Talk:Ptolemy son of Abubus

What is the historical basis for this Biblical figure?

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The article presents Ptolemy as a historical figure. But the source cited is a book of Biblical commentary that essentially restates and draws out the story from the Bible. At least on the page cited, the source author, Dianne Bergant, doesn't offer any historical evidence.

If you believe Ptolemy was a historical figure—and there may well be records of his reign if he was a regional governor—then it would be great if you could cite references to uphold that. If your intention is to present Ptolemy solely as a figure from the Old Testament, that's fine, too. But I'd add some phrases to the text to indicate that—"In the Bible...." "In Maccabees, it tells how...."

What's seems likely is that some of the story can be verified by other sources, and some comes only from the Bible. The ideal would be to tease these apart. "Historical sources place him as governor..." "The Old Testament book of Maccabees says that..."Jmatazzoni (talk) 21:33, 28 February 2017 (UTC)Reply