Sarah Pearce

I have become aware of the homepage of Sarah Pearce, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Southampton. She has published several articles on Philo, and is now on the marked with a new book on Philo.

I have to add her on my Philo research page, as she sureley belongs there on my list of those publishing on Philo.

Reading her homepage, I'll like to draw my readers attention to the following works that are directly related to Philo:‘Belonging and Not Belonging: Local Perspectives in Philo of Alexandria’, in S. Jones and S. Pearce (eds), Jewish Local Patriotism and Self-Identification in the Graeco-Roman Period, Sheffield University Press,1998, pp. 79-105.

‘Jerusalem as Mother City in the Writings of Philo of Alexandria’, in J. Barclay (ed.), Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire, T&T Clark, 2004, pp. 19-36.

'King Moses: Notes on Philo's Portrait of Moses as an Ideal Leader in the Life of Moses', in E.Gannagé, P.Crone, M. Aouad, D. Gutas, E. Schütrumpf (eds), The Greek Strand in Islamic Political Thought, Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Volume LVII (2004), pp. 37-74.

‘Philo on the Nile’, in J. Frey and D. Schwartz (eds), Jewish Identity in the Greco-Roman World, Brill, 2007, pp. 137-157.

New book on Philo

Every one who have read more than just a little in Philo, will probably have discovered his many sayings and invectives against the 'Egyptians'. Now there is a study to be published about Philo's view of the 'Egyptians':Sarah J.K. Pearce,
The Land of the Body. Studies in Philo's Representation of Egypt
(Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 208)
Mohr Siebeck,2007. XXVIII, 365 pages. ISBN 978-3-16-149250-1 cloth € 109.00
The publisher's description of the book runs thus:
"This book presents the first extended study of the representation of Egypt in the writings of Philo of Alexandria. Philo is a crucial witness, not only to the experiences of the Jews of Alexandria, but to the world of early Roman Egypt in general. As historians of Roman Alexandria and Egypt are well aware, we have access to very few voices from inside the country in this era; Philo is the best we have. As a commentator on Jewish Scripture, Philo is also one of the most valuable sources for the interpretation of Egypt in the Pentateuch. He not only writes very extensively on this subject, but he does so in ways that are remarkable for their originality when compared with the surviving literature of ancient Judaism. In this book, Sarah Pearce tries to understand Philo in relation to the wider context in which he lived and worked. Key areas for investigation include: defining the 'Egyptian' in Philo's world; Philo's treatment of the Egypt of the Pentateuch as a symbol of 'the land of the body'; Philo's emphasis on Egyptian inhospitableness; and his treatment of Egyptian religion, focusing on Nile veneration and animal worship."

The Eisenbrauns publishers bookstore also provide a Table of Contents of the book:


Sarah J.K. Pearce, born 1965; 1988 Bachelor of Divinity (University of London); 1995 DPhil (Oriental Studies, University of Oxford); Ian Karten Senior Lecturer in Jewish History, The Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton.

This is a welcome addition to those studies who focus on how Philo conceptualized aspects and issues of his social worldpast and present. I hope to get hold of the book (hey, publisher, are you listening..... :-)