scholarly journals Some Remarks on Musical Symbolism of Philo’s Hermeneutics in “De Posteritate Caini”

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Georgi Shavulev
Keyword(s):  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Contemporary Research ◽  
Systematic Philosophy ◽  
Musical Theme ◽  
Musical Symbolism ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Allegorical Interpretation

Philo of Alexandria can hardly be called a philosopher, especially given a certain speculative or systematic philosophy. But also, contrary to the prevailing opinion in contemporary research, it could hardly be defined as an exegete, especially given the modern content of the term. At the same time, the impression remains that the most often associated concept with his name – allegory (allegorical interpretation) is usually perceived too narrowly, and not enough attention is paid to the actual literary and hermeneutical skills of the author. Modern translations of his works often do not reflect the symbolism used by Philo at all, as is the case with music imagery in the opening paragraph of De Posteritate Caini. The musical theme and symbolism in Philo's work undoubtedly deserve a special and thorough study, which would go far beyond the scope of this article.

scholarly journals Literal in contrast to alegorical interpretation: History versus myth

2018 ◽  
pp. 207-220
Author(s):  
Rodoljub Kubat
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Literal Interpretation ◽  
Theodore Of Mopsuestia ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Christian Understanding ◽  
Exact Moment ◽  
Correct Understanding ◽  
Allegorical Interpretation

Allegoresis as an exegetical method originated within Hellenistic schools of philosophy, and it expressed the Hellenistic thought to a great extent. First interpreters of the Bible who started using allegorical interpretation were the Hellenized Jews - Aristobulos and Philo of Alexandria. Later Christian interpreters followed in their footsteps, especially the representatives of the Alexadrian School, of whom the most notable is Origen. Biblical interpreters were faced with the problem of relation between the literal and the allegorical interpretation from the very beginning. The source of that problem was the Christian understanding of history, namely, the belief that God has really revealed Himself in history. Denial of text?s historical meaning deprived the formative events of faith of any meaning. On the other side, the sole view of the history as series of events from the past which have no deeper meaning led exegesis to sterile literalism. Tensions between the literal interpretation and the allegoresis escalated particularly in the 4th century when Emperor Julian the Apostate tried to revive Hellenistic paganism. In order to revive old myths, he made use of allegoresis. In polemic writings against the Christians he also emphasized that the Bible has to be understood allegorically. Prominent Christian theologians then arose against allegorical interpretation, seeing in it as a serious threat for the correct understanding of the Scripture. In that exegetical battle, the most notable were: Basilius the Great, Diodoros of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia. In this paper we will take a look at that exact moment in history.

Philo of Alexandria (c.15 BC–c. AD 50)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Runia
Keyword(s):  
Natural Theology ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
Jewish Thought ◽  
Genesis 1 ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
Doctrine Of Creation ◽  
Allegorical Interpretation ◽  
Human Intellect

Philo of Alexandria is the leading representative of Hellenistic-Jewish thought. Despite an unwavering loyalty to the religious and cultural traditions of his Jewish community, he was also strongly attracted to Greek philosophy, in which he received a thorough training. His copious writings – in Greek – are primarily exegetical, expounding the books of Moses. This reflects his apologetic strategy of presenting the Jewish lawgiver Moses as the sage and philosopher par excellence, recipient of divine inspiration, but not at the expense of his human rational faculties. In his commentaries Philo makes extensive use of the allegorical method earlier developed by the Stoics. Of contemporary philosophical movements, Philo is most strongly attracted to Platonism. His method is basically eclectic, but with a clear rationale focused on the figure of Moses. Philo’s thought is strongly theocentric. God is conceived in terms of being. God’s essence is unreachable for human knowledge (negative theology), but his existence should be patent to all (natural theology). Knowledge of God is attained through his powers and, above all, through his Logos (‘Word’ or ‘Reason’), by means of which he stands in relation to what comes after him. In his doctrine of creation Philo leans heavily on Platonist conceptions drawn from reflection on Plato’s Timaeus. The conception of a creation ex nihilo (‘from nothing’) is not yet consciously worked out. Philo’s doctrine of human nature favours the two anthropological texts in Genesis 1–2, interpreting creation ‘according to the image’ in relation to the human intellect. With regard to ethics, both Stoic concepts and peculiarly Jewish themes emerge in Philo’s beliefs. Ethical ideals are prominent in the allegorical interpretation of the biblical patriarchs. Philo’s influence was almost totally confined to the Christian tradition, which preserved his writings. He was unknown to medieval Jewish thinkers such as Maimonides.

What's Divine about Divine Law?

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Dissonance ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Rabbinic Judaism ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Western Idea ◽  
Jewish Writers ◽  
Divine Law

In the thousand years before the rise of Islam, two radically diverse conceptions of what it means to say that a law is divine confronted one another with a force that reverberates to the present. This book untangles the classical and biblical roots of the Western idea of divine law and shows how early adherents to biblical tradition—Hellenistic Jewish writers such as Philo, the community at Qumran, Paul, and the talmudic rabbis—struggled to make sense of this conflicting legacy. This book shows that for the ancient Greeks, divine law was divine by virtue of its inherent qualities of intrinsic rationality, truth, universality, and immutability, while for the biblical authors, divine law was divine because it was grounded in revelation with no presumption of rationality, conformity to truth, universality, or immutability. The book describes the collision of these opposing conceptions in the Hellenistic period, and details competing attempts to resolve the resulting cognitive dissonance. It shows how Second Temple and Hellenistic Jewish writers, from the author of 1 Enoch to Philo of Alexandria, were engaged in a common project of bridging the gulf between classical and biblical notions of divine law, while Paul, in his letters to the early Christian church, sought to widen it. The book then delves into the literature of classical rabbinic Judaism to reveal how the talmudic rabbis took a third and scandalous path, insisting on a construction of divine law intentionally at odds with the Greco-Roman and Pauline conceptions that would come to dominate the Christianized West. This book sheds critical light on an ancient debate that would shape foundational Western thought, and that continues to inform contemporary views about the nature and purpose of law and the nature and authority of Scripture.

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.

The Complete Works of Philo of Alexandria: A Key-Word-In-Context Concordance

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peder Borgen ◽  
Kåre Fuglseth ◽  
Roald Skarsten
Keyword(s):  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Key Word
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document