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On the Life of Abraham displays Philo’s philosophical, exegetical, and literary genius at its best. Philo begins by introducing the biblical figures Enos, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as unwritten laws. Then, interweaving literal, ethical, and allegorical interpretations, Philo presents the life and achievements of Abraham, founder of the Jewish nation, in the form of a Greco-Roman bios, or biography. Ellen Birnbaum and John Dillon explain why and how this work is important within the context of Philo’s own oeuvre, early Jewish and Christian exegesis, and ancient philosophy. They also offer a new English translation and detailed analyses, in which they elucidate the meaning of Philo’s thought, including his perplexing notion that Israel’s ancestors were laws in themselves.
Price: $260.00
Pages: 492
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series
Publication Date:
21 October 2020
ISBN: 9789004423633
Format: Hardcover
"Die Kommentierung lässt in beiden Bänden an Ausführlichkeit, Detailliertheit und Breite der herangezogenen Quellen, Gedanken und historischen Hintergründe kaum etwas zu wünschen übrig, kann aber in einer Rezension nicht sinnvoll gewürdigt werden. Leser und Nutzer werden sie [...] dankbar und hoffentlich häufig zur Kenntnis nehmen." - Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Markkleeberg, in: Theologische Literaturzietung 149 (2024) 10
Ellen Birnbaum, Ph.D. (1992, Columbia University), is author of The Place of Judaism in Philo’s Thought: Israel, Jews, and Proselytes (Scholars Press, 1996) and several other studies of Philo and the ancient Alexandrian Jewish community.
John Dillon is Regius Professor of Greek (Emeritus) at Trinity College Dublin. His chief publications are in the area of the Platonic tradition, but he has also published extensively on Philo, and in the field of Patristics.
John Dillon is Regius Professor of Greek (Emeritus) at Trinity College Dublin. His chief publications are in the area of the Platonic tradition, but he has also published extensively on Philo, and in the field of Patristics.