Jewish Law and Hellenistic legal practice

Just a brief posting to day on an article available on the web: JOSEPH MÉLÈZE MODRZEJEWSKI,
JEWISH LAW AND HELLENISTIC LEGAL PRACTICE IN THE LIGHT OF GREEK PAPYRI FROM EGYPT.
The author works at Université de Paris I ‑ Sorbonne, and the article is available at
http://www.juedisches-recht.de/Rechtsgeschichte-Hellenistic-Practice.htm
Mordzejewski deals primarily with the Ptolemaic period, and argues here in his footnoted article, inter alia, that a) voluntary immigration and not captivity was by far the principal source of the Jewish settlement in the Ptolemaic kingdom, as it was for other Greek‑speaking immigrants; b) The concept of Jewish politeumata as independent political units must be regarded as a 'historiographical legend' (Aristeas); c)To be a Ioudaios in Ptolemaic Egypt was not very different from being a Makedon. As distinguished from the native Egyptians, both were 'Hellenes'; d) the existence of Jewish tribunals in Alexandria is highly questionable. Philo's book De Specialibus Legibus reflects his own interpretation of the Biblical laws rather than the actual jurisprudence of Jewish courts.
Most of these issues are debated in recent research. The article also deals with several other aspecs of Law, especially family law. The main part of his conclusion runs thus: " From the viewpoint of legal history, there is no contradiction between the desire of the Egyptian Jews 'to follow old national and religious traditions' and their ambition 'to participate vigorously in all aspects of Hellenistic life'. The influence of Greek models in social life as well as in everyday legal practice is indisputable. But it did not inevitably lead to apostasy. Renegades like Dositheos son of Drymilos or Tiberius Julius Alexander were rather exceptional. Adherence to Greek culture was compatible with the maintenance of Jewish identity. To paraphrase the author of the Third Book of Maccabees, the great majority of Jews in Egypt 'remained faithful to the religion of their fathers'. Whatever the degree of the Jews' acculturation, including the use of Hellenistic law, there were never any signs of Judaeo‑pagan syncretism."