Pseudo-Philo is the name commonly used for the unknown, anonymous author of ''Biblical Antiquities''. This text is also commonly known today under the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

title ''Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum'' (Book of Biblical Antiquities), a title that is not found on the Latin manuscripts of Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities''. Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities ''is preserved today in 18 complete and 3 fragmentary Latin

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

s that date between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries CE. In addition, portions of Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities'' parallel material also found in the ''

Chronicles of Jerahmeel The ''Chronicles of Jerahmeel'' is a voluminous work that draws largely on Pseudo-Philo's earlier history of Biblical events and is of special interest because it includes Hebrew and Aramaic versions of certain deuterocanonical books in the Septua ...

'', a 14th-century

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

composition. The Latin text of Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities'' circulated in some Latin collections of writings by

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...

of Alexandria. Scholars have long recognized the pseudonymous character of the text now known as the ''Biblical Antiquities''. Primary in this regard is a vastly differing approach to and use of the

Jewish Scriptures The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

For the sake of convenience and due to the lack of a better option, scholars continue to follow the lead of Philo scholar Leopold Cohn in calling the author “Pseudo-Philo.”

Estimated date of work

Most scholars contend that Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities'' was written sometime between the mid-first century CE and the mid-second century CE. Some scholars propose that the ''Biblical Antiquities'' was written shortly preceding the

destruction of Jerusalem The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Jud ...

and its temple in 70 CE while other scholars suggest that it was written post-70 CE, possibly as late as shortly following the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 CE). A very small minority of scholars suggest dates outside these bounds. Examples include Abram Spiro who suggests that it was composed in the second century BCE, J. R. Porter who dates Pseudo-Philo to 25 CE, and Alexander Zeron who posits that it was composed sometime in the third or fourth centuries CE. Among the evidence cited by scholars in support of a pre-70 CE date of composition is the depiction of the temple in Jerusalem as still standing and in use for sacrifices (e.g. LAB 22:8). Further,

Daniel J. Harrington Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. (July 19, 1940February 7, 2014), was an American academic and Jesuit priest who served as professor of New Testament and chair of the Biblical Studies department at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (for ...

writes: 'A date prior to AD 70 (and perhaps around the time of Jesus) is suggested by the kind of Old Testament text used in the book, the free attitude towards the text, the interest in the sacrifices and other things pertaining to cult, and the silence about the destruction of the temple'. Howard Jacobson, for example, treats this view dismissively, stating that "Simply put, there are no particularly cogent arguments in support of a pre-70 date." Among the evidence cited in support of a post-70 CE date of composition are thematic parallels with 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra, Jewish texts composed post-70 CE and references to the destruction of the temple (e.g. LAB 19:7).

Original language and translational history

The scholarly consensus is that Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities'' was not composed in Latin but, rather that it was composed in

and translated into

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

before being translated into

by the fourth century CE. The primary evidence for this are the many difficult readings that are best explained by the existence of Hebrew and Greek antecedents.

Short description of content

Pseudo-Philo's ''Biblical Antiquities'' is a selective rewriting of Jewish scriptural texts and traditions.Daniel J. Harrington, “Pseudo-Philo,” in ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'' (ed. James H. Charlesworth; 2 vols.; Garden City: Doubleday, 1983-1985), 2:297. Following a basic narrative outline derived from the Jewish Scriptures, the work opens with the creation of the world (LAB 1) and concludes with the death of King

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

(LAB 65). As Leopold Cohn observes, it “passes rapidly over” or “omits” certain aspects of the scriptural narrative while elaborating other on others, even supplying “many quite novel additions” not paralleled in the Jewish Scriptures. Many of its additions have parallels in other Jewish traditions. Some scholars have reasoned that the fact that it ends with the death of Saul implies that there were further parts of the work which are now missing while others believe that it is complete.

The work as source of legends

It is probably the earliest reference for many later legendary accretions to the Biblical texts, such as the casting of

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

into the fire, Dinah's marriage to

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

, and Moses born circumcised. It also contains several other embellishments which deviate quite substantially from the norm, such as Abraham leading a rebellion against the builders of the

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...

(the reason for him being cast into the fire). It includes a lament about the

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

Jephthah's daughter Jephthah's daughter, sometimes later referred to as Seila or as Iphis, is a figure in the Hebrew Bible, whose story is recounted in Judges 11. The judge Jephthah had just won a battle over the Ammonites, and vowed that he would offer the first t ...

, with the daughter being the singer. Commentators have noted that the characterisation of the daughter is (like other female characterisations in Pseudo-Philo) much stronger and more positive than that of her biblical counterpart. She has a name (Seila), and her role is as wise and willing, rather than passive and reluctant, participant. One commentator has observed that 'the author has done his utmost to put this woman on the same level as the patriarchs, in this case especially Isaac'.

Differences from Philo of Alexandria

According to James H. Charlesworth and

, the attribution of Pseudo-Philo to Philo of Alexandria can't be sustained for four main differences: Philo of Alexandria wrote in Greek, whereas the Pseudo-Philo apparently wrote in Hebrew; "1,652 years from Adam to the Flood (3:6) against Philo's 2,242; the favorable or at least neutral portrayal of

Balaam Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah ( Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son o ...

(16) against Philo's negative description; Moses' burial by God (19:16), not by the angels."

,'' Pseudo-Philo (First Century A.D.). A New Translation and Introduction'', in James H. Charlesworth (1985), ''The New Testament Psuedo-Epigrapha'', Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., Volume 2, p. 300. (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2)

References

Bibliography

* Pseudo-Philo, P.-M. Bogaert, C. Perrot, J. Cazeaux, and D. J. Harrington. ''Les Antiquités Bibliques''. 2 vols. Sources Chrétiennes 229–230. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1976. (Critical text and French translation.) * M. R. James. ''The Biblical Antiquities of Philo''. Prolegomenon by L. Feldman. Library of Biblical Studies. New York: Ktav Pub. House, 1971. (English translation.) * "Pseudo-Philo (First Century A.D.)", translated by D. J. Harrington in ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'', edited by James H. Charlesworth, vol. 2, New York, 1985, 297–377.

External links

The Biblical Antiquities of Philo
by M. R. James, translation with notes by Robert A. Kraft, 2006 {{Authority control Jewish historians 1st-century Jews 2nd-century Jews Roman-era historians Pseudepigraphy Old Testament pseudepigrapha Philo