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.
observing the customs as well as the Laws is stressed in Migr. 89-9353.
There are also sayings of Philo in which the Torah and customs are almost identified (Legat. 210), or where commandments are described as customs54. "It would thus appear that on occasions the distinction between customs and law collapses, especially in contexts where Philo defends a particular Jewish practice, or Jewish customs in general"55. The expression "the customs (of the fathers)" (cf. tw=n patri/wn [e)qw=n]) is especially frequent in Philo’s political and apologetical works In Flaccum and Legatio ad Gaium56. This observation strongly supports the suggestion that it was a term of great political and constitutional importance57. Thus it is to be interpreted in light of Jewish conceptions of their constitution. Hence the expressions in Spec. 2,253 are important: they are strong expressions, denoting that what was at stake is the basis of Judaism, its constitution58.
The expression focused here becomes even more interesting for understanding Paul when we consider the words of Spec. 2,253; the saying of Mattathias in Josephus’ Ant. 12,271; and Gal 1,14 together:
Spec. 2,253: muri/oi ga_r e!foroi, zhlwtai_ no/mwn, fu/lakej tw=n patri/wn a)kribe/statoi
Ant. 12,271: ei! tij zhlwth/j e)stin tw=n patri/wn e)qw=n
Gal 1,14: perissote/rwj zhlwth_j u(pa/rxwn tw=n patrikw=n mou parado/sewn