A CONFERENCE ON PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUS was held at Auckland University last month. Report here. You may recall that the Greek translation of the Pentateuch is traditionally assigned to the reign of this Ptolemy (e.g., in the Letter of Aristeas). Can anyone explain to me what this paragraph means?

Greeks in fact created the chronology of the Hebrew scriptures as they were translated into Greek by 70 or so scholars brought from Jerusalem for the job, asserted French-born, Swiss resident Philippe Guillauime of the Near East School of Theology at Beirut (who put himself up at a city backpackers' hostel for the privilege of attending the event). His novel account of the Septuagint translation raised eyebrows, but his insight into Semitic mentality earned judicious respect.

(Via Archaeologica News.)