On the Origin of the Jewish Historian Artapanus

Abstract

This article explores the possibility that the Jewish historian Artapanus may have come from Teucheria in Cyrenaica. The argument is based on onomastic patterns in epigraphy. The name Artapanus (and its derivates) is not documented much elsewhere in the Hellenistic-Roman orbit (only 16 times) and all its occurrences from the entire ancient Jewish Diaspora derive from Teucheria, where the name is attested an astonishing seven times — the eighth belonging to Artapanus, the historian — in funerary epitaphs discovered in burial courts with a high concentration of Jewish tombs. This finding is suggestive and if correct, Artapanus would thus join the ranks of another famous Jewish author of Cyrenian origin, namely Jason of Cyrene. Artapanus‘ Cyrenian origin, moreover, would explain the Egyptian setting of his writings and his familiarity with native Egyptians, their customs and religion, since the Cyrenaica was part of the Ptolemaic/Egyptian orbit.