The Philonian Exegesis from the Encounter of Culture to the Encounter of Religious Traditions: the Case of Quaestiones

The present contribution is inserted within, and overall hinges upon, a context where Philo of Alexandria has the potential to continue to be a model for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, in particular regarding “his” Moses. I will attempt to follow the aforementioned line of research through Quaestiones in Genesim and In Exodum, a lesser-known and studied work of Philo that, formatted as question-and-answer, is in itself a dense dialogue between the person positing the query, behind whom the author can conceal a member of another culture or religion, and the exegetist – Philo himself – responding and clarifying. Furthermore, Quaestiones can be a good observation-post for another reason: the extreme variety of questions and the types of methods of the responses. Through this, Philo displays his own capacity to draw upon diverse norms, ideas and subjects from various origins, with a truly versatile and dialogical attitude. At the end of this inquiry, this essay will attempt to see which elements can be applied to the other question that is the object of this inquiry, to highlight the longevity and topicality of this approach.