The race of the pious man (573-600) 62

Following the admonition of the Greeks, the Sibyl starts her second praise of the pious which resembles that in lines 218ff. Her praise is in the third person singular. The word αὖτις (hereafter, moreover) marks the transition to a new passage.⁶³

573εὐσεβέων ἀνδρῶν ἱερὸν γένος ἔσσεται αὖτις 574 βουλαῖς ἠδὲ νόῳ προσκείµενοι Ὑψίστοιο, 575 οἳ ναὸν µεγάλοιο θεοῦ περικυδανέουσιν There will be a holy race of pious men

who devote themselves to the will and intention of the Most High, who honour the temple of the great God exceedingly,

The Sibyl introduces a holy race of pious men.⁶⁴ Again, there is no mention of a gentilum - the Sibyl's differentiation of the pious and impious is one by ethical means. The εὐσεβέων ἀνδρῶν ἱερὸν γένος stands over against the ἀσεβῶν γένος ἀνδρῶν of the Greeks in line 568.

The pious are juxtaposed with the impious Greeks who practice idolatry and do not recognise the countenance of God. The pious, on the other hand, are introduced as pious and even as holy (ἱερός).⁶⁵ The wording is evidently analogous. The line also resembles lines 218-19 where the people of God were designated as a race of exceedingly righteous men (γένος ἐστὶ δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων). The Sibyl's point is that the pious morally and ethically stand above

60 The prediction that the Greeks will not obey the Sibyl in fact reflects the situation of the author's own day when the gentiles would not recognise the superiority and truth of Judaism (Cf. Buitenwerf, 2003, 258).

61 See also Part III: The Image of God.

62 It is beyond the scope of this study to discuss all lines in detail.

63 Cf. Prov 19:21; Isa 46:10; Jdt 8:16-17; 1QH 12 (4) 13.

64 A similar description of the Jewish people can be found in Philo, Praem. 83: ...ὅτι σοφὸν ἄρα γένος καὶ ἐπιστηµονικώτατον µόνον τοῦτ᾽ ἐστίν. See also Part III: The divine dominion in related literature.

65 The choice of the term is noteworthy insofar as it scarcely occurs in the LXX and NT probably because they felt the pagan sense of the term. In common Greek usage ἱερός denotes anything that belongs to the divine sphere but also people, such as heroes or emperors and even poets and philosophers. However, both Philo and Josephus use the term frequently and apparently feel less serious about its pagan meaning. It is probable that they, like the Sibyl, owe this to their Diaspora situation.

all the other nations who will be subject to God's judgement. Most importantly, however, the statement of line 194-95 is evoked here. The race of pious men will be guides in life for all mortals. Because they serve as an example, the impious Greeks will be able to turn to God and his law and be exempt from judgement.

The two subordinate clauses in lines 574-75 elaborate on their exemplary nature. They are described as devoting themselves to the will (βουλή) of the Most High (ὕψιστος) and honouring the temple⁶⁶ of the Great God. Again, the law and the temple are in tandem. In lines 492-503, the Phoenicians, by contrast where accused of speaking against God and the Greeks were accused of sacrificing to vain idols instead of venerating God. The epithet ὕψιστος recurs here as if the Sibyl is still addressing the Greeks and mediating the Jewish God to them with a term that is familiar to them (cf. line 519 above). In line 580, the Sibyl says that the pious received the law of ὕψιστος in righteousness. The abundant usage of the epithet in this section is noteworthy.

580 ἐν δὲ δικαιοσύνῃ νόµου Ὑψίστοιο λαχόντες 581 ὄλβιοι οἰκήσουσι πόλεις καὶ πίονας ἀγρούς,

Having obtained the law of the Most High in righteousness they will live blissfully in cities and rich fields,

In lines 580-81, it is said that they shall live blissfully in the cities and in the fields because they have obeyed the divine law - other than the condemned nations. Their happiness is contrasted with the judgement that awaits the nations, who do not heed the law. Living peacefully on God's earth is safeguarded by keeping his law. The happiness of the people of God foreshadows the peaceful conditions in the divine dominion.⁶⁷ The lines are reminiscent of Deut 28:3. The merism ‘fields and cities’ is used elsewhere in the book (237, 707, and 750) to designate the land, i.e. the habitable earth rather than a specific land, as a whole.⁶⁸ The statement in line 581 that the people of God will be a great joy to all mortals evokes line 195 where it was said that they would be (moral) guides for all mortals and may have Gen 18:18 in mind where it was promised to Abraham that he would be a blessing to the nations.

The Sibyl further typifies the pious by saying that they are the only ones who have insight into the divine will (βουλή) and therefore to do not practice idolatry.⁶⁹ The Sibyl then outlines

66 The next few lines describe a chain of offerings that the people offer at the temple (576-579). Buitenwerf (2003, 259) notes that in this list both Homeric phrases and word combinations known from Jewish scripture occur.

67 It should be noted that living happily (ὀλβίος) is also one of the features of the Golden Age in Hesiod’s Works and Days (Hesiod, Op. 171). See also comments on lines 744-756, 767ff.

68 Buitenwerf, 2003, 200f.

69 A similar notion can be found in the works of Philo. Philo (Praem. 83) describes the Jewish people as ‘only wise and truly learned race of men’ (ὅτι σοφὸν ἄρα γένος καὶ ἐπιστηµονικώτατον µόνον τοῦτ᾽ ἐστίν).

that those idols are nothing but dead objects made out of gold, bronze, solver, wood or stone.

Only the βροτοὶ κενεόφρονι βουλή, people with empty-minded counsel, practice these things (590). These people are juxtaposed with the pious, who do have counsel and insight into the divine will (584-85). The people of God are described as possessing just council (βουλὴ ἀγαθή) and adhering to the council (i.e. the law) of the Most High (βουλαῖς ἠδὲ νόῳ προσκείµενοι Ὑψίστοιο) whereas the Greeks and Romans have minds void of council (βροτοὶ κενεόφρονι βουλῇ) or possess ill council (κακὴ βουλή).⁷⁰ It is evident then that βουλή not merely refers to counsel but to the will of God mediated through the law. The law represents communication between God and man. God gives the law and the people receive it. They are to keep it and live according to it to be an example to the nations. Through the law they in turn have a special relation to God. This reciprocal relationship is on the vertical line in the Sibyl’s imagined world. The Greeks can partake in this relationship if they repent. In the next section the law will be transformed into a common law for all people to keep.

The Sibyl states further virtues of the pious like honouring God and one's parents, being monogamous and faithful and abstaining from pederasty⁷¹.The pious are defined via negationis, i.e. by what they do not do. It is a common technique in Jewish writings ever since the Hebrew Bible to seek self-definition by way of contrast.⁷² The vices mentioned are recurring throughout the book.⁷³ Again, the ethical nature of the law and those who keep it comes to the fore.

A lot of divine epithets occur in line 593-95⁷⁴. It is said that the pious honour (τιµῶσι) the sole one (µόνος)⁷⁵, the eternal guardian (ἀεὶ µεδέοντα), the immortal (ἀθάνατος)⁷⁶. The author creates a contrast to lines 586-590 where it was said that the pious did not honour (οὐκ...

τιµῶσιν) dead idols. However, it is also a contrast to line 279 where it is said that they did not honour God but served idols wherefore the temple was destroyed and they were led into exile.

597 ὅσσα τε Φοίνικες Αἰγύπτιοι ἠδὲ Λατῖνοι 598 Ἑλλάς τ’ εὐρύχορος καὶ ἄλλων ἔθνεα πολλά 599 Περσῶν καὶ Γαλατῶν πάσης τ’ Ἀσίης παραβάντες 600 ἀθανάτοιο θεοῦ ἁγνὸν νόµον ὃν παρέβησαν.

…as the Phoenicians, the Egyptians, the Latins, spacious Greece, and many nations of other people do, Persians, Galatians, and all Asia, who transgress

70 Cf. Lines 220, 574, 584 and 366, 590, 655 accordingly.

71 Cf. The Oracle of the Potter (P₃ 48).

72 Cf. van der Horst, 1995, 147-166.

73 Cf. lines 185-186, 204 and comments there.

74 See the image of God for discussion.

75 Cf. line 571 and comment.

76 Cf. 101, 302, 328, 582, 601, 631, 711, 721, 759, 766.

the holy law of the Immortal God, which they transgressed.

Lines 597-600 lists and compares to two types of people: those who indulge in vices and those who abstain from them and thus have insight to the βουλή of God. The pious are contrasted to the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Latins (Romans), Greeks, Persians, Galatians, and all Asia. Some of these nations occurred in the oracles of doom in lines 504-519. It is possible that the Sibyl had all other nations of the earth in mind. The naming of Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Persians is not too surprising because they were mentioned frequently throughout the book. The reference to the Galatians and the rest of Asia may be owed to the Sibyl being identified as the Erythrean Sibyl.⁷⁷

It is implied here that even though the nations may not possess the Mosaic Law, they can still transgress it (ἁγνὸν νόµον ὃν παρέβησαν). By way of contrast, they are to keep it although it was not given to them but given to the people of God. The people of God, on the other hand, serve as an example for the nations of the earth to turn to God and his law. In the following section it is said that God will complete the common law for all men. The law, that was implicitly universal to begin with, will be explicitly perfected into a universal law. Here, the Sibyl is certainly influenced by the concept of natural law that we find in Stoicism, Sir 17, and in the works of Philo of Alexandria.⁷⁸

77 See line 814 and comments there.

78 The vices will be discussed in Part III: The common law.