The Law Arrives in Alexandria

Drawing largely on the Letter of Aristeas, Josephus offers an abbreviated account of the arrival from Jerusalem of seventy translators of the law who will create the Septuagint, the Greek translation. The Letter of Aristeas also describes the arrival of gifts, including beautifully illuminated Torah scrolls, for the appreciative king, Ptolemy II. Talmudic sources later prohibited decoration of a Torah scroll, including illuminating the divine name in gold or writing any part of the scroll with a material other than ink.