Some Journal blogging

Some relevant articles for Philo and -or diaspora Judaism from the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha:

Jared W. Ludlow, 'The Testament of Abraham: Which Came First-Recension A or Recension B?' Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Vol. 13 No. 1 (April 2002): 3-15. An intriguing aspect of the Testament of Abraham’s transmission history is the existence of two Greek recensions. Which recension came first? Why were changes made to the ‘original’ story? This article addresses these issues from a narrative viewpoint. Some scholars suppose that both recensions come from an original Ur-source but are not directly dependent on each other. Through a close examination of the narratives of both recensions, however, this article concludes that there is a direct relationship between the two Greek recensions with Recension A coming first and Recension B reacting to the earlier Recension A.
Erkki Koskenniemi, 'Greeks, Eygptians and Jews in the Fragments of Artapanus,' Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Vol. 13 No. 1 (April 2002): 17-31. Artapanus, an Egyptian Jew who wrote the treatise About the Jews, lived in a society in which tensions between the native Egyptians and the Greeks were strong. As elsewhere in the Hellenistic world, the Greeks formed the upper class and the natives the lower. If the Jews were numerous, as they were in Egypt, they would have tried to separate themselves from the native inhabitants and to seek contacts with the Greek population. Scholars dealing with Artapanus’ fragments have seldom differentiated between Greeks and Egyptians, but the point of view is fruitful: this article shows that Artapanus never writes negatively about the Greeks, though he does consider the Egyptians to be a simple people led by wicked rulers. Moses has a role as founder of the Egyptian religious practices, but misunderstandings and errors led to a cult suited for lower people.
Louis H. Feldman, 'PHILO’S INTERPRETATION OF JOSHUA,' Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Vol. 12 No. 2 (October 2001): 165-178.Philo, especially in De Vita Mosis, diminishes the role of Joshua as compared with that of Moses, whom he seeks to defend against the Greeks who belittled him. In the war with Amalek it is Moses who takes the lead. In the Golden Calf incident Joshua represents subjective feeling toward the tumult in contrast to Moses, who understands the true cause. In his version of the spying mission it is to Caleb that Philo gives greater importance. However, in the account in De Virtutibus of a choice of successor to Moses, Philo stresses that Moses did not select one of his own sons, although he says in De Cherubim that the seed in Moses’ wife Zipporah was divinely planted.

Joan E. Taylor, 'Virgin Mothers: Philo on the Women Therapeutae,' Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Vol. 12 No. 1 (April 2001): 37-63. Philo of Alexandria describes the Jewish men and women known as the ‘Therapeutae’ in his treatise De Vita Contemplativa (c. 41 CE) as people who are truly good. They live a virtuous existence, practicing an ascetic, contemplative life of philosophy. However, in antiquity women philosophers could be seen as unfeminine and dangerously sexual. Women Therapeutae were therefore a rhetorical problem for Philo, as it would have been difficult for him to ensure that they were clearly seen as ‘good’. To solve the problem Philo insists on their virginity, while also characterizing them as maternal (thereby feminine). By considering Philo’s rhetoric here we not only better understand his concerns but also aspects of the historical Therapeutae that this rhetoric can both illuminate and obscure.