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.(Embassy to Gaius)Antiquities xviii.8, § 1; comp. ib. xix.5, § 1; xx.5, § 2
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 and the Names of God, JQR 22 (1931) pp. 295-306 However, Philo often advocated a literal understanding of the Torah and the historicity of such described events, while at other times favoring allegorical readings.De Opificio Mundi, III.13, section regarding the necessity of the literal six days of creation.
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.On Providence 2.64.
Family Although the names of his parents are unknown, it is known that Philo came from a family which was noble, honourable and wealthy. Either his father or paternal grandfather was granted Roman citizenship by Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. Jerome wrote that Philo came de genere sacerdotum (from a priestly family).Jerome, De Viris Illustribus (e-text), Caput XI (English translation).Daniel R. Schwartz, "Philo, His Family, and His Times", in Kamesar (2009). His ancestors and family had social ties and connections to the priesthood in Judea, the Hasmonean dynasty, the Herodian dynasty and the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Rome.
Philo had one brother, Alexander Lysimachus, who was the general tax administrator of customs in Alexandria. He accumulated an immense amount of wealth, becoming not only the richest man in that city but also in the entire Hellenistic world. Alexander was so rich that he gave a loan to the wife of king Herod Agrippa, as well as gold and silver to overlay the nine gates of the temple in Jerusalem. Due to his extreme wealth, Alexander was also influential in imperial Roman circles as a friend of emperor Claudius. Through Alexander, Philo had two nephews, Tiberius Julius Alexander and Marcus Julius Alexander. The latter was the first husband of the Herodian princess Berenice. Marcus died in 43 or 44. Some scholars identify Alexander Lysimachus as the Alexander referenced in the Book of Acts, who presided over the Sanhedrin trial of John and Peter.
Diplomacy Philo lived in an era of increasing ethnic tension in Alexandria, exacerbated by the new strictures of imperial rule. Some expatriate Hellenes (Greeks) in Alexandria condemned the Jews for a supposed alliance with Rome, even as Rome was seeking to suppress Jewish national and cultural identity in the Roman province of Judaea. In Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus tells of Philo's selection by the Alexandrian Jewish community as their principal representative before the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula. He says that Philo agreed to represent the Alexandrian Jews about the civil disorder that had developed between the Jews and the Greeks. Josephus also tells us that Philo was skilled in philosophy and that he was brother to the alabarch Alexander.Josephus, Antiquities xviii. 8. 1. According to Josephus, Philo and the larger Jewish community refused to treat the emperor as a god, to erect statues in honour of the emperor, and to build altars and temples to the emperor. Josephus says Philo believed that God actively supported this refusal.
Josephus' complete comments about Philo:
This event is also described in Book 2, Chapter 5 of Eusebius's Historia Ecclesiae.
Education Philo along with his brothers received a thorough education. They were educated in the Hellenistic culture of Alexandria and the culture of ancient Rome, to a degree in Ancient Egyptian religion and particularly in the traditions of Judaism, in the study of Jewish traditional literature and in Greek philosophy.
In his works, Philo shows extensive influence not only from philosophers such as Plato and the Stoics, but also poets and orators, especially Homer, Euripides, and Demosthenes."On Consorting with the Preliminary Studies" 6 [i. 550]; "De Specialibus Legibus", ii. 229; Philo's largest philosophical influence was Plato, drawing heavily from the Timaeus and the Phaedrus, and also from the Phaedo, Theaetetus, Symposium, Republic, and Laws.
The extent of Philo's knowledge of Hebrew, however, is debated. Philo was more fluent in Greek than in Hebrew and read the Jewish Scriptures chiefly from the Septuagint, a Koine Greek translation of Hebraic texts later compiled as the Hebrew Bible and the deuterocanonical books. His numerous etymologies of Hebrew names, which are along the lines of the etymologic midrash to Genesis and of the earlier rabbinism, although not modern Hebrew philology, suggest some familiarity. Philo offers for some names three or four etymologies, sometimes including the correct Hebrew root (e.g., as the origin of the name Jordan). However, his works do not display much understanding of Hebrew grammar, and they tend to follow the translation of the Septuagint more closely than the Hebrew version.Anthony Hanson, "Philo's Etymologies"; Journal of Theological Studies 18, 1967; pp. 128–139.
Philo identified the angel of the Lord (in the singular) with the Logos.Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy, Volume 1, Continuum, 2003, p. 460.J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 5th ed., HarperOne, 1978, p. 11. In the text attributed to Philo, he "consistently uses as a designation for God". According to David B. Capes, "the problem for this case, however, is that Christian scholars are responsible for copying and transmitting Philo's words to later generations", and adds, James Royse concludes:
Philosophy
Philo represents the apex of Jewish-Hellenistic syncretism. His work attempts to combine Plato and Moses into one philosophical system.
Allegorical interpretation
Philo bases his doctrines on the Hebrew Bible, which he considers the source and standard not only of religious truth but of all truth. Its pronouncements are the , , and (holy word, godly word, righteous word),"De Agricultura Noë", § 12 [i. 308]; "De Somniis", i. 681, ii. 25 uttered sometimes directly and sometimes through the mouth of a prophet, and especially through Moses, whom Philo considers the true medium of revelation. However, he distinguishes between the words uttered by God himself, such as the Ten Commandments, and the edicts of Moses (as the special laws)."De Specialibus Legibus", §§ 2 [ii. 300 ]; "De Præmiis et Pœnis", § 1 [ii. 408]
Philo regards the Bible as the source not only of religious revelation but also of philosophical truth. Philo claims that Moses learned mathematics from the Egyptians, astronomy and astrology from the Chaldeans, and other subjects from the Greeks. He says that Moses advanced beyond his teachers, leading them to learn from him instead. Philo believed the Greeks such as Heraclitus took ideas from Mosaic law. By applying the Stoic mode of allegorical interpretation to the Hebrew Bible, he interpreted the stories of the first five books as elaborate metaphors and symbols to demonstrate that Greek philosophers' ideas had preceded them in the Bible: Heraclitus's concept of binary oppositions, according to Who is the Heir of Divine Things? § 43 [i. 503]; and the conception of the wise man expounded by Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, in Every Good Man is Free, § 8 [ii. 454].; Philo did not reject the subjective experience of ancient Judaism; yet, he repeatedly explained that the Septuagint cannot be understood as a concrete, objective history.
Philo's allegorical interpretation of scripture allows him to grapple with morally disturbing events and impose a cohesive explanation of stories. Specifically, Philo interprets the characters of the Bible as aspects of the human being and the stories of the Bible as episodes from universal human experience. For example, Adam represents the mind and Eve, the senses. Noah represents tranquility, a stage of "relative"—incomplete but progressing—righteousness.Sandmel (1979), p. 24–25; 84–85. According to Josephus, Philo was inspired mainly in this by Aristobulus of Alexandria and the Alexandrian school.
Numerology Philo frequently engaged in Pythagorean-inspired numerology, explaining at length the importance of the first 10 numerals:Sandmel (1979), p. 22–23. [Sandmel notes that Philo's use of numbers differs entirely from gematria using Hebrew letters.]
One is God’s number and the basis for all numbers.("De Allegoriis Legum", ii. 12 [i. 66]) Two is the number of schism, that which has been created, and death.("De Opificio Mundi, § 9 [i. 7]; "De Allegoriis Legum", i. 2 [i. 44]; "De Somaniis", ii. 10 [i. 688]) Three is the number of the body ("De Allegoriis Legum", i. 2 [i. 44]) or of the Divine Being in connection with its fundamental powers ("De Sacrificiis Abelis et Caini", § 15 [i. 173]). Four is potentially what ten is actually: the perfect number ("De Opificio Mundi", §§ 15, 16 [i. 10, 11], etc.); but in an evil sense, four is the number of the passions, πάθη ("De Congressu Quærendæ Eruditionis Gratia". § 17 [i. 532]). Five is the number of the senses and of sensibility ("De Opificio Mundi", § 20 [i. 14], etc.). Six, the product of the masculine and feminine numbers 3×2 and in its parts equal to 3+3, is the symbol of the movement of organic beings ("De Allegoriis Legum", i. 2 [i. 44]). Seven has the most various attributes ("De Opiticio Mundi", §§ 30-43 [i. 21 et seq.]; comp. I. G. Müller, "Philo und die Weltschöpfung", 1841, p. 211). Eight, the number of the cube, has many of the attributes determined by the Pythagoreans ("Quæstiones in Genesin", iii. 49 [i. 223, Aucher]). Nine is the number of strife, according to Gen. xiv. ("De Congressu Qu. Eruditionis Gratia", § 17 [i. 532]). Ten is the number of perfection ("De Plantatione Noë", § 29 [i. 347]).
Philo also determines the values of the numbers 50, 70, 100, 12, and 120. There is also extensive symbolism of objects. Philo elaborates on the extensive symbolism of proper names, following the example of the Bible and the Midrash, to which he adds many new interpretations.On the difference between the physical and ethical allegory, the first of which refers to natural processes and the second to the psychic life of man, see Siegfried, l.c. p. 197.