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This book studies the influence of Hellenism and Greco-Roman philosophy on Philo of Alexandria's view of the Mosaic law. In particular, the book examines how Philo integrated Greco-Roman conceptions of law, such as Unwritten Law, the Law of Nature, and the "Living Law," into his understanding of the Mosaic law of the Jews and the lives of the Patriarchs. Philo transformed Greco-Roman law and shaped it into something peculiar to a Jewish understanding of the cosmos and its creation by one God. Martens examines Philo's creativity in adapting Greco-Roman law to create something new in the annals of philosophy and the apologetic purposes his new philosophy served for Judaism.
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ONE GOD, ONE LAW: Philo of Alexandria on the Mosaic and Greco-Roman Law
JOHN W. MARTENS
BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, INC.
ONE GOD, ONE LAW
ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN AND MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND CONTEXTS GENERAL EDITORS Jacob Neusner Robert Berchman
STUDIES IN PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA AND MEDITERRANEAN ANTIQUITY
EDITED BY Robert Berchman, Dowling College, Oakdale, NY Francesca Calabi, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
VOLUME II
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EDITORIAL BOARD K. Corrigan, Emory University, Atlanta, USA L. H. Feldman, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA M. Hadas-Lebel, La Sorbonne, Paris, France C. Lévy, La Sorbonne, Paris, France T. Rajak, University of Reading, United Kingdom E. Starobinski-Safran, Université de Genève, Switzerland L. Troiani, Universita’ di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
ONE GOD, ONE LAW Philo of Alexandria on the Mosaic and Greco-Roman Law
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JOHN W. MARTENS
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Martens, John W., 1960– One God, one Law : Philo of Alexandria on the Mosaic and Greco-Roman law / by John W. Martens. p. cm. — (Studies in Philo of Alexandria and Mediterranean antiquity, ISSN 1543–995X ; v. 2) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–391–04190–8 (hc) 1. Philo, of Alexandria—Views on Jewish law. 2. Jewish law—History. 3. Philo, of Alexandria—Contributions in philosophy of law. 4. Law, Greek— Philosophy—History. 5. Roman law—Philosophy—History. I. Title. II. Series: Studies in Philo of Alexandria and Mediterranean antiquity (Brill Academic Publishers) ; v. 2. B689. Z7M27 2003 296.1'8'092—dc21 2003042239
ISSN 1543–995X ISBN 0–391–04190–8 © Copyright 2003 by Brill Academic Publishers, Inc., Boston All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change.
CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................... Abbreviations .............................................................................. Preface ........................................................................................ Introduction ................................................................................
ix xi xiii xv
Chapter One: “Higher” Law and the Superfluity of the Law in Greek Thought: Unwritten Law ..............................
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