Table Of ContentPhilo of Alexandria
Studies in Philo
of Alexandria
Edited by
Francesca Calabi and Robert Berchman
Editorial Board
Kevin Corrigan (Emory University)
Louis H. Feldman (Yeshiva University, New York)
Mireille Hadas-Lebel (La Sorbonne, Paris)
Carlos Lévy (La Sorbonne, Paris)
Maren Niehoff (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Tessa Rajak (University of Reading)
Roberto Radice (Università Cattolica, Milano)
Esther Starobinski-Safran (Université de Genève)
Lucio Troiani (Universita’ di Pavia)
VOLUME 7
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/philo
Philo of Alexandria
A Thinker in the Jewish Diaspora
By
Mireille Hadas-Lebel
Translated by
Robyn Fréchet
LEiDEN • BOSTON
2012
Originally published as Philon d’Alexandrie un penseur en diaspora by Mireille Hadas-Lebel
©Librarie Arthème Fayard, 2003.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hadas-Lebel, Mireille.
[Philon d’Alexandrie. English]
Philo of Alexandria : a thinker in the Jewish diaspora / by Mireille Hadas-Lebel ; translated by
Robyn Frechet.
p. cm. — (Studies in Philo of Alexandria ; 7)
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBN 978-90-04-20948-0 (hardback : alk. paper) — iSBN 978-90-04-23237-2 (e-book) (print)
1. Philo, of Alexandria. 2. Alexandria (Egypt)—Civilization. 3. Judaism and philosophy.
4. Hellenism. i. Fr?chet, Robyn, translator. ii. Title.
B689.Z7H3413 2012
181’.06—dc23
2012017637
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters
covering Latin, iPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the
humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.nl/brill-typeface.
iSSN 1543-995x
iSBN 9789004209480 (hardback)
iSBN 9789004232372 (e-book)
Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing,
iDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV
provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center,
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Fees are subject to change.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
i would like to express my sincere thanks to my friends
Helen and Douglas Davis for their help in editing the
English version of this book
Contents
Preface ................................................................................................................ xi
Abbreviations ................................................................................................... xv
I Alexandria “on the edge” of egypt ................................................... 1
Alexandria Yesterday, Alexandria today ....................................... 1
the City of Alexander .......................................................................... 4
A Founder of Great eminence ...................................................... 4
A new Brand of Urbanism ............................................................. 6
the Lighthouse and the Ports ............................................................ 8
At the Heart of Hellenistic Civilisation ........................................... 11
the Museum ...................................................................................... 11
the Library ......................................................................................... 13
the Gymnasium ................................................................................ 15
Places of entertainment ................................................................. 15
Population and Districts of Alexandria .......................................... 16
Alexandrian syncretism ....................................................................... 17
the Greek temples .......................................................................... 17
Isis and sarapis .................................................................................. 17
the syncretism of the necropolis ............................................... 19
From Royal Cult to Imperial Cult ................................................ 20
How egypt Became Roman ................................................................ 21
II Being Jewish in Alexandria in Philo’s Day ..................................... 27
A Distinguished Family ........................................................................ 27
Between “Metropolis” and “Fatherland”: the Diaspora ............. 31
“If I Forget thee, o Jerusalem” .......................................................... 35
Between Greeks and egyptians ......................................................... 40
Proselytes and Renegades ................................................................... 45
A Fragile Minority ................................................................................. 48
III Philo’s Cultural World .......................................................................... 53
Hellenised Jews ....................................................................................... 53
Philo’s education ................................................................................... 54
Greek or Hebrew? .................................................................................. 58
the septuagint translation ................................................................ 59
viii contents
Philo and the Miracle of the Greek Bible ...................................... 63
Jew and Greek: “The Judaeo-Hellenistic Symbiosis”
and its Limits ..................................................................................... 66
IV Amid Political Turmoil ........................................................................ 69
Early Warning Signals .......................................................................... 70
When the Mob Seizes Power ............................................................. 71
Confronting the Tyrant ........................................................................ 78
V Judaism According to Philo: Practice and Ethics ........................ 91
Exterior Criteria for the Jewish Identity ......................................... 92
Circumcision ........................................................................................... 95
The Dietary Laws ................................................................................... 97
The Sabbath ............................................................................................. 99
Passover in Egypt ................................................................................... 104
The Two Other Feasts of Pilgrimage ................................................ 107
The Great Fast ........................................................................................ 109
The Universalist Interpretation ......................................................... 112
VI The Biblical Commentary ................................................................... 117
Philo’s Treatises and the Bible ........................................................... 117
On the Necessity of Exegesis .............................................................. 122
The Bible of Philo .................................................................................. 124
Questions and Answers ....................................................................... 127
The Creation of the World .................................................................. 128
Man, Woman and the Serpent .......................................................... 131
The Problem of Evil: Cain and Abel ................................................ 132
The Models in Humanity .................................................................... 133
The First Triad and Noah ............................................................... 133
The Second Triad and Abraham .................................................. 135
From Joseph to Moses: The Ideal Leader ....................................... 139
The Decalogue and the Laws of Moses ........................................... 145
The Exegetical Invention of Philo .................................................... 149
The Variety of Ways ......................................................................... 149
“God is not Like Man” ..................................................................... 151
Are there Myths in the Bible? ....................................................... 152
Philo and the Midrash .......................................................................... 154
VII Philo and Philosophy ............................................................................ 159
Contemplation and Philosophy ........................................................ 159
contents ix
Philo and the Greek Philosophical Schools ................................ 161
When Philo “Platonises” .................................................................... 164
“Everything is Number” (Pythagoras) ........................................... 165
Philo, a Stoic? ....................................................................................... 169
Barbarian Wisdoms: Essenes and Therapeutes ......................... 171
Is Philo a Philosopher? ...................................................................... 175
The “True” Philosophy ....................................................................... 177
VIII Philo’s Doctrine ................................................................................... 181
God, Logos and Powers ..................................................................... 181
Law of Nature, Law of Moses .......................................................... 188
“Migration” and Spiritual Progress ................................................. 190
Political Theory: In Praise of Democracy .................................... 192
The Destiny of the Soul ..................................................................... 196
The Sojourner on Earth ..................................................................... 199
IX Philo, ‘Father of the Church Honoris Causa’ ............................... 201
Philo and the Beginnings of Christianity ..................................... 201
The Septuagint, an Inspired Text ................................................... 204
Philo and the Development of Christianity in Alexandria .... 206
Philo in Caesarea ................................................................................. 210
Ambrose the “Latin Philo” ................................................................ 213
Philo as a “Christian Source”: From Translations to
Printed Editions .............................................................................. 214
Philo Judaeus ........................................................................................ 218
Conclusion: The Philonic Heritage ................................................ 221
Requiem ............................................................................................................. 223
Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 225
Index of Ancient Authors and Texts ......................................................... 231
Index of Philonic Passages ........................................................................... 235
Description:Philo (20BCE?-45CE?) is the most illustrious son of Alexandrian Jewry and the first major scholar to combine a deep Jewish learning with Greek philosophy. His unique allegorical exegesis of the Greek Bible was to have a profound influence on the early fathers of the Church. Philo was, above all, a p
