The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Thursday the discovery of a hoard of 383 bronze coins dating to the time of King Ptolemy III (ruled 246–222 B.C.). The well-preserved coins, found in the Fayoum about 50 miles southwest of Cairo, depict the Egyptian god Amun-Zeus on one side and the words Ptolemy and king in Greek on the other.
The Edfu Temple begun by Ptolemy III. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
The famous Alexandria Library was established in the 4th century B.C. by Ptolemy Soter I, or a few years later by his son. The Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek under the Ptolemaic rulers, beginning about 280 B.C. This Greek version was in common use in the first century. More than half of the quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament come from the Septuagint (Greek) version. For example, this is the version the man of Ethiopia was reading about the suffering servant:
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30 ESV)
Philip the evangelist began at that Scripture and preached Jesus to him.
HT: Joseph I. Lauer; various media reports.
Update: Todd Bolen has posted a beautiful photo here of Lake Qarun near the site of the discovery.
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