Thunderous Silence: The Omission of the Sinai Pericope in Philo of Alexandria
Abstract One of the most surprising omissions in Philo's retelling of Moses's life in his De vita Moysis is the Sinai pericope. The Alexandrian omitted Exod 17:14-Num 20:13 with the exception of the spy story (Num 13:1-14:45). There appear to be three reasons for the omission. First, Philo...
Saved in:
| Published in | Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period Vol. 49; no. 4-5; pp. 449 - 474 |
|---|---|
| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
Leiden | Boston
Brill
01.01.2018
|
| Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
| Summary: | Abstract
One of the most surprising omissions in Philo's retelling of Moses's life in his De vita Moysis is the Sinai pericope. The Alexandrian omitted Exod 17:14-Num 20:13 with the exception of the spy story (Num 13:1-14:45). There appear to be three reasons for the omission. First, Philo recognized the doublet of the story of the water from the rock (Exod 17:1-7//Num 20:1-13). This provided a narrative rationale for the omission. Second, he routinely omitted place names from his narrative, an ars narrandi that helped to universalize the text. Third, the omission enabled him to avoid the association of Sinai with the covenant. Philo retold the story of Moses, but turned Moses outward into the larger world rather than inward to his own community. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0047-2212 1570-0631 0047-2212 |
| DOI: | 10.1163/15700631-12492226 |