The antiquity of material in the Targums can often be established by seeing whether the same interpretation occurs elsewhere, and therefore the notes in this book contain references to other works, as explained in the preface. Jewish pre-Rabbinic literature is too well known to require a general introduction here, but for the sake of completeness a list of authors and sources quoted in this book will be given, together with brief information about them.

Philo

The date of Philo's birth is uncertain. J. Schwartz put it between 15 and 10 b.c. Equally uncertain is the date of his death, though he must have been alive in a.d. 39–40, since that was the date of the embassy to Gaius. His exegesis of scripture was predominantly allegorical. He was evidently concerned to commend Judaism to the Hellenistic world (of which, living in Alexandria, he was a part) through the media of Hellenism. But this should not be allowed to obscure the fact that Philo was deeply and fundamentally Jewish. What is particularly important for the purposes of this book is the possibility that Philo in his exegesis occasionally shows traces of ‘Palestinian’ interpretation; that is to say, it is possible that there are points of contact between Philo and the traditions which are to be found in Rabbinic works of exegesis (and eventually in Ps. Jon.).