The Letter of Aristeas Again

Scholars disagree about the date of the Letter of Aristeas , some assign it to the late third century BCE, others to later dates, most of them to the middle of the second half of the second century BCE. This article proposes that the Letter of Aristeas was written in the late third century BCE, either towards the end of the reign of Ptolemy IV (222–205 BCE) or the beginning of the reign of Ptolemy V (204–180 BCE). This dating is supported, inter alia, by the list of harbors in the Letter (115) and by the Sitz im Leben of Jewish life in Egypt that the Letter reflects.