Dear Dierk,
In the purely Hellenistic tradition of Theophrastes, Megasthenes, and Klearchus of the late 4th early third century BCE, the Jews are represented as a "race of philosophers" comparable to the gymnosophists of India and Chaldean star-gazers. IMO this "outsider" view of Judaism originated out of the earlier 4th century BCE debate over whether philosophy originated in Greece or among the barbarians (e.g. Indians, Jews, Chaldeans or others). See the first chapter of Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, for a summary of the debate in early authors. While the question was posed in pre-Aristotelean times, Aristotle took up this issue (and read Klearchus in light of Aristotle's interest in barbarian "philosophers"), and it was further pursued in the literature of the Peripatetic school (e.g. Theophrates). Interest in barbarian "philosophy" is paralleled by interest in barbarian customs and barbarian political constitutions (and other institutions) by Aristotle and his successors.
While Fate is a topic prominent in Stoic philosophy, I am not persuaded [with Stephen Goranson] that the source of the description of three sects in Ant. 13.171ff is of Stoic authorship. To state an obvious point, the passage doesn't take a position as to which of the three philosophical positions is correct. I see the primary thrust of this excursus as philosophical classification of Jewish sub-groups for the benefit of a Greek-educated audience. This is in line with Aristotelean/Peripatetic interests. Given that the first certain mention of Jewish sects in Hellenistic literature is in the histories of the Peripatetic Nicolas of Damascus (whose writings were well known to Josephus), I'm inclined to see him as the source of this excursus. Compare his ethnographical essay on Remarkable Customs in John Stobaeus (fragmenta collected in Jacoby FGrH).
Best regards,
Russell Gmirkin
The question, however, is what the reason for the stringent schematism of
the three-philosophical-school presentation in Josephus might have been.
The source behind doesn't seem to be the Jewish-Hellenistic apologetic or
propaganda, but the Hellenistic tradition of e.g. Theophrastes (in:
Porphyrius, abst 2.26), Megasthenes {in: Clemens of Alexandria , Stromata
1.15) and Klearch (in: Josephus, c.Ap 1.179).
As regards content, the source is doxographic orientated, namely on the
stoic fact relation of heimarmene and self-determination. To its base stock
belongs the stringent enumeration and sequence: 1. Stoics, 2. Epicureans, 3.
Fatalists (i.e., those who teach the absolute fatum) - which directly leads
to its Jewish interpolation in Josephus: 1. Pharisees, 2. Sadducees, 3.
'Essenes' (i.e., those lifted philosophers of the Pythagorean bios
theoretikos, who prefer to 'sit down' - hessai - whenever polis and nation
stand up).
tot ziens,
Dierk
