Abstract
Flavius Josephus, our fullest ancient source for many aspects of Judaean history, displays great literary interest in the relationships between Judaeans and the early Ptolemies. He returns to this subject repeatedly across his works, stressing the particular respect and honours these rulers showed their Judaean subjects. Modern scholars share Josephus’ fascination with this setting, owing to its formative impact on Judaean culture. Yet, the scarcity of evidence for Judaean experiences in this period has meant Josephus’ portrayals of their exceptional ruler relationships tend to dominate academic perceptions of it. Conversely, the historiographical importance of these episodes has also resulted in their literary dimensions being under-examined, despite increased recognition of Josephus as a creative author whose works warrant study in their own right. This thesis addresses both issues, first examining the relationship between Judaeans and Ptolemies I-III, and then the significance of this topos to Josephus. Chapters 1 and 2 assess Josephus’ narratives alongside newer evidence for this period, to provide greater context for some of his claims. Chapter 1 focuses on his accounts of Judaean migration to Egypt under Ptolemy I, while Chapter 2 examines more-broadly the honours and privileges that he attests the first three Ptolemies bestowing upon Judaeans. These chapters reveal Judaeans were not uniquely favoured, but were one of many nations within the privileged immigrant class whose favour the early Ptolemies courted with displays of benevolence. Chapter 3 adopts the historical-literary approaches of more-recent Josephan studies to discuss how he engages with the topos of early Ptolemaic benevolence. It begins by considering factors that influenced his writing (such as his temporal setting, social location, and intended audience), then builds off this context to analyse the episodes of early Ptolemaic benevolence within his three main works. In doing so, it reveals the enormous value of this topos to Josephus, a Judaean ex-prisoner-of-war coping with massive changes in national and personal circumstances at the hands of the Flavian emperors.