Against Apion
Encyclopedia
Against Apion was a polemical work written by Flavius Josephus as a defense of Judaism
as a classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity against what he perceived as more recent traditions of the Greeks.
Some anti-Semitic allegations attributed by Josephus to Apion
(who Josephus states is not Greek), and myths as old as Manetho
's are exposed there as well, though there was apparently some confusion between Manetho's references to the Hyksos
and the Hebrews
. Assuming that Josephus was completely familiar with Manetho's points, Manetho may have simply written a blanket condemnation of all Semitic peoples. The Hyksos were possibly Semites of Western Asian origin. Their exact ethnic or national identity is unknown.
Josephus on Apion's blood libel
(Against Apion 2:8):
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
as a classical religion and philosophy, stressing its antiquity against what he perceived as more recent traditions of the Greeks.
Text
Against Apion 1:8 also defines which books he viewed as being in the Jewish Scriptures:Some anti-Semitic allegations attributed by Josephus to Apion
Apion
Apion , Graeco-Egyptian grammarian, sophist and commentator on Homer, was born at the Siwa Oasis, and flourished in the first half of the 1st century AD....
(who Josephus states is not Greek), and myths as old as Manetho
Manetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
's are exposed there as well, though there was apparently some confusion between Manetho's references to the Hyksos
Hyksos
The Hyksos were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta during the twelfth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt....
and the Hebrews
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
. Assuming that Josephus was completely familiar with Manetho's points, Manetho may have simply written a blanket condemnation of all Semitic peoples. The Hyksos were possibly Semites of Western Asian origin. Their exact ethnic or national identity is unknown.
Josephus on Apion's blood libel
Blood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
(Against Apion 2:8):