Title

This book was not written under the name of Philo, nor was Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (LAB) its original title. The manuscripts of LAB were included among the Latin translations of the writings of Philo of Alexandria. But the author made no pretence of being Philo, and so the work is not technically a pseudepigraphon. Furthermore, nothing in the theology and the treatment of the Old Testament links it to Philo of Alexandria. The ascription to Philo probably rests on its similarity in form and content to the Antiquities of Josephus. That is, since one book of Antiquities was written by Josephus, this other book of Antiquities must have been written by Philo.

The Latin title Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (Book of Biblical Antiquities) first appeared in the 1552 edition published at Lyons by S. Gryphe. The word Antiquities appears on the label of one of the manuscripts and was taken over as part of the book's title (Liber Antiquitatum) in 1527 by its first editor, Johannes Sichardus.

The text

LAB exists in eighteen complete and three fragmentary manuscripts. The manuscripts are of German or Austrian origin, and date from the eleventh to the fifteenth century.