The Reception of Biblical Figures

This volume explores the reception of biblical figures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with a particular focus on Antiquity and incursions in the Middle Ages and modernity. The contributions included here offer a glimpse of the complexity of the mechanics of transmission to which these figures were subjected in extra-biblical texts, either concentrating on one author or corpus in particular, or broadening the scope across time and cultural contexts. The volume intends to shed light on how these biblical figures and their legacies appear as channels of collective memory and identity; how they became tools for authors to achieve specific goals; how they gained new and powerful authority for communities; and how they transcend traditions and cultural boundaries. As a result, the vitality and fluidity of the developments of traditions become clear and prompt caution when using modern categories.

Forewords (Eleonora Serra & Philippe Therrien)

Quelques notes critiques sur des concepts usuels dans les études sémitiques actuelles (David Hamidović)
The Saga of Noah in Slavonic Parabiblical Writings, Iconography and Oral Tradition (The Case of The Folk Bible) (Florentina Badalanova Geller)
Noé exorciste ? Des traditions mésopotamiennes au judaïsme du Second Temple (Eleonora Serra)
La figure de Melchisédech à Qumrân (Dario Barberis)
Moses as King and Commander in the Philonic Life of Moses, between Historiography and Exegesis (Gaetano Spampinato)
Fasting, Visions and Prophecy In and Outside the Bible: The Figure of Daniel in Tertullian’s De ieiunio adversus psychicos (Maria Dell’Isola)
Paideia, Plato’s Sophist and the Pseudo-Clementines: Simon Magus’ Characterisation in the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies (Benjamin De Vos)
« Laissons aux hérésiologues leurs catégories ». État des lieux sur les représentations de Seth dans la littérature gnostique (Philippe Therrien)
The Creation of a Golem: Theurgy versus Magic in Some Ancient and Medieval Sources (Barbara Henry)
A Woman Ruling over Them: The Sheba Myth and the Role of Gender in the Qur’ān and Kәbrä Nägäst (Rhiannon Garth Jones)
Modern Apocrypha as a Cultural Toolbox (Małgorzata Jankowska)

Index of References