Letter of Aristeas

1917 printed page 40 / §§82–86

Printed page 40 Original marginal section labels beginning on this page: §82, §83, §84, §85, §86. The opening continues §81 from the preceding page. he would neglect his public business{1} and would carefully supervise the craftsmen, to see that they executed the works in a manner befitting the place to which they were to be sent. And so they were all made in a magnificent style and were worthy of the king who was sending them and of the high priest who was the governor of the place. So lavish was the supply of precious stones (not less than five thousand were used, and they were all of large size), and so first-rate was all the craftsmanship, that the expenditure upon the precious stones and the skilled work amounted to five times the value of the gold. (IV) DESCRIPTION OF JERUSALEM AND ITS VICINITY I have given thee this description of the presents because I considered it to be necessary. The next portion _of my letter_ contains an account of our journey to Eleazar; but first I will describe the situation of the whole country. When we reached the district, we beheld the city set in the centre of the whole of Judaea upon a mountain which rose to a great height. _(a)_ THE TEMPLE : ENTRANCE, VEIL, ALTAR Upon its crest stood the temple in splendour, with its three enclosing walls, more than seventy cubits high, and of a breadth and length matching the structure of the edifice. The whole was built with a magnificence and prodigality beyond all precedent. It was obvious that no expense had been spared on the great doorway and the fastenings which held it to the door-posts and the stability of the lintel. And the curtain was made very TRANSLATOR’S NOTES (1917) — printed page 40 {1} Or "levee," giving audience to ambassadors, etc.