Abrahams Aufbruch: Philon von Alexandria, De migratione Abrahami Eingeleitet, übersetzt und mit interpretierenden Essays versehen von Heinrich Detering, Lutz Doering, Reinhard Feldmeier, Rainer Hirsch-Luipold, Heinz-Günther Nesselrath, Maren R. Niehoff

Philo's treatise De Migratione Abrahami offers an allegorical commentary on Gen 12. Abraham's migration from Chaldea to the Land of Israel is interpreted by Philo as the soul's migration from the world of the senses to God. The present edition of Philo's text includes a detailed introduction to his life and thought as well as a new German translation of his treatise with annotations and essays illustrating the text from the perspective of various disciplines. The accompanying essays initially place the work in the context of contemporary Judaism, both in Alexandria and the Land of Israel. This is followed by an appreciation of Philo as a representative of Middle Platonism in the imperial period. Two further essays focus on central themes of the Philonic treatise, namely knowledge of God and the experience of exile interpreted philosophically. Two concluding studies compare Philo's figure of Abraham to his image in the New Testament and in Thomas Mann's novel Joseph and his Brothers.