Bibliography
| Title: Philo of Alexandria: an Exegete for His Time Secondary Title: NovTSup 86 Type: Book Year: 1997 Abstract: Feldman, Louis Harry in: OTA 21.2 (1998), 364-365: "B. argues that a clue to Philo's writings lies in the appreciation of the relationship between exegesis, exegetical traditions, contemporary ideas, and historical context. B. examines Philo's word and his place, religiously and culturally, in the history of Alexandrine Judaism. He investigate the various expository forms found in Philo and concludes that Philo gives comprehensive presentations of the bible to such an extent that these may be called rewritten Bibles. Philo is neither a system-building philosopher nor just an eclectic editor. He is an expositor who draws on traditions and introduces various current ideas into his interpretations, together with certain identifiable perspectives. In the treatises called the Exposition of the Laws of Moses he employs form s found in Jubilees, the Genesis Apocrypha, Pseudo-Philo's biblical Antiquities, and Josephus' Antiquities. Other philonic treatises are running commentaries on the Bible, parallel to some midrashim and Dead Sea Scrolls, whether in the form of questions and answers or direct exegesis. In expounding the laws of Moses he may explain the same text on two or three levels - the particular, universal, and beyond. To speak of a distinction between literal and allegorical interpretation is inadequate to characterize Philo's exegetical method. One important context for Philo's writings is the various forms of interactions between the Jewish community and their non-Jewish surroundings. His interpretations testify at times to greater and at times to lesser tension and influence in that relationship. The aim of seeking proselytes is reflected in some of his exegesis. He combined the cosmic and universal dimensions with a particularistic understanding of the Jewish people. Even though the future blessing will encompass the animal word and nature, the Jewish people will still play the central role". |