Philip Alexander
British scholar of post-biblical Jewish literature
- Born
- 1947
- Position
- Professor of Post-Biblical Jewish Literature, University of Manchester
- Known for
- Translation of 3 Enoch in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (1983)
- Fields
- Dead Sea Scrolls, Targum, early Jewish mysticism
Manchester scholar whose 1983 English translation of 3 Enoch argued it was compiled in Babylonia from older Metatron traditions.
What is Philip Alexander known for?
Philip S. Alexander is a British scholar of Judaism and Professor of Post-Biblical Jewish Literature at the University of Manchester, where he co-directed the Centre for Jewish Studies. He works on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Aramaic Targums and early Jewish mystical writing.
He translated 3 Enoch, the Hebrew Book of Enoch, for the first volume of The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha edited by James H. Charlesworth (1983), which replaced Hugo Odeberg's 1928 version for most readers. In his introduction he argued, against Odeberg's very early dating, that the work in its present form was put together in Babylonia, probably in the 5th or 6th century CE or later, with the Enoch material added to earlier traditions about the angel Metatron.
His view is widely accepted, though scholars still debate how old the separate traditions inside the book are.
The site cites Alexander's view that 3 Enoch is a Babylonian compilation with the Enoch material added to earlier Metatron lore.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit hole3 Enoch (Sefer Hekhalot)
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Philip S. Alexander'Reference
- Wikipedia, '3 Enoch'Reference
- The British Academy, 'Professor Philip Alexander FBA'Reference
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