Artapanus: “Judaica”

“The mysterious and intriguing Artapanus haunts the byways of research on Hellenistic Judaism. Efforts to classify him end in frustration”1. This was the apt description that Erich S. Gruen recently gave of the problem and fascination of dealing with the early Jewish author Artapanus. Gruen expounds the reasons for the difficulties in research on Artapanus as follows: “Artapanus resists labels, eludes characterization and defies categories. He carries a Persian name, writes in Greek and has a Jewish perspective. His work jumbles genres and transforms traditions, blending history with fable, propaganda with fantasy, biblical narrative with pagan romance”2. Against this background, research on Artapanus seems, once more, to offer a present-day challenge.