Framing a Composition: Pseudo-Philo and Romans in Comparison

Abstract

The present thesis is a comparative analysis of Pseudo-Philo’s Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (LAB) and Paul’s Letter to the Romans. The goal of this study is to juxtapose two ancient Jewish texts read within a proposed ‘comparative compositional frame’ (CCF). The CCF refers to a means of conceptualising the practice of comparative analysis in terms appropriate to the agency of both the interpreter and the texts. My goal is to determine where Pseudo-Philo and Paul agree and differ regarding God’s word and the corresponding human response of faith, in order to sharpen our understanding of both LAB and Romans. This goal is pursued through: 1) a critique of recent metaphors for comparison in Pauline studies and a proposal for the CCF (introduction); 2) an exegetical analysis of key passages in both LAB and Romans pertaining to the topics of divine speech and human faith, a critical step in constructing a CCF (central chapters); and 3) a discussion of the similarities and differences between both texts within the formal comparison itself (conclusion). The four main chapters of this study are divided evenly between LAB and Romans, with two chapters examining, respectively, the motifs of God’s word and human faith in LAB, followed by two chapters examining those same motifs in Romans 4 and 9–11. This thesis contributes to the study of both Paul and Pseudo-Philo by offering fresh exegetical and theological insight into both texts, and it also constitutes the first substantial side-by-side comparative study of these two ancient Jewish writings to the exclusion of other examples.