From the Greeks to Trogus

Trogus is assumed well educated in Greek, to write so accurately about mostly-Greek affairs in so many volumes, visible even through Junian's filter. Trogus may have had some Gaulish as well. Bartlett observes that Trogus offered more about Celts than most historians, perhaps beyond his remit. I know less if Trogus dipped his feet into Semitic or Egyptian. Timagenes of Alexandria crops up as a possible source for Trogus' lore on the East and even on the Gauls.

For Jewish Antiquities, Junian's filter reads like a blend of Genesis-Exodus with Ptolemy of Mendes, maybe also Agatharch; as we'll be reading from Apion. Bartlett doesn't see Junian as generally introducing new lore into what's supposed to be an epitome, so this might actually be Trogus reading this Ptolemy and some Bible more-or-less directly. Maybe with help from Diodorus.

Synagogues existed in Rome already by the age of Pompey; Julius Caesar grew up near one. Trogus should have had access to an early Septuagint. I must ask if "Latin targums" could be had as well. A vetus Latina tradition exists - from the Septuagint, and from the Old-Greek generally. Usually vetus Latina is considered a Christian project. But even after Trogus, Philo of Alexandria continued to prefer the Septuagint over the Hebrew.

Trogus' interest in the Jews, I think, starts in the example of Joseph son of Israhel (sic). This sketched out the wisdom and continence of Joseph, and the likewise wisdom of the Egyptian king for listening to his advice. Sic semper is illustrated, royal moderatio. Trogus must have had that from the Bible.

Trogus was uninterested in the Divine Haggadah. For Trogus, perhaps with Ptolemy in mind, Moses alone is responsible for the laws of the Jews. But although sharing Apion's sources and Apion's skepticism, Trogus decided opposite: as with Exagōgē Moses deserves all the credit the Jews offer him, and more. Moses' laws might be extreme now, but at the time they protected Moses' "Jews" from leprosy and scabies, and from passing such to-and-from their neighbours. Trogus didn't call Moses a king himself, but he will bestow that title upon his son Aruas.