Jewish Paideia: Greek Education in the Letter of Aristeas and 2 Maccabees

The substantial corpus of Jewish literature surviving in Greek shows that some Jews appropriated Greek literature and philosophy in highly sophisticated ways. This article argues that Letter of Aristeas and 2 Maccabees are examples of a Jewish paideia, a Jewish cultural literacy in Greek. This Jewish paideia was indebted to the language, literary forms, and philosophy of Hellas, but was set apart by endorsing the Torah as its foundation text. The difference between Letter of Aristeas and 2 Maccabees is not in their appropriation of Greek paideia but rather in how they endorse the Greek Torah in relation to the ideals of Greek paideia. The Letter of Aristeas invokes the ideals of Greek paideia to substantiate a Jewish paideia while 2 Maccabees places Jewish ideals in competition with those of Athens. Both works, however, articulate a Jewish paideia.