Petition to Free Jewish Captives

Alexandria bustles with court officials in the early third century b.c. Aristeas approaches King Ptolemy II to make a carefully calculated diplomatic request. Thousands of Jewish captives currently labor under heavy burdens across the vast Egyptian kingdom. They cut heavy stone blocks and work the rich soil of the Nile delta. Aristeas argues that translating their sacred law requires securing their physical freedom first.

King Ptolemy rules his empire from a massive coastal palace facing the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptian army previously captured these prisoners during violent military campaigns in Judea. Soldiers marched them over 250 miles across harsh desert terrain down into Alexandria. The king controls a captive population capable of producing massive daily yields of grain.

Aristeas stands on smooth marble floors to present his logical case for their release. He claims the God of Israel is the supreme creator who sustains the Egyptian empire. He appeals to the king to release the captives as an act of international goodwill. He reminds the court that this God oversees all human kingdoms and rewards just rulers.

It is not right to translate the law of God while keeping his people bound in heavy labor.

The king listens to the petition while his royal advisors weigh the steep economic cost. Releasing so many laborers means losing thousands of pounds of daily agricultural output. Yet the royal desire to possess the translated law holds a strange and deep power. A final decision hangs in the balance as court scribes carefully record the ongoing debate.