Demetrius the Chronographer — Fragments

Demetrius the Chronographer — Fragments

[Fragments of a chronological work on the patriarchs and the history of Israel, preserved in quotation.]

He set down the reckoning of the years: from Adam to the flood; from the flood to Abraham; and from Abraham to the going down into Egypt, and the years of the sojourn there, until the coming out. He counted the generations carefully, and showed how the times agreed. [Text missing]

He asked why Joseph gave Benjamin a fivefold portion, and how Jacob’s sons could have so many children in so short a time, and he gave answers from the count of the years. And he traced the line of Moses and the place where the Israelites came upon water, and how Zipporah was descended from Abraham through Keturah. [Line damaged]

[Fragment breaks here]