Demetrius the Chronographer
Encyclopedia
Demetrius the Chronographer (or Demetrius the Chronicler) was a Jewish chronicler (historian) of the late 3rd century BCE, who lived probably in Alexandria
and wrote in Greek
.
's Praeparatio Evangelica, the Stromata
of Clement of Alexandria
and in quotations from the book About Jews of the historian Alexander Polyhistor
(used by Eusebius).
From the orthography of proper names, and from various expressions used, it is evident that Demetrius used the Septuagint text of the Bible
. For the determination of certain dates he relied on the Biblical exegesis
in use among the Palestinian
Jews. Josephus
used Demetrius' chronicles for his Antiquities of the Jews
and adopted his chronological system.
Demetrius is not an apologist in the usual meaning: his main focus is patriarchal chronology, and there is no attention given to theological matters.
.
The second fragment is the longest we have. It is found in Praeparatio Evangelica 9.21.1-19 and deals with the history of Jacob
from the time of his emigration to Mesopotamia till his death. Demetrius endeavors to establish the Biblical chronology and gives the date of every incident in Jacob's life, even fixing the year and month in which each of Jacob's children was born. The excerpt concludes with the genealogy of Levi
back to the birth of Aaron
and Moses.
The third fragment (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.29.1-3) is an extract from the history of Moses
, laying stress on the genealogy of Jethro in order to demonstrate that Zipporah
, the wife of Moses, was a descendant of Abraham
and Keturah
. The fourth fragment (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.29.15) gives an account of the sweetening of the water of Marah
. Fragment five (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.29.15-end) is very short and is about Israelites's weapons referred to in chapter 14 of Exodus.
The last fragment was preserved by Clement of Alexandria (Stromata i. 21, 141), who gives the title of Demetrius' chronicles as Περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ Βασιλέων. This fragment endeavors to determine exactly the period of the exile of the Ten Lost Tribes
, and that of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin till Ptolemy IV Philopator
, in whose reign Demetrius evidently lived.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and wrote in Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
.
Works
His text is almost lost and only a few fragments have survived in the following ancient texts: EusebiusEusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
's Praeparatio Evangelica, the Stromata
Stromata
The Stromata is the third in Clement of Alexandria's trilogy of works on the Christian life. Clement titled this work Stromateis, "patchwork," because it dealt with such a variety of matters...
of Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
and in quotations from the book About Jews of the historian Alexander Polyhistor
Alexander Polyhistor
Lucius Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor was a Greek scholar who was enslaved by the Romans during the Mithridatic War and taken to Rome as a tutor. After his release, he continued to live in Italy as a Roman citizen...
(used by Eusebius).
From the orthography of proper names, and from various expressions used, it is evident that Demetrius used the Septuagint text of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. For the determination of certain dates he relied on the Biblical exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
in use among the Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
Jews. Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
used Demetrius' chronicles for his Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
and adopted his chronological system.
Demetrius is not an apologist in the usual meaning: his main focus is patriarchal chronology, and there is no attention given to theological matters.
Fragments
There are six fragments usually considered Demetrius' work. The first short fragment (found in Praeparatio Evangelica 9.19.4) is about the sacrifice of IsaacIsaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
.
The second fragment is the longest we have. It is found in Praeparatio Evangelica 9.21.1-19 and deals with the history of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
from the time of his emigration to Mesopotamia till his death. Demetrius endeavors to establish the Biblical chronology and gives the date of every incident in Jacob's life, even fixing the year and month in which each of Jacob's children was born. The excerpt concludes with the genealogy of Levi
Levi
Levi/Levy was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi ; however Peake's commentary suggests this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
back to the birth of Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
and Moses.
The third fragment (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.29.1-3) is an extract from the history of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, laying stress on the genealogy of Jethro in order to demonstrate that Zipporah
Zipporah
Zipporah or Tzipora is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest or prince of Midian...
, the wife of Moses, was a descendant of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
and Keturah
Keturah
According to the Hebrew Bible, Keturah or Ketura was the woman whom Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, married after the death of his wife, Sarah. Keturah bore Abraham six sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah....
. The fourth fragment (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.29.15) gives an account of the sweetening of the water of Marah
Marah (Bible)
Marah is one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites, during the Exodus.The liberated Israelites set out on their journey in the desert, somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula...
. Fragment five (Praeparatio Evangelica 9.29.15-end) is very short and is about Israelites's weapons referred to in chapter 14 of Exodus.
The last fragment was preserved by Clement of Alexandria (Stromata i. 21, 141), who gives the title of Demetrius' chronicles as Περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ Βασιλέων. This fragment endeavors to determine exactly the period of the exile of the Ten Lost Tribes
Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
, and that of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin till Ptolemy IV Philopator
Ptolemy IV Philopator
Ptolemy IV Philopator , son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II of Egypt was the fourth Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt...
, in whose reign Demetrius evidently lived.