Philo

Philo of Alexandria ( ; ; ; - ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian Jews in a delegation to the Roman emperor Caligula in 40 CE following civil strife between the Jewish and Greek communities of Alexandria. Philo was a leading writer of the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt. He wrote expansively in Koine Greek on philosophy, politics, and religion in his time; specifically, he explored the connections between Greek Platonic philosophy and late Second Temple Judaism. For example, he maintained that the Greek-language Septuagint and the Jewish law still being developed by the rabbis of the period together served as a blueprint for the pursuit of individual enlightenment. Philo used philosophical allegory to harmonize the Hebrew Bible, mainly the Torah, with Greek philosophy. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoicism. His allegorical exegesis was important for many Christian Church Fathers, but he had very little reception history within Rabbinic Judaism. . Many critics of Philo assumed his allegorical perspective, in contrast to Biblical Literalism, would lend credibility to the notion of legend over historicity.…

Philo of Alexandria ( ; ; ; - ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian Jews in a delegation to the Roman emperor Caligula in 40 CE following civil strife between the Jewish and Greek communities of Alexandria. Philo was a leading writer of the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt. He wrote expansively in Koine Greek on philosophy, politics, and religion in his time; specifically, he explored the connections between Greek Platonic philosophy and late Second Temple Judaism. For example, he maintained that the Greek-language Septuagint and the Jewish law still being developed by the rabbis of the period together served as a blueprint for the pursuit of individual enlightenment. Philo used philosophical allegory to harmonize the Hebrew Bible, mainly the Torah, with Greek philosophy. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoicism. His allegorical exegesis was important for many Christian Church Fathers, but he had very little reception history within Rabbinic Judaism. . Many critics of Philo assumed his allegorical perspective, in contrast to Biblical Literalism, would lend credibility to the notion of legend over historicity. However, Philo often advocated a literal understanding of the Torah and the historicity of such described events, while at other times favoring allegorical readings. Some scholars hold that his concept of the Logos as God's creative principle influenced early Christology. Other scholars deny direct influence but say that Philo and Early Christianity borrow from a common source. ==Life== Philo's dates of birth and death are unknown but can be judged by Philo's description of himself as "old" when he was part of the delegation to Gaius Caligula in 38 CE. Jewish history professor Daniel R. Schwartz estimates his birth year as sometime between 15 and 10 BCE. Philo's reference to an event under the reign of Emperor Claudius indicates that he died sometime between 45 and 50 CE. Philo also recounts that he visited the Second Temple in Jerusalem at least once in his lifetime. Similarly, God cannot exist or change in space. He has no "where" (πού, obtained by changing the accent in Genesis 3:9: "Adam, where [ποῡ] art thou?"), is not in any place. He is Himself the place; the dwelling-place of God means the same as God Himself, as in the Mishnah = "God is" (comp. Freudenthal, "Hellenistische Studien", p. 73), corresponding to the tenet of Greek philosophy that the existence of all things is summed up in God. God as such is motionless, as the Bible indicates by the phrase "God stands". ==Works== The works of Philo are mostly allegorical interpretations of the Torah (known in the Hellenic world as the Pentateuch) but also include histories and comments on philosophy. Most of these were preserved in Greek by the Church Fathers; some survive only through an Armenian translation, and a smaller number survive in a Latin translation. The exact dates of writing and original organization plans are unknown for many of the texts attributed to Philo. ===Commentaries on the Pentateuch=== Most of Philo's surviving work deals with the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Within this corpus are three categories: Quaestiones ("Inquiries") – short verse-by-verse exposition: four books on the Book of Genesis and two on the Book of Exodus. All six books are preserved through an Armenian translation published by Jean-Baptiste Aucher in 1826¹. A comparison with surviving Greek and Latin fragments recommends the translation as literal and accurate as it goes, but it suggests that some original content is missing. There are thought to be twelve original books, six of which are about Genesis and six of which are about Exodus. Allegorical Commentary – a longer exegesis explaining esoteric meanings; the surviving text deals only with the Book of Genesis, with the notable omission of Genesis 1. "Exposition of the Law" – a more straightforward synthesis of topics in the Pentateuch, probably written for Gentiles as well as Jews. Philo's commentary on the Pentateuch is usually classified into three genres. ===Other works ascribed to Philo=== "De Mundo", a collection of extracts from Philo, especially from the preceding work "De Sampsone" and "De Jona", in Armenian, published with Latin translation by Jean-Baptiste Aucher. "Interpretatio Hebraicorum Nominum", a collection, by an anonymous Jew, of the Hebrew names occurring in Philo. Origen enlarged it by adding New Testament names, and Jerome revised it. See below for the etymology of names occurring in Philo's exegetical works. A "Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum", which was printed in the sixteenth century and then disappeared, has been discussed by Cohn in "J. Q. R." 1898, x. 277–332. It narrates Biblical history from Adam to Saul The pseudo-Philonic "Breviarium Temporum", published by Annius of Viterbo For a list of Philo's lost works, see Schürer, l.c. p. 534. "De Incorruptibilitate Mundi". Jakob Bernays has argued convincingly that this work is spurious. Its peripatetic basic idea that the world is eternal and indestructible contradicts all those Jewish teachings that were, for Philo, an indisputable presupposition. Bernays has proved simultaneously that the text has been confused through wrong pagination, and he has cleverly restored it. Massebieau, Louis. Le classement des oeuvres de Philon. Extrait du tome I de la Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études, Section des Sceicne religieuses. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1889. Pearce, Sarah (2007) The Land of the Body: Studies in Philo's Representation of Egypt Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck. Runia, David T. (1986). Philo of Alexandria and the Timaeus of Plato. Philosophia antiqua, 44. Brill, Leiden. Runia, D. T. (2001). On the Creation of the Cosmos according to Moses. Number 1 in Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series. Brill, Leiden. Sandmel, Samuel. (1979). Philo of Alexandria: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. . Schürer, Emil. Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi (1886–1890) ==External links== Lecture on Philo Judaeus of Alexandria: Jews in the Greek World by Dr. Henry Abramson Open source XML versions of Philo's works have been made available by the Open Greek and Latin Project at the University of Leipzig. English translations of Philo's writings are also available here. The Works of Philo - searchable text from University of the Aegean (site currently offline) Works of Philo - searchable text (in Russian)

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