Pseudo-Philo Rewriting the Bible [Hardcover]

This is a literary and theological study of theBiblical Antiquitiesof Pseudo-Philo--a long, well-written reinterpretation of the Hebrew Bible written by a Palestinian Jew of the first century C.E. Using the methodologies of redaction and literary criticism, Murphy provides an analysis of the whole of theBiblical Antiquities. After a chapter-by-chapter analysis, Murphy addresses several topics more generally--major characters, major themes, and the historical context of the work. Full concordances to the Latin text are provided to assist future research on Pseudo-Philo. This book will prove an important resource for students of Jewish interpretation of the Bible at the end of the Second Temple period. It also sheds light on Jewish thought of the period regarding covenant, leadership in Israel, women in Israel, relations with Gentiles, divine providence, divine retribution, eschatology, and many other subjects. Furnishing a broad interpretive context for future work on theBiblical Antiquities, this study gives students of the Bible access to an important literary and religious product of first-century Judaism.

This is a readable, thoughtful and sensible study of one of the most important Jewish Palestinian documents from the Greco-Roman period. --Journal of Jewish Studies

Murphy has done us the service of making this otherwise obscure text accessible to all. Those who wish to consult Pseudo-Philo should make Murphy's book their first stop --Lexington Theological Quarterly

This solid, if not always spectacular, work cataloguing the data of Pseudo-Philo will be much appreciated. --Journal of Theological Stusdies