182 B.C.E. Contract for a Loan

These two Jews of “the epigone,” born in Egypt, have pure Greek names. Had the document not specified that they were Ioudaioi, Jews, there would be no way of guessing this fact. However, dealing as it does with two Jews, the papyrus and especially its last lines suddenly take on new meaning. A “portrait” is sketched out: that of two Jews born in Egypt about the year 200 B.C.E., of the same age (35 years). These descriptive details provide a rare opportunity to learn something about the physical appearance of King Ptolemy’s Jewish soldiers.

Source: Joseph Mélèze Modrzejewski. The Jews of Egypt. (p. 114)