalypse of Elijah picked up on the king from the sun from the Potter’s Oracle in a sequence of good and bad kings.⁹¹

Excursus: The Oracle of the Potter

The Oracle of the Potter is a Hellenistc Egyptian prophetic text that was originally written in demotic Egyptian but has only come down to us in Greek recensions.⁹² The anti-Hellenistic recension stems from the last third of the second century BCE. The latter has often been seen as a key in understanding apocalypticism, be it Egyptian or (post)-biblical while others have seen it as an example of anti-Hellenistic opposition in Egypt in the second century BCE. However, in his most recent edition Ludwig Koenen has argued that from the second century BCE a clear discrimination between Greeks, Egyptians is no longer visible because Greek had become the administrative language throughout the Hellenistic world.⁹³ In light of this, the Oracle of the Potter has mingled Greek and Egyptian material, be it in terms of grammar or topoi. The expected king from Helios/Re no longer is a real ruler, but rather a symbolic ideal figure because by the second century no real expectation for the return of the Egyptian Pharaohs would have been actual. The ideal Pharaoh King was but a memory of a glorious past. The transformation of those traditional motifs is close to later Egyptian apocalypticism.

Koenen no longer regards the Oracle of the Potter as political anti-Hellenistic propaganda but rather as a social-political document of the tension between Chora

85 See excursus below for details.

86 See excursus below.

87 Collins, 1974, 40ff.

88 Cf. Gruen, 1998b, 24.

89 Cf. the descriptions of chaos and turmoil before the establishment of the divine order Cf. P₂ 4; 32; 39-41 and P3 65-67 (king from Helios/Re).

90 Cf. in general Schipper/Blasius, 2002.

91 Apoc. El. 2.39.

92 P₁: P. Graf (Vienna: G. 29787), second century CE; P₂: P. Rainer (Vienna: G. 19813), third century CE, version from ca. 113 BCE; P3: P. Oxy. 2332, third century CE, version from ca. 116 BCE. An anti-Jewish recension is preserved on P₄: PSI 982 (CPJ III 520) from the middle of the second century BCE and P₅: P. Oxy.

[26] 3B.52.B (13) (a), second century BCE. See Koenen, 2002, 139f for details.

93 Koenen, 2002, 170f.

(countryside) and Alexandria. A later anti-Jewish recension, which identifies the Jews in Heliopolis with lepers, supports this interpretation.⁹⁴

The king coming from Helios/Re (P₂ 38-49; P₃ 64f), which Collins renders as ‘from the sun’, is Pharaoh (ἐπὰν ὁ τὰ πεντήκοντα πέντε / ἔτ<η> ἧ ἀπὸ Ἡλίου παραγενόµενος).⁹⁵ Koenen renders Helios rather than sun which makes Collins’ ‘king from the sun’ an unlikely rendition. Just as the sun god (Helios) defeats darkness every morning, Pharaoh defeats chaos. This topos is deeply rooted within Egyptian royal ideology.

The announcement of a Syrian king invading Eygpt in P2 16f indeed points to Antiochus IV Epiphanes. If the king from Helios/Re should be identified with Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II it supports the view that the political component has been lost because he was a Hellenistic king. The tension between Greeks and Egyptians is no longer visible at this stage.

The Potter and the Sibyl have in common that the expected king is not a Messiah but rather a royal figure modeled on Egyptian/Jewish tradition. In the case of the Potter Pharaonic ideology served as a background whereas the Sibyl’s king is closely modeled on Isaiah’s Cyrus.⁹⁶

Whereas in the pagan Egyptian material ‘this king is part of a historical sequence, the Sibyl’s brings it to an end’⁹⁷. The reign of the king is embedded in a series that can be described as ‘weal and woe’⁹⁸, not so unlike biblical prophecies. Rather than reading the prophecy regarding the king against the particular background of the solar king from the Potter’s Oracle, it should be read against the prophecy concerning Cyrus in Isa 41:25.

I have already pointed out that the seventh king neither is a saviour figure nor is he a specific Ptolemy. The passage on the king from the sun or east should likewise be treated with care. Rather than particularly on the Potter’s Oracle, the prediction about the king from the east is based on that about Cyrus in Isa 41. The king from the east is an instrument of God, not unlike the king from Asia; however, he is a bearer of good tidings. While the king from Asia is a harbinger of death and destruction (although that will be followed by a peaceful period as well), the king from the east,will explicitly give the earth rest (παύσει) from war (line 653).

The text reads that God will send a king ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο. While indeed ἥλιος does mean sun it can also mean east.⁹⁹ East and West, Orient and Occident, are the places where the sun rises and sets. The designations 'Orient' and 'Occident', as regions of the world, are based on the compass directions in which they are located. These in turn were named after sunrise and, by analogy with this, sunset. Homer had already used these phenomena to determine a primary

94 See Koenen, 2002, 139-187.

95 Koenen deviates from his 1968 edition here (Koenen, 2002, 161 n. 82 cf. Koenen, 1968).

96 For further reading on the relation of Egyptian material and prophecy and apocalypticism see Schipper/Blasius, 2002.

97 Lightfoot, 2007, 239.

98 Lightfoot, 2007, 239.

99 Although ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο is a shortened form of ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο ἀνατολῶν (from the rising of the sun = east).

east-west axis for recording and describing the world¹⁰⁰, which differed from that used in Egypt that was based on the direction of the flow of the Nile. The primacy of the East over the West is also found in the MT because it is the place from which the sun rises. On the other hand Greco-Roman sources stress the supremacy of the West over the East. This is analogous to their geographical position as well as the conquests of the East.¹⁰¹

It is the most plausible option to translate ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο as 'from the east'. The reason for that is quite simple. A king from the sun is only fathomable if the Potter's oracle is presupposed.

Besides, no other Jewish document speaks of a similar phenomenon. On the contrary, the Sibyl is - more so than contemporary sources like Philo and Josephus - very much opposed to astronomy and astrology. In her first eulogy of the pious, the Sibyl claims that these sciences lead astray and to idolatry. In line 221 the pious were praised for not searching after the cyclic course of the sun and moon (οὔτε γὰρ ἠελίου κύκλιον δρόµον οὔτε σελήνης). A solar king has no place here.

Furthermore, line 652 shows a strong similarity in wording to line 286 (see also comment there). Bold means verbatim and underline means analogous.

3.286 καὶ τότε δὴ θεὸς οὐρανόθεν πέµψει βασιλῆα

3.652 καὶ τότ᾿ ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο θεὸς πέµψει βασιλῆα

The two phrases are almost identical. The only difference is the geographical marker.

Whereas in line 286 the king will be sent from heaven (οὐρανόθεν), he will be sent from the east (ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο) in line 652. The phrase ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο is a substitute for οὐρανόθεν influenced by the biblical prophecy about the coming of Cyrus. It is striking that God will send (πέµψει) the respective king in contrast to the Egyptian king who is said to rule (βασιλεύσει) or the king from Asia who is said to come (ἔλθῃ). This stresses even more that these kings are instruments and messengers of God. Both kings (in line 286 and 652) are sent by God to execute his will. The similarity in wording shows that at the end of days God will send another king - like he once sent Cyrus - to revert the fate of his people. The prediction is clearly modelled on Isaiah’s about Cyrus. The Sibyl looks to a similar event to happen in the near future.

Buitenwerf notes the similarities in wording to line 286 where the king is indeed Cyrus.¹⁰² I do agree that the Sibyl may have picked up on Isaiah as she has already proven in other

100 Homer, Od. 10.190-192. ‘This line has created a great deal of difficulty to the commentators. How could anyone, who had spoken such words in vv. 185, 187 as “ἠέλιος κατέδυ” and “φάνη Ἠώς”, express his ignorance in v. 190 of the position of East and West? [...] ἠώς and ζόφος represent a sort of exhaustive ‘dichotomy’ of the world: cp. Od.1. 23; 8.29; 13. 240 Od., 241. All that Odysseus means to say is that he has not the least idea where they are.’ Merry/Riddell, 1886, 415.

101 Cf. Polybius, Hist. 3.59.3 and Strabo, Geogr. 1.2.1.

102 Cf. Buitenwerf, 2003, 275.

instances. 'A Sibyl who turned Zechariah's 'daughter of Zion' into a κορή could very readily have turned Isaiah's relatively clear specification 'from the rising of the sun' into ἀπ᾿

ἠελίοιο.'¹⁰³

Collins claims that the expression ἀπ᾿ ἠελίοιο cannot mean ‘from the east’.¹⁰⁴ It is indeed true that the denominator ἀνατολή is absent from the Sibyl's prediction. However, it is not required to denote the east.¹⁰⁵ The Sibyl's king from the east is most certainly inspired by Isaiah's Cyrus which is also evident from the similarities to line 286 where the reference to Cyrus is certain.

According to Buitenwerf the king from Asia and the king from the east can be identified.¹⁰⁶ This notion is not unfounded as the Sibyl often equates the terms East and Asia.

Buitenwerf identifies a parallel in Phlegon's Mirabilia¹⁰⁷ which mainly consists of a collection of older material (see also lines 350ff and comment there). The oracle in the Mirabilia predicts that the goddess Athena will send a king from Asia; Asia being designated as the place where the sun sets (ἐξ Ἀσίης, ὅθεν ἡλίου ἀντολαί εἰσιν). Asia can be used interchangeably with East. The king will cross the Hellespont, form an alliance with the ruler of the mainland and conquer Rome. The oracle may very well stem from Asia Minor during the wars with Rome in the second and first century BCE, possibly even to the propaganda of Mithridates¹⁰⁸ - which, however, remains an educated guess. Similarly, the aforementioned Oracle of Hystaspes predicts the ruin of Rome and possibly the rule of the East were predicted.¹⁰⁹

The wording in Phlegon is also very similar to Isa 41:25. In Isa 41:25 Cyrus is sent by God from the rising of the sun (ἀφ᾿ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν). In Isa 41:25 God speaks of one from the east that he has called from the north.¹¹⁰ With regard to the positioning of (Second) Isaiah in Babylon it follows that Cyrus was expected from the (north)east. The Sibyl, who places

103 Lightfoot, 2007, 238.

104 Collins, 1974, 40-41.

105 Cf. Homer, Il. 12.239; Od. 9.26.

106 Buitenwerf, 2003, 275.

107 Phlegon, Mirabilia 3.8 (apud Lactantius, Inst. 7.13.11; FGH 257). Cf. Buitenwerf, 2003, 274.

108 Cf. Buitenwerf, 2003, 274.

109 Lactantius, Inst. 7.15.11, 19. See also comments on lines 350ff.

110 The LXX text reads ἐγὼ δὲ ἤγειρα τὸν ἀπὸ βορρᾶ καὶ τὸν ἀφ᾿ ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν. Baltzer (2001, 121) notes that (with regard to the Hebrew text) 'it is difficult to reconcile the two directions "from the north" and "from the rising (of the sun)". They can be explained either as the two directions from which Cyrus came to Babylon, or they can be combined as an expression for northeast, or that north is the place from which JHWH calls.

According to Watts (1987, 118) both descriptions apply to Cyrus. Cyrus departed from the east but went to Armenia, north of Mesopotamia, before beginning his march on Babylon. The LXX has βορρᾶς for North, which is not used by the Sibyl. The term can either refer to the north wind (Job 26:7; Sir 43:17) or north in general (Gen 13:14; Deut 3:27).

herself in Erythrea in Asia Minor, announces a king from the east which, if she has Cyrus in mind, is Asia.

It makes much more sense to view the oracle about the king from the East in light of Isa 41:25 rather than seeking an historic identification with Ptolemaic and other kings. Even so the king from Asia is divinely authorised (he will bring about a mass conversion) he does not give rest from war. On the contrary, he will come and ravage Egypt and fill everything up with evil – the latter was also said about the Romans in line 188. The king from the east, on the other hand, will bring (temporary) peace before the final divine intervention and will act according to the will (βουλή) of God (653). Cyrus is likewise said to act according to the will of JHWH.¹¹¹

Another prediction concerning a king from the East in the Pseudepigrapha can be found in the Assumption of Moses (As. Mos. 3.1ff) and refers to Nebuchadnezzar.¹¹² As. Mos. is only preserved in Latin but it is commonly agreed that it is a translation of a Greek version, which may itself be a translation of a Hebrew version, or at least had a strong Semitic influence. The author is generally agreed upon to be of Palestinian origin.¹¹³ The author of As. Mos. clearly imitates prophecies from the Hebrew Bible, in which it is not unusual to predict the coming of a hostile power as from one or another quarter of the compass, usually the East or the North.¹¹⁴ In As. Mos. the king from the East (i.e. Nebuchadnezzar) is said to come and cover the land with cavalry and burn the temple and take its riches. The land of the East refers to Babylonia accordingly.¹¹⁵ In this passage from As.Mos the punishment of Israel is combined with that of Judah. There were in fact two kings from the East – Sennacherib of Assyria and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia - to cause the ruin of the ten tribes as well as that of the two tribes.¹¹⁶ When the people return from exile and resume their sinful behaviour, however, another enemy will rise against them “from the West” (As. Mos. 6.8), i.e. the Romans, while the eschatological punishment is executed by the “king of the earth” (8.1). Whether or not the Sibyl drew from As. Mos. or vice versa cannot be said due to the problematic dating of both texts. As for As. Mos. there are two opposing opinions: Either one takes the text as a unit so that the text must be from the first century CE or one dates the original corpus to the second century BCE.¹¹⁷ Even if a consensus were to be found it still would not clarify whether or not the two texts depend on each other. Rather than that it can be said that the increasing focus on

111 Isa 44:28.

112 Cf. Brandenburger, 1976, 71 n. 1a. Text of As. Mos. 3.1: Illis temporibus venit ab oriente rex…

113 Hofmann, 2000, 33.

114 Tromp, 1993, 162. Cf. Jer 1:15; 4:6; 6:22; Dan 11.

115 Cf. As. Mos. 3.13.

116 Tromp, 1993, 162.

117 Cf. Hofmann, 2000, 30. Cf. Tromp, 1993, 116-117.

geographical markers may be owed to an overall growing interest in the geography of the world (and science in general) that was brought about by Hellenism. Even though the king from the East is a negative character in the As. Mos. it also comes to the fore that the balance of power shifted to the west (Rome) later on. The coming of a king from either point of compass has to be seen within a certain historical context. At a time when an evil kingdom arose from the western sea, the expectation of a Cyrus-like king from the East is not so unexpected.¹¹⁸ As we have seen, texts like Josephus and Jubilees likewise put a new focus on geography by drawing from biblical tradition on the one hand and Greco-Roman historiography on the other.¹¹⁹

It is said that the king will kill some and make treaties with others. This reflects again the notion that only the ones who obey God's law will be saved. It also highlights the juridical function of the king.¹²⁰ The absence of any reference to the land of Israel is again noteworthy and shows once more that the Sibyl is not interested in ethnic bonds but ethical behaviour.

The function of the king from the east is universal as he will give the entire world rest from war (πᾶσαν γαῖαν παύσει πολέµοιο κακοῖο).

However, the king will not accomplish these things by his own will (βουλή) but by following God’s doctrines (655f). Again, the Sibyl expresses the notion that everything is directed by God and nothing happens against his will. The king from the east is an instrument of God who executes his will, like Cyrus did in Second Isaiah's account.¹²¹ The king will act in obedience to God, which implies that he will heed God's law. Nothing like that was said about the Asian king. The identification of the Asian king and the king from the east can be refuted.

The king's function is indeed a positive one because he will give the entire earth rest from war (πᾶσαν γαῖαν παύσει πολέµοιο κακοῖο). In the beginning of history, the Titans have caused the beginning of the first war (πολέµοιο καταρχή) for men (155). The notion that warfare is a primary source of evil comes full circle here. The king from the east will finally give a pause to men. However, he is no saviour figure at the end of days. After his brief appearance, he fades from view and the eschatological woes continue. The reign of the king takes place in a series of 'weal and woe'¹²² oracles rather than in the style of biblical prophecy.

118 It should be noted that solar imagery was common for Persian rulers. Cf. Gesche, 1969.

119 See also Scott, 2003.

120 Cf. Dan 7:13.

121 Cf. Isa 44:24-45:8.

122 Lightfoot, 2007, 239. This has been already observed by Nikiprowetzky, 1970, 136-137. In some

122 Lightfoot, 2007, 239. This has been already observed by Nikiprowetzky, 1970, 136-137. In some