Sophia Scriptura

To Autolycus 3.24–3.30

Theophilus of Antioch · To Autolycus · ca. 180–185 · Antioch · 7 passages

Greek text: Otto, CorpApol 8 (Greek text: J. C. T. Otto, Theophili episcopi Antiocheni ad Autolycum libri tres (Corpus apologetarum Christianorum saeculi secundi 8, 1861), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885).

Chapter 3

3.24Otto 8:252–256

Ἀδὰμ ἕως οὗ ἐτέκνωσεν ἔζησεν ἔτη σλ΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Σὴθ ἔτη σε΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Ἐνῶς ἔτη ρϞ΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Καϊνὰν ἔτη ρο΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Μαλελεὴλ ἔτη ρξε΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Ἰάρεθ ἔτη ρξβ΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Ἐνὼχ ἔτη ρξε΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Μαθουσάλα ἔτη ρξζ΄, υἱὸς δὲ τούτου Λάμεχ ἔτη΄. Τούτῳ δὲ υἱὸς ἐγενήθη ὁ προειρημένος Νῶς, ὃς ἐτέκνωσεν τὸν Σὴμ ὢν ἐτῶν φ΄. Ἐπὶ τούτου ἐγένετο ὁ κατακλυσμὸς ὄντος αὐτοῦ ἐτῶν χ΄. Τὰ πάντα οὖν μέχρι κατακλυσμοῦ γεγένηται ἔτη βσμβ΄. Μετὰ δὲ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν εὐθέως ὁ Σὴμ ὢν ἐτῶν ρ΄ ἐτέκνωσεν τὸν Ἀρφαξάθ, Ἀρφαξὰθ δὲ ἐτέκνωσεν Σαλὰ ὢν ἐτῶν ρλε΄, ὁ δὲ Σαλὰ ἐτέκνωσεν ὢν ἐτῶν ρλ΄, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Ἕβερ ὢν ἐτῶν ρλδʼ, ἀφʼ οὗ καὶ τὸ γένος αὐτῶν Ἑβραῖοι προσηγορεύθησαν, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Φαλὲγ ὢν ἐτῶν ρλ΄, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Ῥαγαῦ ὢν ἐτῶν ρλβ΄, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Σεροὺχ ὢν ἐτῶν ρλ΄, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Ναχὼρ ὢν ἐτῶν οε΄, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Θάῤῥα ὢν ἐτῶν ο΄, τούτου δὲ υἱὸς Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατριάρχης ἡμῶν ἐτέκνωσεν τὸν Ἰσαὰκ ὢν ἐτῶν ρ΄. Γίνονται οὖν μέχρι Ἀβραὰμ ἔτη γσοή. Ἰσαὰκ ὁ προειρημένος ἕως τεκνογονίας ἔζησεν ἔτη ξ΄, ὃς ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰακώβ· ἔζησεν ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἕως τῆς μετοικεσίας τῆς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ γενομένης, ἧς ἐπάνω προειρήκαμεν, ἔτη ρλ΄, ἡ δὲ παροίκησις τῶν Ἑβραίων ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐγενήθη ἔτη υλ΄, καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἐξελθεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καλουμένῃ διέτριψαν ἔτη μ΄. Γίνεται οὖν τὰ πάντα ἔτη γϡλη´, ᾧ καιρῷ τοῦ Μωσέως τελευτήσαντος διεδέξατο ἄρχειν Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Ναυῆ, ὃς προέστη αὐτῶν ἔτεσιν κζ΄. Μετὰ δὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦν τοῦ λαοῦ παραβάντος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐδούλευσαν βασιλεῖ Μεσοποταμίας Χουσαράθων ὄνομα ἔτεσιν ὀκτώ. Εἶτα μετανοήσαντος τοῦ λαοῦ κριταὶ ἐγενήθησαν αὐτοῖς· Γονοθεὴλ ἔτεσιν τεσσαράκοντα, Ἐκλὼν ἔτεσιν ιη΄, Ἀὼθ ἔτεσιν η΄. Ἔπειτα πταισάντων αὐτῶν ἀλλόφυλοι ἐκράτησαν ἔτεσιν κ΄. Ἔπειτα Δεββώρα ἔκρινεν αὐτοὺς ἔτεσιν μ΄. Ἔπειτα Μαδιανῖται ἐκράτησαν αὐτῶν ἔτεσιν ζ΄. Εἶτα Γεδεὼν ἔκρινεν αὐτοὺς ἔτεσιν μ΄, Ἀβιμέλεχ ἔτεσιν γ΄, Θωλὰ ἔτεσιν κγ΄, Ἰαεὶρ ἔτεσιν κβ΄. Ἔπειτα Φυλιστιεὶμ καὶ Ἀμμανῖται ἐκράτησαν αὐτῶν ἔτεσιν ιη΄. Εἶτα Ἰεφθάε ἔκρινεν αὐτοὺς ἔτεσιν ς΄, Ἐσβὼν ἔτεσιν ζ΄, Αἰλὼν ἔτεσιν ι΄, Ἀβδὼν ἔτεσιν η. Ἔπειτα ἀλλόφυλοι ἐκράτησαν αὐτῶν ἔτεσιν μ΄. Εἶτα Σαμψὼν ἔκρινεν αὐτοὺς ἔτεσιν κ΄. Ἔπειτα εἰρήνη ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐγένετο ἔτεσιν μ΄. Εἶτα Σαμηρὰ ἔκρινεν αὐτοὺς ἐνιαυτόν, Ἠλὶς ἔτεσιν κ΄, Σαμουὴλ ἔτεσιν ιβ΄.

Adam heōs hou eteknōsen ezēsen etē sl΄, huios de toutou Sēth etē se΄, huios de toutou Enōs etē rϞ΄, huios de toutou Kaïnan etē ro΄, huios de toutou Maleleēl etē rxe΄, huios de toutou Iareth etē rxb΄, huios de toutou Enōch etē rxe΄, huios de toutou Mathousala etē rxz΄, huios de toutou Lamech etē΄. Toutǭ de huios egenēthē ho proeirēmenos Nōs, hos eteknōsen ton Sēm ōn etōn ph΄. Epi toutou egeneto ho kataklysmos ontos autou etōn ch΄. Ta panta oun mechri kataklysmou gegenētai etē bsmb΄. Meta de ton kataklysmon eutheōs ho Sēm ōn etōn r΄ eteknōsen ton Arphaxath, Arphaxath de eteknōsen Sala ōn etōn rle΄, ho de Sala eteknōsen ōn etōn rl΄, toutou de huios Heber ōn etōn rldʼ, aphʼ hou kai to genos autōn Hebraioi prosēgoreuthēsan, toutou de huios Phaleg ōn etōn rl΄, toutou de huios Rhagau ōn etōn rlb΄, toutou de huios Serouch ōn etōn rl΄, toutou de huios Nachōr ōn etōn oe΄, toutou de huios Tharrha ōn etōn o΄, toutou de huios Abraam ho patriarchēs hēmōn eteknōsen ton Isaak ōn etōn r΄. Ginontai oun mechri Abraam etē gsoē. Isaak ho proeirēmenos heōs teknogonias ezēsen etē x΄, hos egennēsen ton Iakōb; ezēsen ho Iakōb heōs tēs metoikesias tēs en Aigyptǭ genomenēs, hēs epanō proeirēkamen, etē rl΄, hē de paroikēsis tōn Hebraiōn en Aigyptǭ egenēthē etē yl΄, kai meta to exelthein autous ek gēs Aigyptou en tę̄ erēmǭ kaloumenę̄ dietripsan etē m΄. Ginetai oun ta panta etē gϡlē´, hǭ kairǭ tou Mōseōs teleutēsantos diedexato archein Iēsous huios Nauē, hos proestē autōn etesin kz΄. Meta de ton Iēsoun tou laou parabantos apo tōn entolōn tou theou edouleusan basilei Mesopotamias Chousarathōn onoma etesin oktō. Eita metanoēsantos tou laou kritai egenēthēsan autois; Gonotheēl etesin tessarakonta, Eklōn etesin iē΄, Aōth etesin ē΄. Epeita ptaisantōn autōn allophyloi ekratēsan etesin k΄. Epeita Debbōra ekrinen autous etesin m΄. Epeita Madianitai ekratēsan autōn etesin z΄. Eita Gedeōn ekrinen autous etesin m΄, Abimelech etesin g΄, Thōla etesin kg΄, Iaeir etesin kb΄. Epeita Phylistieim kai Ammanitai ekratēsan autōn etesin iē΄. Eita Iephthae ekrinen autous etesin s΄, Esbōn etesin z΄, Ailōn etesin i΄, Abdōn etesin ē. Epeita allophyloi ekratēsan autōn etesin m΄. Eita Sampsōn ekrinen autous etesin k΄. Epeita eirēnē en autois egeneto etesin m΄. Eita Samēra ekrinen autous eniauton, Ēlis etesin k΄, Samouēl etesin ib΄.

Adam lived 230 years until he fathered a son; his son Seth, 205 years; his son Enos, 190; his son Cainan, 170; his son Maleleel, 165; his son Jared, 162; his son Enoch, 165; his son Methuselah, 167; his son Lamech, [188]. To him was born the Noah we mentioned, who fathered Sem at the age of 500. In his time the flood came, when he was 600 years old. So the total up to the flood comes to 2,242 years. Immediately after the flood, Sem, at the age of 100, fathered Arphaxad; Arphaxad fathered Sala at 135; Sala fathered his son at 130; his son Eber at 134, from whom their race was called Hebrews; his son Phaleg at 130; his son Ragau at 132; his son Serouch at 130; his son Nachor at 75; his son Tharra at 70; and his son Abraham, our patriarch, fathered Isaac at the age of 100. So up to Abraham there are 3,278 years. Isaac, whom we mentioned, lived 60 years until he fathered Jacob. Jacob lived 130 years until the migration into Egypt that we spoke of above. The sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt lasted 430 years, and after they left the land of Egypt they spent 40 years in the place called the desert. So the total comes to 3,938 years, at which time Moses died and Joshua the son of Nun succeeded him as ruler, and led them for 27 years. After Joshua, when the people transgressed the commandments of God, they served the king of Mesopotamia, named Chousarathon, for eight years. Then, when the people repented, they had judges: Gothoniel for 40 years, Eklon for 18, Aoth for 8. Then, when they fell away, foreigners ruled them for 20 years. Then Deborah judged them for 40 years. Then the Midianites ruled them for 7 years. Then Gideon judged them for 40 years, Abimelech for 3, Thola for 23, Jair for 22. Then the Philistines and Ammonites ruled them for 18 years. Then Jephthah judged them for 6 years, Esbon for 7, Ailon for 10, Abdon for 8. Then foreigners ruled them for 40 years. Then Samson judged them for 20 years. Then there was peace among them for 40 years. Then Samera judged them for one year, Eli for 20 years, and Samuel for 12.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Gen 5:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 5:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 7:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 11:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 11:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 21:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 25:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 47:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 12:40 (allusion, high confidence) · Judg 3:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Judg 3:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Judg 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Judg 8:28 (allusion, medium confidence) · Judg 12:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Judg 16:31 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Sam 4:18 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: A chronology from Adam to Samuel, following the Septuagint's genealogies: 2,242 years to the flood, 3,278 to Abraham, 3,938 to the death of Moses.

  • The figures follow the Septuagint, whose ages at fatherhood are larger than the Hebrew text's. The numeral for Lamech is missing in the manuscript; the Septuagint gives 188.
  • Some names and numbers of the judges differ from the Book of Judges (e.g. Eklon for Eglon, who was actually an oppressor, Judg 3:12–14; “Samera” is otherwise unknown).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent: grave on ὢν before a following word): Ναχὼρ ὤν ἐτῶν → Ναχὼρ ὢν ἐτῶν.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.24 (Otto 8:252–256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-24).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.

3.25Otto 8:256–260

Μετὰ δὲ τοὺς κριτὰς ἐγένοντο βασιλεῖς ἐν αὐτοῖς, πρῶτος ὀνόματι Σαούλ, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη κ΄, ἔπειτα Δαυὶδ ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἔτη μ΄. Γίνεται οὖν μέχρι τῆς τοῦ Δαυὶδ βασιλείας τὰ πάντα ἔτη υϟη΄. Μετὰ δὲ τούτους ἐβασίλευσε Σολομών, ὁ καὶ τὸν ναὸν τὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις κατὰ βουλὴν θεοῦ πρῶτος οἰκοδομήσας, διʼ ἐτῶν μ΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ῥοβοὰμ ἔτεσιν ιζ΄, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ἀβίας ἔτεσιν ζ΄, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ἀσὰ ἔτεσιν μα΄, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ἰωσαφὰτ ἔτεσιν κεʼ, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἰωρὰμ ἔτη η΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ὀχοζίας ἐνιαυτόν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Γοθολία ἔτεσιν ς΄, μετὰ δὲ ταύτην Ἰωὰς ἔτεσιν μ΄, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ἀμεσίας ἔτεσιν λθ΄, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ὀζίας ἔτεσιν νβ΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἰωαθὰμ ἔτεσιν ις΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἄχαζ ἔτεσιν ιζ΄, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Ἐζεκίας ἔτεσιν κθ΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Μανασσὴς ἔτεσιν νε΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἀμὼς ἔτεσιν β΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἰωσίας ἔτεσιν λα΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ὠχὰς μῆνας γ΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Ἰωακεὶμ ἔτη ια΄, ἔπειτα Ἰωακεὶμ ἕτερος μῆνας γ΄ ἡμέρας ι΄, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον Σεδεκίας ἔτη ια΄. Μετὰ δὲ τούτους τοὺς βασιλεῖς, διαμένοντος τοῦ λαοῦ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν καὶ μὴ μετανοοῦντος, κατὰ προφητείαν Ἱερεμίου ἀνέβη εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος ὄνομα Ναβουχοδονόσορ. Οὗτος μετῴκησεν τὸν λαὸν τῶν Ἰουδαίων εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ τὸν ναὸν κατέστρεψεν, ὃν ᾠκοδομήκει Σολομών. Ἐν δὲ τῇ μετοικεσίᾳ Βαβυλῶνος ὁ λαὸς ἐποίησεν ἔτη ο΄. Γίνεται οὖν μέχρι τῆς παροικεσίας ἐν γῇ Βαβυλῶνος τὰ πάντα ἔτη δϡνδ΄ μῆνες ς΄ ἡμέραι ι΄. Ὃν τρόπον δὲ ὁ θεὸς προεῖπεν διὰ Ἱερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου τὸν λαὸν αἰχμαλωτισθῆναι εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, οὕτως προεσήμανεν καὶ τὸ πάλιν ἐπανελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν μετὰ ο΄ ἔτη. Τελειουμένων οὖν λ΄ ἐτῶν γίνεται Κῦρος βασιλεὺς Περσῶν, ὃς κατὰ τὴν προφητείαν Ἱερεμίου δευτέρῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἐκήρυξεν κελεύων διʼ ἐγγράφων τοὺς Ἰουδαίους πάντας, τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἐπιστρέφειν εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν καὶ τῷ θεῷ ἀνοικοδομεῖν τὸν ναόν, ὃν καθῃρήκει βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος ὁ προειρημένος. Πρὸς τούτοις δὲ ὁ Κῦρος κατʼ ἐγκέλευσιν τοῦ θεοῦ προσέταξεν Σαβεσσάρῳ καὶ Μιθριδάτῃ, τοῖς ἰδίοις σωματοφύλαξιν, τὰ σκεύη τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ληφθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἀποκομισθῆναι καὶ ἀποτεθῆναι εἰς τὸν ναόν. Ἐν τῷ οὖν δευτέρῳ ἔτει Δαρείου πληροῦται τὰ ο΄ ἔτη, τὰ προειρημένα ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου.

Meta de tous kritas egenonto basileis en autois, prōtos onomati Saoul, hos ebasileusen etē k΄, epeita Dauid ho progonos hēmōn etē m΄. Ginetai oun mechri tēs tou Dauid basileias ta panta etē yϟē΄. Meta de toutous ebasileuse Solomōn, ho kai ton naon ton en Hierosolymois kata boulēn theou prōtos oikodomēsas, diʼ etōn m΄, meta de touton Rhoboam etesin iz΄, kai meta touton Abias etesin z΄, kai meta touton Asa etesin ma΄, kai meta touton Iōsaphat etesin keʼ, meta de touton Iōram etē ē΄, meta de touton Ochozias eniauton, kai meta touton Gotholia etesin s΄, meta de tautēn Iōas etesin m΄, kai meta touton Amesias etesin lth΄, kai meta touton Ozias etesin nb΄, meta de touton Iōatham etesin is΄, meta de touton Achaz etesin iz΄, kai meta touton Ezekias etesin kth΄, meta de touton Manassēs etesin ne΄, meta de touton Amōs etesin b΄, meta de touton Iōsias etesin la΄, meta de touton Ōchas mēnas g΄, meta de touton Iōakeim etē ia΄, epeita Iōakeim heteros mēnas g΄ hēmeras i΄, meta de touton Sedekias etē ia΄. Meta de toutous tous basileis, diamenontos tou laou epi tois hamartēmasin kai mē metanoountos, kata prophēteian Hieremiou anebē eis tēn Ioudaian basileus Babylōnos onoma Nabouchodonosor. Houtos metǭkēsen ton laon tōn Ioudaiōn eis Babylōna, kai ton naon katestrepsen, hon ǭkodomēkei Solomōn. En de tę̄ metoikesią Babylōnos ho laos epoiēsen etē o΄. Ginetai oun mechri tēs paroikesias en gę̄ Babylōnos ta panta etē dϡnd΄ mēnes s΄ hēmerai i΄. Hon tropon de ho theos proeipen dia Hieremiou tou prophētou ton laon aichmalōtisthēnai eis Babylōna, houtōs proesēmanen kai to palin epanelthein autous eis tēn gēn autōn meta o΄ etē. Teleioumenōn oun l΄ etōn ginetai Kyros basileus Persōn, hos kata tēn prophēteian Hieremiou deuterǭ etei tēs basileias autou ekēryxen keleuōn diʼ engraphōn tous Ioudaious pantas, tous ontas en tę̄ basileią autou, epistrephein eis tēn heautōn chōran kai tǭ theǭ anoikodomein ton naon, hon kathę̄rēkei basileus Babylōnos ho proeirēmenos. Pros toutois de ho Kyros katʼ enkeleusin tou theou prosetaxen Sabessarǭ kai Mithridatę̄, tois idiois sōmatophylaxin, ta skeuē ta ek tou naou tou tēs Ioudaias lēphthenta hypo tou Nabouchodonosor apokomisthēnai kai apotethēnai eis ton naon. En tǭ oun deuterǭ etei Dareiou plēroutai ta o΄ etē, ta proeirēmena hypo tou Hieremiou.

After the judges, kings arose among them: the first, named Saul, reigned 20 years; then David our ancestor, 40 years. So up to the reign of David the total comes to 498 years. After them Solomon reigned, who was the first to build the temple in Jerusalem, by the counsel of God, for 40 years; after him Rehoboam, 17 years; after him Abijah, 7 years; after him Asa, 41 years; after him Jehoshaphat, 25 years; after him Joram, 8 years; after him Ahaziah, one year; after him Athaliah, 6 years; after her Joash, 40 years; after him Amaziah, 39 years; after him Uzziah, 52 years; after him Jotham, 16 years; after him Ahaz, 17 years; after him Hezekiah, 29 years; after him Manasseh, 55 years; after him Amon, 2 years; after him Josiah, 31 years; after him Jehoahaz, 3 months; after him Jehoiakim, 11 years; then another Jehoiakim, 3 months and 10 days; after him Zedekiah, 11 years. After these kings, since the people persisted in their sins and did not repent, the king of Babylon, named Nebuchadnezzar, came up against Judea, as Jeremiah had prophesied. He deported the Jewish people to Babylon and destroyed the temple that Solomon had built. The people spent 70 years in exile in Babylon. So up to the sojourn in the land of Babylon the total comes to 4,954 years, 6 months, and 10 days. And just as God foretold through Jeremiah the prophet that the people would be taken captive to Babylon, so he also indicated beforehand that they would return to their land after 70 years. When 30 years were completed, Cyrus became king of the Persians; and he, in accordance with the prophecy of Jeremiah, in the second year of his reign issued a written proclamation ordering all the Jews in his kingdom to return to their own country and rebuild for God the temple that the king of Babylon had destroyed. Moreover, Cyrus, at God's command, ordered his bodyguards Sabessarus and Mithridates to carry back the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Judea and to place them in the temple. So in the second year of Darius the 70 years foretold by Jeremiah were fulfilled.

2 Sam 5:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 11:42 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 24:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 25:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 25:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 29:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezra 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezra 1:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezra 1:8 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Chr 36:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · Zech 1:12 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The chronology continues from Saul through the kings of Judah to the Babylonian exile and the return under Cyrus, fulfilling Jeremiah's seventy years.

  • The regnal years follow the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, with some differences. “Sabessarus” is Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8); “Mithridates” is Ezra's Mithredath.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (missing accent; wrong accent: Κύρος for Κῦρος): λ΄ ἐτῶν γίνεται Κύρος βασιλεὺς → λ΄ ἐτῶν γίνεται Κῦρος βασιλεὺς; ὁ Κύρος κατʼ ἐγκέλευσιν → ὁ Κῦρος κατʼ ἐγκέλευσιν; προειρημένα ὑπο τοῦ Ἱερεμίου → προειρημένα ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.25 (Otto 8:256–260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-25).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.

3.26Otto 8:260–262

Ἐντεῦθεν ὁρᾶν ἔστιν πῶς ἀρχαιότερα καὶ ἀληθέστερα δείκνυται τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα τὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς εἶναι τῶν καθʼ Ἕλληνας καὶ Αἰγυπτίους, ἢ εἰ καί τινας ἑτέρους ἱστοριογράφους. Ἤτοι γὰρ Ἡρόδοτος καὶ Θουκυδίδης ἢ καὶ Ξενοφῶν ἢ ὅπως οἱ ἄλλοι ἱστοριογράφοι, οἱ πλείους ἤρξαντο σχεδὸν ἀπὸ τῆς Κύρου καὶ Δαρείου βασιλείας ἀναγράφειν, μὴ ἐξισχύσαντες τῶν παλαιῶν καὶ προτέρων χρόνων τὸ ἀκριβὲς εἰπεῖν. Τί γὰρ μέγα ἔφασαν εἰ περὶ Δαρείου καὶ Κύρου τῶν κατὰ βαρβάρους βασιλέων εἶπον, ἢ κατὰ Ἕλληνας Ζωπύρου καὶ Ἱππίου, ἢ τοὺς Ἀθηναίων καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων πολέμους, ἢ τὰς Ξέρξου πράξεις ἢ Παυσανίου τοῦ ἐν τῷ τεμένει τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς λιμῷ κινδυνεύσαντος διαφθαρῆναι, ἢ τὰ περὶ Θεμιστοκλέα καὶ τὸν πόλεμον τὸν Πελοποννησίων, ἢ τὰ περὶ Ἀλκιβιάδην καὶ Θρασύβουλον; Οὐ γὰρ πρόκειται ἡμῖν ὕλη πολυλογίας, ἀλλὰ εἰς τὸ φανερῶσαι τὴν τῶν χρόνων ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου ποσότητα καὶ ἐλέγξαι τὴν ματαιοπονίαν καὶ φλυαρίαν τῶν συγγραφέων, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐτῶν οὔτε δισμυρίαι μυριάδες, ὡς Πλάτων ἔφη, καὶ ταῦτα ἀπὸ κατακλυσμοῦ ἕως τῶν αὐτοῦ χρόνων τοσαῦτα ἔτη γεγενῆσθαι δογματίζων, οὔτε μὴν ιε΄ μυριάδες καὶ γοε΄ ἔτη, καθὰ προειρήκαμεν Ἀπολλώνιον τὸν Αἰγύπτιον ἱστορεῖν· οὐδὲ ἀγένητος ὁ κόσμος ἐστὶν καὶ αὐτοματισμὸς τῶν πάντων, καθὼς Πυθαγόρας καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ πεφλυαρήκασιν, ἀλλὰ μὲν οὖν γενητὸς καὶ προνοίᾳ διοικεῖται ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὰ πάντα θεοῦ· καὶ ὁ πᾶς χρόνος καὶ τὰ ἔτη δείκνυται τούτοις βουλομένοις πείθεσθαι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Μήπως οὖν δόξωμεν μέχρι Κύρου δεδηλωκέναι, τῶν δὲ μεταξὺ χρόνων ἀμελεῖν, ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ἀποδεῖξαι, θεοῦ παρέχοντος καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς χρόνων τὴν τάξιν πειράσομαι κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἐξηγήσασθαι.

Enteuthen horan estin pōs archaiotera kai alēthestera deiknytai ta hiera grammata ta kathʼ hēmas einai tōn kathʼ Hellēnas kai Aigyptious, ē ei kai tinas heterous historiographous. Ētoi gar Hērodotos kai Thoukydidēs ē kai Xenophōn ē hopōs hoi alloi historiographoi, hoi pleious ērxanto schedon apo tēs Kyrou kai Dareiou basileias anagraphein, mē exischysantes tōn palaiōn kai proterōn chronōn to akribes eipein. Ti gar mega ephasan ei peri Dareiou kai Kyrou tōn kata barbarous basileōn eipon, ē kata Hellēnas Zōpyrou kai Hippiou, ē tous Athēnaiōn kai Lakedaimoniōn polemous, ē tas Xerxou praxeis ē Pausaniou tou en tǭ temenei tēs Athēnas limǭ kindyneusantos diaphtharēnai, ē ta peri Themistoklea kai ton polemon ton Peloponnēsiōn, ē ta peri Alkibiadēn kai Thrasyboulon? Ou gar prokeitai hēmin hylē polylogias, alla eis to phanerōsai tēn tōn chronōn apo katabolēs kosmou posotēta kai elenxai tēn mataioponian kai phlyarian tōn syngrapheōn, hoti ouk eisin etōn oute dismyriai myriades, hōs Platōn ephē, kai tauta apo kataklysmou heōs tōn autou chronōn tosauta etē gegenēsthai dogmatizōn, oute mēn ie΄ myriades kai goe΄ etē, katha proeirēkamen Apollōnion ton Aigyption historein; oude agenētos ho kosmos estin kai automatismos tōn pantōn, kathōs Pythagoras kai hoi loipoi pephlyarēkasin, alla men oun genētos kai pronoią dioikeitai hypo tou poiēsantos ta panta theou; kai ho pas chronos kai ta etē deiknytai toutois boulomenois peithesthai tę̄ alētheią. Mēpōs oun doxōmen mechri Kyrou dedēlōkenai, tōn de metaxy chronōn amelein, hōs mē echontes apodeixai, theou parechontos kai tōn hexēs chronōn tēn taxin peirasomai kata to dynaton exēgēsasthai.

From this one can see how our sacred writings are shown to be older and truer than those of the Greeks and Egyptians, or of any other historians. Herodotus and Thucydides, or Xenophon, or the other historians, most of them began their histories roughly from the reign of Cyrus and Darius, since they were unable to give an accurate account of the ancient and earlier times. What great thing did they say, when they told of Darius and Cyrus, kings of the barbarians, or of Zopyrus and Hippias among the Greeks, or of the wars of the Athenians and Spartans, or the deeds of Xerxes, or of Pausanias, who was in danger of starving to death in the precinct of Athena, or of Themistocles and the Peloponnesian War, or of Alcibiades and Thrasybulus? Our purpose is not to find matter for long speeches, but to make plain the number of years from the foundation of the world, and to refute the futile labor and nonsense of the historians. There have not been two hundred million years, as Plato said, teaching that this many years passed from the flood to his own time, nor 153,075 years, as we said Apollonius the Egyptian records. Nor is the world uncreated, with all things happening by chance, as Pythagoras and the rest have babbled; rather, it was created and is governed by the providence of God, who made all things. And the whole span of time and the years are made plain to those who are willing to obey the truth. But lest we seem to have given the account only up to Cyrus and to neglect the times in between, as though we could not prove them, I will try, God permitting, to set out as far as possible the order of the following times too.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Greek historians begin only with Cyrus and Darius; the Scriptures show the true age of the world, against Plato's and Apollonius's vast figures.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.26 (Otto 8:260–262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-26).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.

3.27Otto 8:262–266

Κύρου οὖν βασιλεύσαντος ἔτεσιν τριάκοντα ὀκτὼ καὶ ἀναιρεθέντος ὑπὸ Τομύριδος ἐν Μασσαγετίᾳ, τότε οὔσης ὀλυμπιάδος ἑξηκοστῆς δευτέρας· ἔκτοτε ἤδη οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐμεγαλύνοντο τοῦ θεοῦ κρατύνοντος αὐτούς, ἐκτισμένης τῆς Ῥώμης ὑπὸ Ῥωμύλου, τοῦ παιδὸς ἱστορουμένου Ἄρεως καὶ Ἰλίας, ὀλυμπιάδι ζ΄, τῇ πρὸ ι΄ καὶ ζ΄ καλανδῶν Μαΐων, τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ τότε δεκαμήνου ἀριθμουμένου· τοῦ οὖν Κύρου τελευτήσαντος, ὡς ἔφθημεν εἰρηκέναι, ὀλυμπιάδι ἑξηκοστῇ καὶ δευτέρᾳ, γίνεται καιρὸς ἀπὸ κτίσεως Ῥώμης ἔτη σκ΄, ᾧ καὶ Ῥωμαίων ἦρξεν Ταρκύνιος Σούπερβος τοὔνομα, ὃς πρῶτος ἐξώρισεν Ῥωμαίους τινὰς καὶ παῖδας διέφθειρεν καὶ σπάδοντας ἐγχωρίους ἐποίησεν· ἔτι μὴν καὶ τὰς παρθένους διαφθείρων πρὸς γάμον ἐδίδου. Διὸ οἰκείως Σούπερβος ἐκλήθη τῇ ῥωμαϊκῇ γλώσσῃ· ἑρμηνεύεται δὲ ὑπερήφανος. Αὐτὸς γὰρ πρῶτος ἐδογμάτισεν τοὺς ἀσπαζομένους αὐτὸν ὑπὸ ἑτέρου ἀντασπάζεσθαι. Ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτεσιν κέ. Μεθʼ ὃν ἦρξαν ἐνιαύσιοι ὕπατοι, χιλίαρχοι ἢ ἀγορανόμοι ἔτεσιν υνη΄, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα καταλέγειν πολὺ καὶ περισσὸν ἡγούμεθα. Εἰ γάρ τις βούλεται μαθεῖν, ἐκ τῶν ἀναγραφῶν εὑρήσει ὧν ἀνέγραψεν Χρύσερως ὁ νομεγκλάτωρ, ἀπελεύθερος γενόμενος Μ. Αὐρηλίου Οὐήρου, ὃς ἀπὸ κτίσεως Ῥώμης μέχρι τελευτῆς τοῦ ἰδίου πάτρωνος αὐτοκράτορος Οὐήρου σαφῶς πάντα ἀνέγραψεν, καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα καὶ τοὺς χρόνους. Ἐκράτησαν οὖν Ῥωμαίων ἐνιαύσιοι, ὥς φαμεν, ἔτεσιν υνγ΄. Ἔπειτα οὕτως ἦρξαν οἱ αὐτοκράτορες καλούμενοι· πρῶτος Γάϊος Ἰούλιος, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη γ΄ μῆνας δʼ ἡμέρας ἕξ. Ἔπειτα Αὔγουστος ἔτη νς΄ μῆνας δ΄ ἡμέραν μίαν. Τιβέριος ἔτη κβ΄. Εἶτα Γάϊος ἕτερος ἔτη γ΄ μῆνας η΄ ἡμέρας ζ΄. Κλαύδιος ἔτη ιγ΄ μῆνας η΄ ἡμέρας κδ΄. Νέρων ἔτη ιγ΄ μῆνας ζ΄ ἡμέρας κή. Γάλβας μῆνας ζ΄. Ὄθων μῆνας γ΄ ἡμέρας ε΄. Οὐϊτέλλιος μῆνας ζ΄ ἡμέρας κβ΄. Οὐεσπασιανὸς ἔτη θ΄ μῆνας ια΄ ἡμέρας κβ΄. Τίτος ἔτη β΄ ἡμέρας κβ΄. Δομετιανὸς ἔτη ιε΄ μῆνας ε΄ ἡμέρας ζ΄. Νερούας ἐνιαυτὸν μῆνας δ΄ ἡμέρας ι΄. Τραϊανὸς ἔτη ιθ΄ μῆνας ἓξ ἡμέρας ιζ΄. Ἀδριανὸς ἔτη κ΄ μῆνας ι΄ ἡμέρας κη΄. Ἀντωνῖνος ἔτη κβ΄ μῆνας ζ΄ ἡμέρας ζ΄. Οὐῆρος ἔτη ιθ΄ ἡμέρας ι΄. Γίνεται οὖν ὁ χρόνος τῶν Καισάρων μέχρι Οὐήρου αὐτοκράτορος τελευτῆς ἔτη σκε΄. Ἀπὸ οὖν τῆς Κύρου τελευτῆς, Ῥωμαίων δὲ ἀρχῆς Ταρκυνίου Σουπέρβου, μέχρι τελευτῆς αὐτοκράτορος Οὐήρου, οὗ προειρήκαμεν, ὁ πᾶς χρόνος συνάγεται ἔτη ψμα΄.

Kyrou oun basileusantos etesin triakonta oktō kai anairethentos hypo Tomyridos en Massagetią, tote ousēs olympiados hexēkostēs deuteras; ektote ēdē hoi Rhōmaioi emegalynonto tou theou kratynontos autous, ektismenēs tēs Rhōmēs hypo Rhōmylou, tou paidos historoumenou Areōs kai Ilias, olympiadi z΄, tę̄ pro i΄ kai z΄ kalandōn Maïōn, tou eniautou tote dekamēnou arithmoumenou; tou oun Kyrou teleutēsantos, hōs ephthēmen eirēkenai, olympiadi hexēkostę̄ kai deuterą, ginetai kairos apo ktiseōs Rhōmēs etē sk΄, hǭ kai Rhōmaiōn ērxen Tarkynios Souperbos tounoma, hos prōtos exōrisen Rhōmaious tinas kai paidas diephtheiren kai spadontas enchōrious epoiēsen; eti mēn kai tas parthenous diaphtheirōn pros gamon edidou. Dio oikeiōs Souperbos eklēthē tę̄ rhōmaïkę̄ glōssę̄; hermēneuetai de hyperēphanos. Autos gar prōtos edogmatisen tous aspazomenous auton hypo heterou antaspazesthai. Hos ebasileusen etesin ke. Methʼ hon ērxan eniausioi hypatoi, chiliarchoi ē agoranomoi etesin ynē΄, hōn ta onomata katalegein poly kai perisson hēgoumetha. Ei gar tis bouletai mathein, ek tōn anagraphōn heurēsei hōn anegrapsen Chryserōs ho nomenklatōr, apeleutheros genomenos M. Aurēliou Ouērou, hos apo ktiseōs Rhōmēs mechri teleutēs tou idiou patrōnos autokratoros Ouērou saphōs panta anegrapsen, kai ta onomata kai tous chronous. Ekratēsan oun Rhōmaiōn eniausioi, hōs phamen, etesin yng΄. Epeita houtōs ērxan hoi autokratores kaloumenoi; prōtos Gaïos Ioulios, hos ebasileusen etē g΄ mēnas dʼ hēmeras hex. Epeita Augoustos etē ns΄ mēnas d΄ hēmeran mian. Tiberios etē kb΄. Eita Gaïos heteros etē g΄ mēnas ē΄ hēmeras z΄. Klaudios etē ig΄ mēnas ē΄ hēmeras kd΄. Nerōn etē ig΄ mēnas z΄ hēmeras kē. Galbas mēnas z΄. Othōn mēnas g΄ hēmeras e΄. Ouïtellios mēnas z΄ hēmeras kb΄. Ouespasianos etē th΄ mēnas ia΄ hēmeras kb΄. Titos etē b΄ hēmeras kb΄. Dometianos etē ie΄ mēnas e΄ hēmeras z΄. Nerouas eniauton mēnas d΄ hēmeras i΄. Traïanos etē ith΄ mēnas hex hēmeras iz΄. Adrianos etē k΄ mēnas i΄ hēmeras kē΄. Antōninos etē kb΄ mēnas z΄ hēmeras z΄. Ouēros etē ith΄ hēmeras i΄. Ginetai oun ho chronos tōn Kaisarōn mechri Ouērou autokratoros teleutēs etē ske΄. Apo oun tēs Kyrou teleutēs, Rhōmaiōn de archēs Tarkyniou Souperbou, mechri teleutēs autokratoros Ouērou, hou proeirēkamen, ho pas chronos synagetai etē psma΄.

Cyrus reigned 38 years and was killed by Tomyris in the land of the Massagetae, in the 62nd Olympiad. From that time on the Romans were already growing great, God strengthening them. Rome had been founded by Romulus, said to be the son of Ares and Ilia, in the 7th Olympiad, on the tenth and seventh day before the Kalends of May, when the year was still reckoned as ten months. Cyrus, then, having died, as we said, in the 62nd Olympiad, this was 220 years after the founding of Rome, at the time when Tarquinius, called Superbus, ruled the Romans. He was the first to exile some Romans; he corrupted boys and made eunuchs of the citizens, and even corrupted girls before giving them in marriage. That is why he was fittingly called Superbus in the Roman language, which means “arrogant.” For he was the first to decree that those who greeted him should be greeted back by someone else. He reigned 25 years. After him the Romans were ruled by annual consuls, tribunes, or aediles for 458 years, whose names we think it would be long and superfluous to list. Anyone who wishes to learn them will find them in the records of Chryseros the nomenclator, a freedman of M. Aurelius Verus, who recorded everything clearly, both names and dates, from the founding of Rome to the death of his own patron, the emperor Verus. The annual magistrates, then, as we say, ruled the Romans for 453 years. Then the rulers called emperors ruled as follows: first Gaius Julius, who reigned 3 years, 4 months, and 6 days; then Augustus, 56 years, 4 months, and 1 day; Tiberius, 22 years; then another Gaius, 3 years, 8 months, and 7 days; Claudius, 13 years, 8 months, and 24 days; Nero, 13 years, 7 months, and 28 days; Galba, 7 months; Otho, 3 months and 5 days; Vitellius, 7 months and 22 days; Vespasian, 9 years, 11 months, and 22 days; Titus, 2 years and 22 days; Domitian, 15 years, 5 months, and 7 days; Nerva, 1 year, 4 months, and 10 days; Trajan, 19 years, 6 months, and 17 days; Hadrian, 20 years, 10 months, and 28 days; Antoninus, 22 years, 7 months, and 7 days; Verus, 19 years and 10 days. So the time of the Caesars up to the death of the emperor Verus is 225 years. And from the death of Cyrus and the reign of Tarquinius Superbus over the Romans to the death of the emperor Verus whom we mentioned, the whole time comes to 741 years.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: From Cyrus the chronology passes to Rome: its kings, the republic, and the emperors down to the death of “Verus” (Marcus Aurelius).

  • The emperor called “Verus” is Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius Verus), who died in March 180; Book 3 was therefore written after 180.
  • Rome's founding day was April 21 (the Parilia); the figures “tenth and seventh” may be corrupt. The two totals given for the republic (458 and 453 years) disagree in the text.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent: ὥς before the enclitic φαμεν; misprint: ἴτη for ἔτη): ἐνιαύσιοι, ὣς φαμεν → ἐνιαύσιοι, ὥς φαμεν; Ἀντωνῖνος ἴτη κβ΄ → Ἀντωνῖνος ἔτη κβ΄.

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.27 (Otto 8:262–266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-27).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.

3.28Otto 8:266–268

Ἀπὸ δὲ καταβολῆς κόσμου ὁ πᾶς χρόνος κεφαλαιωδῶς οὕτως κατάγεται. Ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου ἕως κατακλυσμοῦ ἐγένοντο ἔτη βσμβ΄. Ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ ἕως τεκνογονίας Ἀβραὰμ τοῦ προπάτορος ἡμῶν ἔτη αλς΄. Ἀπὸ δὲ Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ παιδὸς Ἀβραὰμ ἕως οὗ ὁ λαὸς σὺν Μωσῇ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διέτριβεν ἔτη χξ΄. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Μωσέως τελευτῆς, ἀρχῆς Ἰησοῦ υἱοῦ Ναυῆ, μέχρι τελευτῆς Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἔτη υϟ η΄. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς τελευτῆς Δαυίδ, βασιλείας δὲ Σολομῶνος, μέχρι τῆς παροικίας τοῦ λαοῦ ἐν γῇ Βαβυλῶνος ἔτη φιη΄ μῆνες ζ΄ ἡμέραι ι΄. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Κύρου ἀρχῆς μέχρι αὐτοκράτορος Αὐρηλίου Οὐήρου τελευτῆς ἔτη ψμα΄. Ὁμοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου συνάγονται τὰ πάντα ἔτη εχϟε΄ καὶ οἱ ἐπιτρέχοντες μῆνες καὶ ἡμέραι.

Apo de katabolēs kosmou ho pas chronos kephalaiōdōs houtōs katagetai. Apo ktiseōs kosmou heōs kataklysmou egenonto etē bsmb΄. Apo de tou kataklysmou heōs teknogonias Abraam tou propatoros hēmōn etē als΄. Apo de Isaak tou paidos Abraam heōs hou ho laos syn Mōsę̄ en tę̄ erēmǭ dietriben etē chx΄. Apo de tēs Mōseōs teleutēs, archēs Iēsou huiou Nauē, mechri teleutēs Dauid tou patriarchou etē yϟ ē΄. Apo de tēs teleutēs Dauid, basileias de Solomōnos, mechri tēs paroikias tou laou en gę̄ Babylōnos etē phiē΄ mēnes z΄ hēmerai i΄. Apo de tēs Kyrou archēs mechri autokratoros Aurēliou Ouērou teleutēs etē psma΄. Homou apo ktiseōs kosmou synagontai ta panta etē echϟe΄ kai hoi epitrechontes mēnes kai hēmerai.

The whole time from the foundation of the world may be summed up as follows. From the creation of the world to the flood there were 2,242 years. From the flood until Abraham our forefather fathered a son, 1,036 years. From Isaac the son of Abraham until the people spent their time with Moses in the desert, 660 years. From the death of Moses and the leadership of Joshua son of Nun to the death of David the patriarch, 498 years. From the death of David and the reign of Solomon to the sojourn of the people in the land of Babylon, 518 years, 7 months, and 10 days. From the reign of Cyrus to the death of the emperor Aurelius Verus, 741 years. Altogether, from the creation of the world, the total comes to 5,695 years, with the additional months and days.

Notes and citation

Summary: The total from creation to the death of Marcus Aurelius comes to 5,695 years.

  • By this reckoning Christ was born around the year 5500 of the world, a figure common in early Christian chronography.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (misprint: ἴτη for ἔτη): διέτριβεν ἴτη χξ΄ → διέτριβεν ἔτη χξ΄.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.28 (Otto 8:266–268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-28).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.

3.29Otto 8:268–274

Τῶν οὖν χρόνων καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἁπάντων συνηθροισμένων, ὁρᾶν ἔστιν τὴν ἀρχαιότητα τῶν προφητικῶν γραμμάτων καὶ τὴν θειότητα τοῦ παρʼ ἡμῖν λόγου, ὅτι οὐ πρόσφατος ὁ λόγος, οὔτε μὴν τὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς, ὡς οἴονταί τινες, μυθώδη καὶ ψευδῆ ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ μὲν οὖν ἀρχαιότερα καὶ ἀληθέστερα. Καὶ γὰρ Βήλου τοῦ Ἀσσυρίων βασιλεύσαντος καὶ Κρόνου τοῦ Τιτᾶνος Θάλλος μέμνηται, φάσκων τὸν Βῆλον πεπολεμηκέναι σὺν τοῖς Τιτᾶσι πρὸς τὸν Δία καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ θεοὺς λεγομένους, ἔνθα φησὶν Καὶ ὁ Γύγος ἡττηθεὶς ἔφυγεν εἰς Ταρτησσόν, τότε μὲν τῆς χώρας ἐκείνης Ἀκτῆς κληθείσης, νυνὶ δὲ Ἀττικῆς προσαγορευομένης, ἧς ὁ Γύγος τότε ἦρξεν. Καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς δὲ χώρας καὶ πόλεις, ἀφʼ ὧν τὰς προσωνυμίας ἔσχον, οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον ἡγούμεθα καταλέγειν, μάλιστα πρὸς σὲ τὸν ἐπιστάμενον τὰς ἱστορίας. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἀρχαιότερος ὁ Μωσῆς δείκνυται ἁπάντων συγγραφέων (οὐκ αὐτὸς δὲ μόνος ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πλείους μετʼ αὐτὸν προφῆται γενόμενοι) καὶ Κρόνου καὶ Βήλου καὶ τοῦ Ἰλιακοῦ πολέμου, δῆλόν ἐστιν. Κατὰ γὰρ τὴν Θάλλου ἱστορίαν ὁ Βῆλος προγενέστερος εὑρίσκεται τοῦ Ἰλιακοῦ πολέμου ἔτεσι τκβ΄. Ὅτι δὲ πρός που ἔτεσι ϡ ἢ καὶ ´α προάγει ὁ Μωσῆς τῆς τοῦ Ἰλίου ἁλώσεως, ἐν τοῖς ἐπάνω δεδηλώκαμεν. Τοῦ δὲ Κρόνου καὶ τοῦ Βήλου συνακμασάντων ὁμόσε, οἱ πλείους οὐκ ἐπίστανται τίς ἐστιν ὁ Κρόνος ἤ τίς ὁ Βῆλος. Ἔνιοι μὲν σέβονται τὸν Κρόνον καὶ τοῦτον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζουσι Βὴλ καὶ Βάλ, μάλιστα οἱ οἰκοῦντες τὰ ἀνατολικὰ κλίματα, μὴ γινώσκοντες μήτε τίς ἐστιν ὁ Κρόνος μήτε τίς ἐστιν ὁ Βῆλος. Παρὰ δὲ Ῥωμαίοις Σατοῦρνος ὀνομάζεται· οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτοὶ γινώσκουσιν τίς ἐστιν αὐτῶν, πότερον ὁ Κρόνος ἢ ὁ Βῆλος. Ἡ μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴ τῶν ὀλυμπιάδων ἀπὸ Εἰφίτου, φασίν, ἔσχηκεν τὴν θρησκείαν, κατὰ δέ τινας ἀπὸ Αἵμου, ὃς καὶ Ἴλιος ἐπεκλήθη. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἀριθμὸς τῶν ἐτῶν καὶ ὀλυμπιάδων ὡς ἔχει τὴν τάξιν, ἐν τοῖς ἐπάνω δεδηλώκαμεν. Τῆς μὲν οὖν ἀρχαιότητος τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν πραγμάτων καὶ τῶν χρόνων τὸν πάντα ἀριθμὸν κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν οἶμαι τὰ νῦν ἀκριβῶς εἰρῆσθαι. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἔλαθεν ἡμᾶς χρόνος, εἰ τύχοι εἰπεῖν ἔτη ν΄ ἢ ρ΄ ἢ καὶ ο΄, οὐ μέντοι μυριάδες ἢ χιλιάδες ἐτῶν, καθὼς προειρήκασιν Πλάτων καὶ Ἀπολλώνιος καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ψευδῶς ἀναγράψαντες. Ὅπερ ἡμεῖς τὸ ἀκριβὲς ἴσως ἀγνοοῦμεν, ἁπάντων τῶν ἐτῶν τὸν ἀριθμόν, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀναγεγράφθαι ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς βίβλοις τοὺς ἐπιτρέχοντας μῆνας καὶ ἡμέρας. Ἔτι δὲ περὶ ὧν φαμεν χρόνων συνᾴδει καὶ Βήρωσος, ὁ παρὰ Χαλδαίοις φιλοσοφήσας καὶ μηνύσας Ἕλλησιν τὰ Χαλδαϊκὰ γράμματα, ὃς ἀκολούθως τινὰ εἴρηκεν τῷ Μωσεῖ περί τε κατακλυσμοῦ καὶ ἑτέρων πολλῶν ἐξιστορῶν. Ἔτι μὴν καὶ τοῖς προφήταις Ἱερεμίᾳ καὶ Δανιὴλ σύμφωνα ἐκ μέρους εἴρηκεν· τὰ γὰρ συμβάντα τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως Βαβυλωνίων, ὃν αὐτὸς ὀνομάζει Ναβοπαλάσσαρον, κέκληται δὲ παρὰ Ἑβραίοις Ναβουχοδονόσορ. Μέμνηται καὶ περὶ τοῦ ναοῦ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ὡς ἠρημῶσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Χαλδαίων βασιλέως, καὶ ὅτι, Κύρου τὸ δεύτερον ἔτος βασιλεύσαντος τοῦ ναοῦ τῶν θεμελίων τεθέντων, Δαρείου πάλιν βασιλεύσαντος τὸ δεύτερον ἔτος ὁ ναὸς ἐπετελέσθη.

Tōn oun chronōn kai tōn eirēmenōn hapantōn synēthroismenōn, horan estin tēn archaiotēta tōn prophētikōn grammatōn kai tēn theiotēta tou parʼ hēmin logou, hoti ou prosphatos ho logos, oute mēn ta kathʼ hēmas, hōs oiontai tines, mythōdē kai pseudē estin, alla men oun archaiotera kai alēthestera. Kai gar Bēlou tou Assyriōn basileusantos kai Kronou tou Titanos Thallos memnētai, phaskōn ton Bēlon pepolemēkenai syn tois Titasi pros ton Dia kai tous syn autǭ theous legomenous, entha phēsin Kai ho Gygos hēttētheis ephygen eis Tartēsson, tote men tēs chōras ekeinēs Aktēs klētheisēs, nyni de Attikēs prosagoreuomenēs, hēs ho Gygos tote ērxen. Kai tas loipas de chōras kai poleis, aphʼ hōn tas prosōnymias eschon, ouk anankaion hēgoumetha katalegein, malista pros se ton epistamenon tas historias. Hoti men oun archaioteros ho Mōsēs deiknytai hapantōn syngrapheōn (ouk autos de monos alla kai hoi pleious metʼ auton prophētai genomenoi) kai Kronou kai Bēlou kai tou Iliakou polemou, dēlon estin. Kata gar tēn Thallou historian ho Bēlos progenesteros heurisketai tou Iliakou polemou etesi tkb΄. Hoti de pros pou etesi ϡ ē kai ´a proagei ho Mōsēs tēs tou Iliou halōseōs, en tois epanō dedēlōkamen. Tou de Kronou kai tou Bēlou synakmasantōn homose, hoi pleious ouk epistantai tis estin ho Kronos ē tis ho Bēlos. Enioi men sebontai ton Kronon kai touton auton onomazousi Bēl kai Bal, malista hoi oikountes ta anatolika klimata, mē ginōskontes mēte tis estin ho Kronos mēte tis estin ho Bēlos. Para de Rhōmaiois Satournos onomazetai; oude gar autoi ginōskousin tis estin autōn, poteron ho Kronos ē ho Bēlos. Hē men oun archē tōn olympiadōn apo Eiphitou, phasin, eschēken tēn thrēskeian, kata de tinas apo Haimou, hos kai Ilios epeklēthē. Ho men oun arithmos tōn etōn kai olympiadōn hōs echei tēn taxin, en tois epanō dedēlōkamen. Tēs men oun archaiotētos tōn parʼ hēmin pragmatōn kai tōn chronōn ton panta arithmon kata to dynaton oimai ta nyn akribōs eirēsthai. Ei gar kai elathen hēmas chronos, ei tychoi eipein etē n΄ ē r΄ ē kai o΄, ou mentoi myriades ē chiliades etōn, kathōs proeirēkasin Platōn kai Apollōnios kai hoi loipoi pseudōs anagrapsantes. Hoper hēmeis to akribes isōs agnooumen, hapantōn tōn etōn ton arithmon, dia to mē anagegraphthai en tais hierais biblois tous epitrechontas mēnas kai hēmeras. Eti de peri hōn phamen chronōn synądei kai Bērōsos, ho para Chaldaiois philosophēsas kai mēnysas Hellēsin ta Chaldaïka grammata, hos akolouthōs tina eirēken tǭ Mōsei peri te kataklysmou kai heterōn pollōn existorōn. Eti mēn kai tois prophētais Hieremią kai Daniēl symphōna ek merous eirēken; ta gar symbanta tois Ioudaiois hypo tou basileōs Babylōniōn, hon autos onomazei Nabopalassaron, keklētai de para Hebraiois Nabouchodonosor. Memnētai kai peri tou naou en Hierosolymois hōs ērēmōsthai hypo tou Chaldaiōn basileōs, kai hoti, Kyrou to deuteron etos basileusantos tou naou tōn themeliōn tethentōn, Dareiou palin basileusantos to deuteron etos ho naos epetelesthē.

When the times and everything said above are gathered together, then, one can see the antiquity of the prophetic writings and the divinity of our teaching: that our teaching is not recent, and that our beliefs are not, as some think, mythical and false, but older and truer. Thallus mentions Belus, who reigned over the Assyrians, and Kronos the Titan, saying that Belus, with the Titans, made war on Zeus and those with him who are called gods; and there he says: “And Gygus, defeated, fled to Tartessus.” That country was then called Acte, and is now called Attica, and Gygus then ruled it. We do not think it necessary to list the other countries and cities from which they got their names, especially for you, who know the histories. That Moses is shown to be older than all the historians (and not he alone, but most of the prophets who came after him), and older than Kronos and Belus and the Trojan War, is clear. For according to Thallus's history, Belus is found to be 322 years earlier than the Trojan War; and we have shown above that Moses precedes the capture of Troy by some 900 or even 1,000 years. Since Kronos and Belus flourished at the same time, most people do not know who Kronos is or who Belus is. Some worship Kronos and call him Bel and Bal, especially those who live in the eastern regions, not knowing who Kronos is or who Belus is. Among the Romans he is called Saturn; for they too do not know which of the two he is, Kronos or Belus. The Olympiads, they say, had their religious beginning from Iphitus, but according to some from Haemus, who was also called Ilius. We have shown above how the number of the years and the Olympiads is arranged. I think that the whole reckoning of the antiquity of our history and of the times has now been stated as precisely as possible. Even if some period has escaped us, say 50 or 100 or even 70 years, it is not tens of thousands or thousands of years, as Plato and Apollonius and the others who wrote falsely have said. Perhaps we do not know the exact number of all the years, because the additional months and days are not recorded in the sacred books. Moreover, Berossus too agrees about the times we speak of; he studied philosophy among the Chaldeans and made the Chaldean writings known to the Greeks, and in his account of the flood and many other things he said some things in agreement with Moses. He also agrees in part with the prophets Jeremiah and Daniel, about what happened to the Jews under the king of the Babylonians, whom he calls Nabopalassar, but who is called Nebuchadnezzar by the Hebrews. He also mentions that the temple in Jerusalem was laid waste by the king of the Chaldeans, and that the foundations of the temple were laid in the second year of Cyrus's reign, and the temple was completed in the second year of Darius's reign.

Jer 52:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · Dan 1:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ezra 3:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ezra 6:15 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Pagan historians (Thallus, Berossus) confirm the biblical chronology; Moses is older than Kronos, Belus, and the Trojan War, and any error in Theophilus's reckoning is a matter of decades, not of thousands of years.

  • Thallus, a first- or second-century chronographer, survives only in fragments. Berossus: see Tatian, Or. Graec. 36.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent: grave on ἢ before a following word; dittography: τὴν printed twice; misprint: Μίμνηται for Μέμνηται; missing breathing and misplaced accent (Αἵμου); accent: grave on ὃς): ἀπὸ Αιμοῦ, ὅς καὶ Ἴλιος → ἀπὸ Αἵμου, ὃς καὶ Ἴλιος; ὡς ἔχει τὴν τὴν τάξιν → ὡς ἔχει τὴν τάξιν; οὐ μέντοι μυριάδες ἤ χιλιάδες → οὐ μέντοι μυριάδες ἢ χιλιάδες; Μίμνηται καὶ περὶ τοῦ ναοῦ → Μέμνηται καὶ περὶ τοῦ ναοῦ.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.29 (Otto 8:268–274; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-29).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.

3.30Otto 8:274–276

Τῶν δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας ἱστοριῶν Ἕλληνες οὐ μέμνηνται, πρῶτον μὲν διὰ τὸ νεωστὶ αὐτοὺς τῶν γραμμάτων τῆς ἐμπειρίας μετόχους γεγενῆσθαι· καὶ αὐτοὶ ὁμολογοῦσιν φάσκοντες τὰ γράμματα εὑρῆσθαι, οἱ μὲν παρὰ Χαλδαίων, οἱ δὲ παρὰ Αἰγυπτίων, ἄλλοι δʼ αὖ ἀπὸ Φοινίκων· δεύτερον ὅτι ἔπταιον καὶ πταίουσιν, περὶ θεοῦ μὴ ποιούμενοι τὴν μνείαν ἀλλὰ περὶ ματαίων καὶ ἀνωφελῶν πραγμάτων. Οὕτως μὲν γὰρ καὶ Ὁμήρου καὶ Ἡσιόδου καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ποιητῶν φιλοτίμως μέμνηνται, τῆς δὲ τοῦ ἀφθάρτου καὶ μόνου θεοῦ δόξης οὐ μόνον ἐπελάθοντο ἀλλὰ καὶ κατελάλησαν· ἔτι μὴν καὶ τοὺς σεβομένους αὐτὸν ἐδίωξαν καὶ τὸ καθʼ ἡμέραν διώκουσιν. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς εὐφώνως ὑβρίζουσι τὸν θεὸν ἆθλα καὶ τιμὰς τιθέασιν, τοὺς δὲ σπεύδοντας πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ ἀσκοῦντας βίον ὅσιον, οὓς μὲν ἐλιθοβόλησαν, οὓς δὲ ἐθανάτωσαν, καὶ ἕως τοῦ δεῦρο ὠμοῖς αἰκισμοῖς περιβάλλουσιν. Διὸ οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἀναγκαίως ἀπώλεσαν τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν οὐχ εὗρον. Εἰ οὖν βούλει, ἀκριβῶς ἔντυχε τούτοις, ὅπως σχῇς σύμβουλον καὶ ἀῤῥαβῶνα τῆς ἀληθείας.

Tōn de tēs alētheias historiōn Hellēnes ou memnēntai, prōton men dia to neōsti autous tōn grammatōn tēs empeirias metochous gegenēsthai; kai autoi homologousin phaskontes ta grammata heurēsthai, hoi men para Chaldaiōn, hoi de para Aigyptiōn, alloi dʼ au apo Phoinikōn; deuteron hoti eptaion kai ptaiousin, peri theou mē poioumenoi tēn mneian alla peri mataiōn kai anōphelōn pragmatōn. Houtōs men gar kai Homērou kai Hēsiodou kai tōn loipōn poiētōn philotimōs memnēntai, tēs de tou aphthartou kai monou theou doxēs ou monon epelathonto alla kai katelalēsan; eti mēn kai tous sebomenous auton ediōxan kai to kathʼ hēmeran diōkousin. Ou mēn alla kai tois euphōnōs hybrizousi ton theon athla kai timas titheasin, tous de speudontas pros aretēn kai askountas bion hosion, hous men elithobolēsan, hous de ethanatōsan, kai heōs tou deuro ōmois aikismois periballousin. Dio hoi toioutoi anankaiōs apōlesan tēn sophian tou theou kai tēn alētheian ouch heuron. Ei oun boulei, akribōs entyche toutois, hopōs schę̄s symboulon kai arrhabōna tēs alētheias.

The Greeks do not mention the true histories. First, because they have only recently come to share in the art of writing; they themselves admit it, saying that letters were invented, according to some, by the Chaldeans, according to others by the Egyptians, and according to others again by the Phoenicians. Second, because they went astray and still go astray, making no mention of God, but only of vain and useless things. So they eagerly commemorate Homer and Hesiod and the other poets, but the glory of the incorruptible and only God they have not only forgotten but even blasphemed; and they have persecuted those who worship him, and they persecute them every day. Indeed, they offer prizes and honors to those who insult God in fine verse, while those who strive after virtue and live a holy life they have stoned, some of them, and put others to death, and to this day they subject them to cruel tortures. That is why such people have necessarily lost the wisdom of God and have not found the truth. If you wish, then, read these things carefully, so that you may have a counselor and a pledge of the truth.

Rom 1:23 (echo, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 1:22 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The Greeks ignore the true history because they learned writing late and forgot God; they honor poets who mock God and persecute those who worship him.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent: grave on τὴν before a following word): μὴ ποιούμενοι τήν μνείαν → μὴ ποιούμενοι τὴν μνείαν.

Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom

Cite (SBL): Theophilus, Autol. 3.30 (Otto 8:274–276; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/3-24/#p-3-30).

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1861); made independently of existing English translations.