Jewish Women Philosophers Of First Century Alexandria

1. Philo’s ‘Therapeutae’ Reconsidered
1. On Method
2. Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa In Historical Context
3. Identity: The Name ‘Therapeutae’ And The Essenes
4. Placements: The Geographical And Social Locations Of The Mareotic Group
5. The Philosophia Of Ioudaismos
6. Allegory And Asceticism
7. A Solar Calendar

2. Women And Gender In De Vita Contemplativa
8. Paradigms Of ‘Women’ In Discourses On Philosophia
9. Women And Sex In De Vita Contemplativa
10. Gendered Space
11. Moses, Miriam, And Music
Conclusion

Additional Info
The ‘Therapeutae’ were a Jewish group of ascetic philosophers who lived outside Alexandria in the middle of the first century CE. They are described in Philo’s treatise De Vita Contemplativa and have often been considered in comparison with early Christians, the Essenes, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. But who were they really? This study focuses particularly on issues of history, rhetoric, women, and gender in a wide exploration of the group, and comes to new conclusions about the ‘Therapeutae’ and their relationship with the Jewish allegorical school of exegesis in Alexandria. The volume includes a new translation of De Vita Contemplativa .