Now although I cannot but think that I have already demonstrated,
and that abundantly more than was necessary, that our fathers were not
originally Egyptians, nor were thence expelled, either on account of bodily
diseases, or any other calamities of that sort; yet will I briefly take
notice of what Apion adds upon that subject; for in his third book, which
relates to the affairs of Egypt, he speaks thus: "I have heard of
the ancient men of Egypt, that Moses was of Heliopolis, and that he thought
himself obliged to follow the customs of his forefathers, and offered his
prayers in the open air, towards the city walls; but that he reduced them
all to be directed towards sun-rising, which was agreeable to the situation
of Heliopolis; that he also set up pillars instead of gnomons, note
under which was represented a cavity like that of a boat, and the shadow
that fell from their tops fell down upon that cavity, that it might go
round about the like course as the sun itself goes round in the other."
This is that wonderful relation which we have given us by this grammarian.
But that it is a false one is so plain, that it stands in need of few words
to prove it, but is manifest from the works of Moses; for when he erected
the first tabernacle to God, he did himself neither give order for any
such kind of representation to be made at it, nor ordain that those that
came after him should make such a one. Moreover, when in a future age Solomon
built his temple in Jerusalem, he avoided all such needless decorations
as Apion hath here devised. He says further, how he had "heard of
the ancient men, that Moses was of Hellopolis." To be sure that was,
because being a younger man himself, he believed those that by their elder
age were acquainted and conversed with him. Now this grammarian, as he
was, could not certainly tell which was the poet Homer's country, no more
than he could which was the country of Pythagoras, who lived comparatively
but a little while ago; yet does he thus easily determine the age of Moses,
who preceded them such a vast number of years, as depending on his ancient
men's relation, which shows how notorious a liar he was. But then as to
this chronological determination of the time when he says he brought the
leprous people, the blind, and the lame out of Egypt, see how well this
most accurate grammarian of ours agrees with those that have written before
him! Manetho says that the Jews departed out of Egypt, in the reign of
Tethmosis, three hundred ninety-three years before Danaus fled to Argos;
Lysimaehus says it was under king Bocchoris, that is, one thousand seven
hundred years ago; Molo and some others determined it as every one pleased:
but this Apion of ours, as deserving to be believed before them, hath determined
it exactly to have been in the seventh olympiad, and the first year of
that olympiad; the very same year in which he says that Carthage was built
by the Phoenicians. The reason why he added this building of Carthage was,
to be sure, in order, as he thought, to strengthen his assertion by so
evident a character of chronology. But he was not aware that this character
confutes his assertion; for if we may give credit to the Phoenician records
as to the time of the first coming of their colony to Carthage, they relate
that Hirom their king was above a hundred and fifty years earlier than
the building of Carthage; concerning whom I have formerly produced testimonials
out of those Phoenician records, as also that this Hirom was a friend of
Solomon when he was building the temple of Jerusalem, and gave him great
assistance in his building that temple; while still Solomon himself built
that temple six hundred and twelve years after the Jews came out of Egypt.
As for the number of those that were expelled out of Egypt, he hath contrived
to have the very same number with Lysimaehus, and says they were a hundred
and ten thousand. He then assigns a certain wonderful and plausible occasion
for the name of Sabbath; for he says that "when the Jews had traveled
a six days' journey, they had buboes in their groins; and that on this
account it was that they rested on the seventh day, as having got safely
to that country which is now called Judea; that then they preserved the
language of the Egyptians, and called that day the Sabbath, for that malady
of buboes on their groin was named Sabbatosis by the Egyptians." And
would not a man now laugh at this fellow's trifling, or rather hate his
impudence in writing thus? We must, it seems, fake it for granted that
all these hundred and ten thousand men must have these buboes. But, for
certain, if those men had been blind and lame, and had all sorts of distempers
upon them, as Apion says they had, they could not have gone one single
day's journey; but if they had been all able to travel over a large desert,
and, besides that, to fight and conquer those that opposed them, they had
not all of them had buboes on their groins after the sixth day was over;
for no such distemper comes naturally and of necessity upon those that
travel; but still, when there are many ten thousands in a camp together,
they constantly march a settled space [in a day]. Nor is it at all probable
that such a thing should happen by chance; this would be prodigiously absurd
to be supposed. However, our admirable author Apion hath before told us
that "they came to Judea in six days' time;" and again, that
"Moses went up to a mountain that lay between Egypt and Arabia, which
was called Sinai, and was concealed there forty days, and that when he
came down from thence he gave laws to the Jews." But, then, how was
it possible for them to tarry forty days in a desert place where there
was no water, and at the same time to pass all over the country between
that and Judea in the six days? And as for this grammatical translation
of the word Sabbath, it either contains an instance of his great impudence
or gross ignorance; for the words Sabbo and Sabbath are widely
different from one another; for the word Sabbath in the Jewish language
denotes rest from all sorts of work; but the word Sabbo, as he affirms,
denotes among the Egyptians the malady of a bubo in the groin.
This is that novel account which the Egyptian Apion gives us concerning
the Jews' departure out of Egypt, and is no better than a contrivance of
his own. But why should we wonder at the lies he tells about our forefathers,
when he affirms them to be of Egyptian original, when he lies also about
himself? for although he was born at Oasis in Egypt, he pretends to be,
as a man may say, the top man of all the Egyptians; yet does he forswear
his real country and progenitors, and by falsely pretending to be born
at Alexandria, cannot deny the note
pravity of his family; for you see how justly he calls those Egyptians
whom he hates, and endeavors to reproach; for had he not deemed Egyptians
to be a name of great reproach, he would not have avoided the name of an
Egyptian himself; as we know that those who brag of their own countries
value themselves upon the denomination they acquire thereby, and reprove
such as unjustly lay claim thereto. As for the Egyptians' claim to be of
our kindred, they do it on one of the following accounts; I mean, either
as they value themselves upon it, and pretend to bear that relation to
us; or else as they would draw us in to be partakers of their own infamy.
But this fine fellow Apion seems to broach this reproachful appellation
against us, [that we were originally Egyptians,] in order to bestow it
on the Alexandrians, as a reward for the privilege they had given him of
being a fellow citizen with them: he also is apprized of the ill-will the
Alexandrians bear to those Jews who are their fellow citizens, and so proposes
to himself to reproach them, although he must thereby include all the other
Egyptians also; while in both cases he is no better than an impudent liar.