scholarly journals The place of Philo of Alexandria in the history of philosophy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgi Shavulev
Keyword(s):  
Early Christianity ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Jewish Scholar ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Contribution ◽  
Hellenistic Philosophy ◽  
Prevailing View

Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 B.C.E. -50 C.E.), or Philo Judaeus as he is also called, was a Jewish scholar, philosopher, politician, and author who lived in Alexandria and who has had a tremendous influence through his works (mostly on the Christian exegesis and theology). Today hardly any scholar of Second Temple Judaism, early Christianity, or Hellenistic philosophy sees any great imperative in arguing for his relevance. After the research (contribution) of V. Nikiprowetzky in the field of philonic studies, it seems that the prevailing view is that Philo should be regarded above all as an “exegete “. Such an opinion in one way or another seems to neglect to some extent Philo's place in the History of philosophy. This article defends the position that Philo should be considered primarily as a “hermeneut”. Emphasizing that the concept of hermeneutics has a broader meaning (especially in the context of antiquity) than the narrower and more specialized concept of exegesis.

Going Through Hell; ΤΑΡΤΑΡΟΣ in Greco-Roman Culture, Second Temple Judaism, and Philo of Alexandria

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-378
Author(s):  
Clint Burnett
Keyword(s):  
Second Temple ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Jewish Literature ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Greek Myths

This article questions the longstanding supposition that the eschatology of the Second Temple period was solely influenced by Persian or Iranian eschatology, arguing instead that the literature of this period reflects awareness of several key Greco-Roman mythological concepts. In particular, the concepts of Tartarus and the Greek myths of Titans and Giants underlie much of the treatment of eschatology in the Jewish literature of the period. A thorough treatment of Tartarus and related concepts in literary and non-literary sources from ancient Greek and Greco-Roman culture provides a backdrop for a discussion of these themes in the Second Temple period and especially in the writings of Philo of Alexandria.

Response to the Respondents: Competition, Qumran and Supersessionism

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-133
Author(s):  
Joel Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Second Temple ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
History Of ◽  
Qumran Community ◽  
The Way

Abstract The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion that early Christians competed with people who believed that John the Baptist was the principal figure in the history of salvation, its assertion that early in his career the Baptist was a member of the Qumran community, and the way in which the book situates the Baptist in relation to Second Temple Judaism in general. The article addresses these concerns, rebutting certain objections but acknowledging areas in which the book could have been more nuanced or further developed.

Philo of Alexandria

Classics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory E. Sterling
Keyword(s):  
School Setting ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Jewish Family ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Roman World ◽  
C 50 ◽  
Hellenistic Philosophy ◽  
The Temple

Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 bce–c. 50 ce) was the most prolific commentator on the Pentateuch in the Second Temple Jewish period (539 bce–70/135 ce). Philo was a member of a prominent Jewish family in one of the largest Jewish communities in the early Roman world. An observant Jew who made at least one pilgrimage to the temple, Philo led the Jewish embassy before Caligula following the pogrom in Alexandria in 38 ce. His real contribution lay in his writings; he wrote more than seventy treatises, although a third of these have been lost. The bulk of the treatises belongs to three series of commentaries on the Pentateuch. It is possible, although not provable, that Philo produced these in a school setting similar to the schools of ancient philosophers. His writings constitute a rich deposit of exegetical traditions. He inherited a large number of these exegetical traditions that began as early as the 2nd century bce with the works of Aristobulus and Pseudo-Aristeas. He also developed his own interpretations that primarily focus on the ascent of the soul to God. This point of orientation reflects his familiarity with Hellenistic philosophy, especially Middle Platonism. He had read and digested a number of Plato’s treatises, although he also knew other traditions as well. His creative blend of philosophy and exegesis made him attractive to early Christians who preserved the writings that have come down to us.

Literacy, New Testament

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Keith
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Early Christian

Although various New Testament texts reflect the importance of literacy and illiteracy in early Christianity (for example, Mark 13:14; John 7:15; Acts 4:13; 8:30; 1 Corinthians 16:21), these issues have taken on greater significance in New Testament studies since the 1980s. This period witnessed an explosion of interdisciplinary research on ancient literacy and illiteracy in cognate disciplines such as classics, cultural anthropology, literary criticism, and media criticism. Cumulatively, these interdisciplinary studies have established a new and sustained scholarly majority opinion that most ancient persons were illiterate. As a result, New Testament scholars now see literacy and illiteracy as important factors for interpreting New Testament and early Christian texts in their socio-historical contexts, especially for understanding the diffusion of social power in the text-centered cultures of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. Such a perspective has breathed fresh life into old debates, such as the education of Jesus and his followers or the identity of Jewish scribes, and has introduced, or participated in, new perspectives, such as “performance criticism” and the “material turn” in studies of early Christian book culture. Most of these studies accept that the majority of the population in Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity was illiterate and proceed to understand the social consequences of the use of books and literate skills in a predominantly oral environment. Along these lines, further studies have increasingly come to indicate the overall inadequacy of the terms “literate” and “illiterate” for understanding the complex manifestations of literate skills in practice. Complicating factors include the facts that reading and writing skills were acquired and used separately, reading and writing skills existed in varying levels and varying languages even for an individual, and that literacy (the ability to access written tradition for oneself) should not be confused with textuality (the awareness and appreciation of written tradition). These factors and others have impacted New Testament scholars’ understanding of the authorship, reception, and circulation of texts in Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity.

Jesus the Pharisee: Leon Modena, the Historical Jesus, and Renaissance Venice

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 81-101
Author(s):  
Cristiana Facchini
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Ecclesiastical History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic

This article is devoted to Leon Modena’s anti-Christian polemical work Magen ve-herev (1643 ca.) as a useful source for the reconstruction of notions about the historical Jesus in the early modern period. In this work, Modena depicts Jesus in a sympathetic way, placing his religious activity against the backdrop of second Temple Judaism. Modena’s Jesus is fully Jewish, and Magen ve-herev offers different perspectives on the religious and historical context of Jesus’ life, and on the development of Christianity. The text is interpreted not exclusively against the backdrop of Jewish anti-Christian polemics but as the result of an increasing interest in the history of Christianity and ecclesiastical history, mainly as a response to the religious strife that resonated in the Republic of Venice and its ghetto.

Grace/Gift in Paul

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. G. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
Second Temple ◽  
Gift Exchange ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Social Ethic ◽  
Divine Grace ◽  
Roman World ◽  
History Of Interpretation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social Worth

Paul's understanding of divine 'grace' stands at the centre of recent debates concerning Paul's relationship to Second Temple Judaism and his adaptation of the benefactor ideologies of the Graeco-Roman world. After outlining the diversity of ways in which Jewish texts configure the benevolence of God, two distinctively Pauline features are highlighted: that the gift of God is enacted in the Christ-event, and that this gift is given without regard to the ethnic, moral, or social worth of its recipients. This incongruity matches Paul's own experience and his practice of the Gentile mission; it also shapes his understanding of Israel's history, past and future, while undergirding a social ethic for communities formed in the mutuality of gift-exchange. It is noted how the history of interpretation has tended to extend this Pauline theme, by 'perfecting' the theme of grace in a variety of additional ways.

Socialscapes and Abstractions: An Appraisal of Richard A. Horsley’s Theorizing of Antiquity

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-123
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Rollens
Keyword(s):  
Early Christianity ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Social World ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Analytical Utility

Richard A. Horsley’s work on Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity has been widely influential. In particular, his theorizing of the social world in which early Jews and Christians were embedded has significantly advanced biblical studies. This article engages with several of the most prominent analytical categories in his work (peasant, retainer, resistance, and renewal) with a view toward investigating their conceptual origins and probing their analytical utility.

Two Gods in Heaven

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Second Temple ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Jewish Mysticism ◽  
Rabbinic Judaism ◽  
Son Of Man ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Book Of Daniel ◽  
Common Era

Contrary to popular belief, Judaism was not always strictly monotheistic. This book reveals the long and little-known history of a second, junior god in Judaism, showing how this idea was embraced by rabbis and Jewish mystics in the early centuries of the common era and casting Judaism's relationship with Christianity in an entirely different light. The book demonstrates how the Jews of the pre-Christian Second Temple period had various names for a second heavenly power—such as Son of Man, Son of the Most High, and Firstborn before All Creation. The book traces the development of the concept from the Son of Man vision in the biblical Book of Daniel to the Qumran literature, the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, and the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the picture changes drastically. While the early Christians of the New Testament took up the idea and developed it further, their Jewish contemporaries were divided. Most rejected the second god, but some—particularly the Jews of Babylonia and the writers of early Jewish mysticism—revived the ancient Jewish notion of two gods in heaven. Describing how early Christianity and certain strands of rabbinic Judaism competed for ownership of a second god to the creator, this book radically transforms our understanding of Judeo-Christian monotheism.

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