On the Change of Names -New Commentary!

Michael Cover, On the Change of Names: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series, Vol. 8). Leiden: Brill, 2024. Hardback/PDF: EUR  €219.00. xxxiv + 630 pp. (hardback version to be published in March)

Abstract: “In the treatise On the Change of Names (part of his magnum opus, the Allegorical Commentary), Philo of Alexandria brings his figurative exegesis of the Abraham cycle to its fruition. Taking a cue from Platonist interpreters of Homer’s Odyssey, Philo reads Moses’s story of Abraham as an account of the soul’s progress and perfection. Responding to contemporary critics, who mocked Genesis 17 as uninspired, Philo finds instead a hidden philosophical reflection on the ineffability of the transcendent God, the transformation of souls which recognize their mortal nothingness, the possibility of human faith enabled by peerless faithfulness of God, and the fruit of moral perfection: joy divine, prefigured in the birth of Isaac.”

Congratulations to the author and editors of this series! Every commentary is so welcome and such a treasure of information and viewpoints. My only wish is that they all were somewhat (a lot) cheaper to buy. Yeah, I know I have said that more than once, but to be honest: €219 is a lot of money for a book!

A new Index to Philo

Sean A. Adams & Zanne Domoney-Lyttle, The Philo of Alexandria Scripture Index (Studia Philonica Monographs, 9) Hardback – Paperback-Kindle. 2023. 164pages.

A great event: a new index to Philo’s use of the Jewish Scriptures.

Abstract: “The Philo of Alexandria Scripture Index identifies and lists every instance in which Philo of Alexandria cites or alludes to passages from Jewish Scripture. With 7,831 references, this book is the most comprehensive study of its kind to date, presenting the data in both the biblical order and Philo’s treatise order. Sean A. Adams and Zanne Domoney-Lyttle provide a detailed introduction. Also included in this index are the Philo’s fragmentary works and those that survive only in the Armenian tradition. “

God’s Power and Powers in Philo of Alexandria

Jiří Hoblík, ‘God’s Power and Powers in Philo of Alexandria,’ in  Radka Fialová , Jiří Hoblík and Petr Kitzler, eds, Hellenism, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity.- (Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte 155; De Gruyter, 2023).

From the Introduction of this article: “In investigating some aspects of Philo’s thought, let us start with a question. How, in philosophical terms, can the theological concept of God’s power be grasped? Shall it be described simply as God’s superiority over human beings, or even over the world as a whole? Yet superiority means a position within a hierarchy and as such does not contribute to the understanding of power. In this paper, an attempt has been made to interpret the concept of power on the basis of Philo’s writings. Although it is nowhere explicitly defined, its specific features may be reconstructed. Among other things, special attention has been paid to the relationship between power and the Being, which is of a theo-cosmological character.”. . .

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110796285-002

Filón de Alejandría. Método, Filosofía y Recepción

Druille, P. y Pérez, Laura (eds.) (2022). Filón de Alejandría. Método, Filosofía y Recepción. Actas del II Congreso Internacional de Filón de Alejandría, Santa Rosa, 21-22 de Octubre, 2021. Santa Rosa: Editorial de la Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. ISBN 978-950-863-471-9

Tabla de contenidos

• Prólogo, por Paola Druille y Laura Pérez
• I. Escenas egipcias de la biblia en Filón de Alejandría. Notas lexicográficas, por Sofía Torallas Tovar
• II. Significación alegórica de la παιδίσκη Agar, por Marta Alesso
• III. El procedimiento del τουτέστι y la exégesis directa en Legum Allegoriae 1.1-65 de Filón de Alejandría, por Miguel Moraleda
• IV. Biblical and Philosophical Influences on the Negative Theology of Philo of Alexandria, por Beatrice Wyss
• V. The Negative Theology in Philo of Alexandria. Some General Remarks, por Marija Todorovska
• VI. Razón interna y razón pronunciada: Un análisis sobre los términos λόγος προφορικός y λόγος ἐνδιάθετος en Filón de Alejandría, por Guillermo Callejas
• VII. El ethos del hombre político. Elementos del Gorgias platónico en el De Josepho de Filón de Alejandría, por Ana Carolina Delgado
• VIII. De nuevo sobre el escepticismo en Filón, un sabio de Israel, por Tomás Rodríguez Hevia
• IX. Aproximación a la virtud y a cómo el ser humano es virtuoso en -Filón de Alejandría, por Monica Chávez
• X. El cuerpo de las mujeres en la obra de Filón de Alejandría, por Jesennia Rodríguez Suárez
• XI. Costumbres no escritas y defensa del judaísmo en Embajada a Gayo de Filón, por Maria Elisa Acevedo
• XII. Los deberes vinculares de padres e hijos en Sobre el decálogo y Las leyes particulares 2 de Filón, por Ro Saitua
• XIII. Una versión apologética de la Conquista de Canaán en Hypothetica de Filón de Alejandría, por Laura Pérez
• XIV. El fenómeno ascético en la tradición judía: ¿Qué tiene que ver Alejandría con Jerusalén?, por Estefanía Sottocorno
• XV. Quien con sabios se entiende, a ser sabio aprende. Influencias filonianas subyacentes en IV Macabeos, por Roberto Sayar
• XVI. El filósofo y el pescador. Un análisis de la leyenda del encuentro entre Filón y Pedro en Roma, por Mariano Spléndido
• XVII. Huellas de Alejandría en el Cuarto Evangelio. El Prólogo a la luz del Génesis y la exégesis de Filón, por Viviana Hack
• XVIII. La concepción filoniana del cosmos como templo y su recepción gnóstica, por Juan Carlos Alby

Naming God

Janet Soskice, Naming God: Addressing the Divine in Philosophy, Theology and Scripture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), contains a chapter on Philo: ‘Philo on Knowing and Naming God,’ pp. 40-65.

The publisher presents the focus of the book, its agenda, and its author thus:

“Generations of Christians, Janet Soskice demonstrates, once knew God and Christ by hundreds of remarkable names. These included the appellations ‘Messiah’, ‘Emmanuel’, ‘Alpha’, ‘Omega’, ‘Eternal’, ‘All-Powerful’, ‘Lamb’, ‘Lion’, ‘Goat’, ‘One’, ‘Word’, ‘Serpent’ and ‘Bridegroom’. In her much-anticipated new book, Soskice argues that contemporary understandings of divinity could be transformed by a return to a venerable analogical tradition of divine naming. These ancient titles – drawn from scripture – were chanted and sung, crafted and invoked (in polyphony and plainsong) as they were woven into the worship of the faithful. However, during the sixteenth century Descartes moved from ‘naming’ to ‘defining’ God via a series of metaphysical attributes. This made God a thing among things: a being amongst beings. For the author, reclaiming divine naming is not only overdue. It can also re-energize the relationship between philosophy and religious tradition. This path-breaking book shows just how rich and revolutionary such reclamation might be.”

“Janet Soskice is Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. She is presently the William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic Theology at Duke Divinity School. Her books include Metaphor and Religious Language (OUP, 1984), which is a classic work of metaphorical theology, and also the best selling trade title Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found the Hidden Gospels (Chatto & Windus, 2009), which vividly recounts how the Ayrshire twins Agnes and Margaret Smith made in the Sinai desert one of the most important New Testament manuscript discoveries of the nineteenth century.”

Philo on Happiness in History.

Pura Nieto Hernandez, “Filón de Alejandría: felicidad, historia y virtud,” In Juan Antonio Gonzalez Iglesias Guillermo Aprile (Eds.), La Felicidad en la Historia Representaciones Literarias de La Felicidad desde la Antiguedad al Presente. (Transl: Happiness in History. Literary Representations of Happiness from Antiquity to the Present.) Ediciones Universidad, Salamanca, 2023, pp. 23-44.

Authors Abstract: “This paper explores Philo of Alexandria’s views on social happiness under an unfair ruler, as expressed in his Legatio ad Gaium, in which he describes the violent anti-Jewish uprising that took place in Alexandria in 38 A.D. and the events that led up to it. In this work, Philo assigns full responsibility for these events to the emperor Caligula, who is described as a model of extreme vice, in contrast to Tiberius and especially Augustus, who is treated as the personification of the perfect ruler. Philo highlights three important requirements for the happiness of a social group, which seem to be the same as those required for personal happiness: freedom, stability, and a sense of communal values. All three were violated in respect to the Jewish community, in Philo’s dramatic description, when even synagogues were desecrated. Philo builds on the traditional Greek idea that under a good king the community prospers, a notion that became common among Hellenistic philosophers. For Philo, however, Moses, the quasi-divine lawgiver and ruler, represents the very highest idea, to which even good emperors could only aspire.”

This book is the result of the research project «Happiness in History: from Rome to the present day. Discourse Analysis (FELHIS)» funded by the Logos Program of grants for research in Classical Studies 2019 of the BBVA Foundation with the participation of the Spanish Society of Classical Studies.

New Translation of De Vita Mosis I

De vita Mosis (Book I). An Introduction with Text, Translation, and Notes. Ancient Christianity and its Contexts. Translated by Jeffrey M. Hunt. Edited by Jeffrey M. Hunt. Baylor University Press, March 2023, 262 pp. $49.99.

Publisher’s description: “This volume, a translation of book 1 of Philo of Alexandria’s De vita Mosis, with introduction and commentary, aims to introduce new readers, both students and scholars, to Philo of Alexandria through what is widely considered to be one of his most accessible works and one that Philo himself may have intended for readers unfamiliar with Judaism. The introduction provides historical, intellectual, and religious context for Philo, discusses major issues of scholarly interest, considers the relation of De vita Mosis to the Septuagint, and explores the immediate Nachleben of Philo’s works. The author’s translation is paired with Cohn’s edition of the Greek text, thereby providing not only a rendering of the Greek but also the Greek itself for those who wish to read Philo’s own words. The English rendering of the Greek aims at clarity and accuracy while retaining as many of Philo’s unique stylistic features as possible. Finally, the notes are designed to elucidate the text, especially for new readers, on a variety of levels: extrapolating on points more fully discussed elsewhere in the Philonic corpus, observing specific divergences from the Septuagint, and suggesting aspects of contemporary historical influence on Philo’s retelling of the biblical narrative. The volume serves as a succinct entry into the basics of Philo while also preparing the reader for some of Philo’s more challenging works.”

The Metaphysics of Light

Isidoros C. Katsos, The Metaphysics of Light in the Hexaemeral Literature: From Philo of Alexandria to Gregory of Nyssa (Oxford Early Christian Studies). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. 272 pages. Kindle $70.19. Hadback $90.

Abstract: “This volume critically re-evaluates the received interpretation of the nature of light in the ancient sources. Isidoros C. Katsos contests the prevalent view in the history of optics according to which pre-modernity theorized light as subordinate to sight (‘oculocentrism’) by examining in depth the contrary textual evidence found in early Christian texts. It shows that, from Philo of Alexandria and Origen to Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa, the
Jewish-Christian commentary tradition on the hexaemeral literature (the biblical creation narrative) reflected deeply on the nature and physicality of light for the purposes of understanding the structure and purpose of material creation. Contemplation of nature allowed early Christian thinkers to conceptualize light as the explanatory principle of vision rather than subordinated to it. Contrary to the prevalent view, the hexaemeral literature necessitates a ‘luminocentric’ interpretation of the theory of light of Plato’s Timaeus in its reception history in the context of late antique cosmology. Hexaemeral luminocentrism invites the reader of Scripture to grasp not only the sensible properties of light, but also their causal principle as the first manifestation of the divine Logos in creation. The hexaemeral metaphysics thus provides the missing ground of meaning of the early Christian language of light.”

Author: “Isidoros Charalampos Katsos studied law in Athens, Paris, and Berlin, where he acquired a PhD in Human Rights, Environmental Law, and Sustainable Development (Dr. Jur.). He then studied theology in Athens and Cambridge, where he acquired a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Patristics under the supervision of Rowan Williams. He has held academic positions in Cambridge and Jerusalem, and is currently a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford and a Junior Research Fellow at Campion Hall, Oxford. He has worked as a lawyer in Athens and Brussels, and is a Greek-Orthodox priest bearing the title of Archimandrite.” Publisher’s text.

Greg E. Sterling on Luke-Acts +

Watch out for this new book by Gregory E. Sterling, to be published by Eerdmans:

Greg E. Sterling, Shaping the Past to Define the Present. Luke-Acts and Apologetic Historiography. Eerdmans, 2023. 301 pages. Price $ 44. Scheduled for publication this spring.

Description: “Shaping the Past to Define the Present comprises both new and revised essays by esteemed New Testament scholar Gregory E. Sterling on Jewish and early Christian historiography. A sequel to his seminal work, Historiography and Self-Definition, this volume expands on Sterling’s reading of Luke-Acts in the context of contemporary Jewish and Greek historiography. These systematically arranged essays comprise his new and revised contributions to the field of biblical studies, exploring: 

• the genre of apologetic historiography exemplified by Josephus and Eusebius
• the context of Josephus’s work within a larger tradition of Eastern historiography
• the initial composition and circulation of Luke and Acts
• the relationship of Luke-Acts to the Septuagint
• the interpretation of the Diaspora in Luke-Acts
• the structure of salvation history as it is manifested in Luke-Acts 
• Socratic influences on Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’s death
• the early Jerusalem Christian community as depicted in Acts compared with other Hellenized Eastern traditions such as Egyptian priests and Indian sages
• the establishment of Christianity’s “socially respectability” as a guiding purpose in Luke-Acts 

Engaging with current critical frameworks, Sterling offers readers a comprehensive analysis of early Christian self-definition through Judeo-Christian historiography.”

The Table of Contents can be found here.

Melos as Melody

Frederick, J. (2022). “Chapter 11 Melos as Melody: Moral Formation through Musical Metaphor in Colossians, Philo, and Ignatius of Antioch”. Ryan A. Brandt and John Frederick (eds.), Theological Interpretation of Scripture as Spiritual Formation. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp. 195–221.

Abstract: “In Colossians 3:5 the author exhorts his readers to “Put to death τὰ µέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.” Throughout the history of interpretation, the noun µέλος has most often been taken to refer to “earthly members” (KJV, NASB) or more generally to “what is earthly in you” (NRSV). This chapter argues that µέλος is best translated “melody” in Colossians where it operates within a musical metaphor to express ethical realities. Two comparable musical and ethical usages of µέλος are offered and interpreted from Philo of Alexandria and Ignatius of Antioch. Finally, an assessment is provided which argues that the grammatical-historical exegetical method exhibited in the chapter should be considered as a key methodological model and instrument for spiritually formative theological interpretation of Scripture.”