Torrey Seland, «Saul of Tarsus and Early Zealotism. Reading Gal 1,13-14 in Light of Philo’s Writings», Vol. 83 (2002) 449-471
One of the most consistent features in the portraits of Saul of Tarsus in the Acts of the Apostles and in the letters accredited to Paul, is the fervent zeal of his youth. The zeal of the young Saul has been dealt with in several studies, drawing on the issue of zealotry in Palestine, but the conclusions reached are rather diverse. The present study suggests that the often overlooked phenomenon of zealotry in the writings of Philo of Alexandria should also be considered. The material from Philo does not support the view that the early zealots formed any consistent movement or party, but that they were vigilant individuals who took the Law in their own hands when observing cases of gross Torah transgressions.
as a part of an actualizing exposition of these commandments which are considered the most prominent among the ten in the Decalogue (Dec. 65)37. Philo’s use of zh=loj is here of great significance. Since 1,55 is followed up in 1,56 by a clear reference to the Phinehas episode of Num 25, it is most reasonable to take the function of zh=loj in 1.55 as another reference to the zh=loj of Phinehas, as stated in that OT passage. There should thus be little doubt that Num 25 is the basis for Philo’s expositions in 1.55ff.
In Spec. 2,252-253 Philo deals with the issue of perjury, and states that such a crime will not go unpunished by God even if the culprit evades the chastisement of men; but he will never escape from men either, as there are thousands who are full of zeal for the laws, merciless to those who do anything to subvert them38. His statements about the concerns of the ‘zealots’ might also be read, moreover, as signifying that, with regard to its effects, the crime was to be characterized as a subversion of ‘the laws,’ of ‘the ancient institutions’ (2,253b: tw=n patri/wn).
In order to understand the seriousness of Philo’s view of this crime, one should also draw on his characterizations of the concerns of those ready to take action. While zhlwtai_ no/mwn is obviously a reference to those zealous for the Commandments of the Torah, the expression tw=n patri/wn is to be read as an abbreviation of