The Epistle to the Hebrews and Philo

Sigurd Grindheim, (2023). “Direct Dependence on Philo in the Epistle to the Hebrews”. Novum Testamentum, 65(4), 517-543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685365-bja10054

The Norwegian scholar Sigurd Grindheim has published an article dealing with the possible influence in the Epistle to the Hebrews from Philo’s works. I have not read it yet, but the topic and the abstract below contain so many suggestions that I hope to get my hands on in the near future.

Abstract: “The near consensus opinion that the author of Hebrews was not directly influenced by Philo needs to be reevaluated. Even though there are no obvious cases of borrowing, the cumulative weight of the evidence indicates a more linear relationship than what may be accounted for by situating them both within Hellenistic Judaism. A number of parallels are sufficiently detailed to suggest direct dependence. These parallels are of a formal character, such as the metaphor of the dagger and the particular use of the terms ὑπόστασις, ἀρχηγός, τελειόω, ἄθλησις, τεχνίτης, and δημιουργός, as well of a material nature, concerning the development of key ideas, such as the eternal nature of the Son, his Melchizedekian high-priesthood, and the perception of the heavenly sanctuary.”

Enduring Divine Discipline in Philo

Scott D. Mackie, “Enduring Divine Discipline in Philo, De Congressu 157–180 and the Epistle to the Hebrews 12:5–17,” in Ancient Texts, Papyri, and Manuscripts: Studies in Honor of James R. Royse (NTTSD 64; Leiden: Brill, 2022), 269–301.

Abstract: “Scholars often have speculated about Philo’s possible influence on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Though a connection between Hebrews and Philo may never be conclusively proven, in this essay I argue that Philo’s De congressu 157–180 and Hebrews 12:5–17 offer remarkably similar theodicies while pursuing the same rhetorical goal: to defend the necessity of trials and tests, and the benefits of enduring adversities. A number of linguistic and conceptual links joining the two texts also are identified, including the contrast between appearance and reality, the need to correctly interpret the significance of adverse circumstances, the nature and role of παιδεία (“education”/“discipline”), confessing “kinship” with God, “looking ahead” to a punishment or reward, turning away from God, life as an agonistic/athletic contest, and gymnastic training.”

Prophecy in Philo and the Fourth Gospel

Matthew J. Klem, “Prophecy in Philo and the Fourth Gospel, Beyond Wayne Meeks’s Prophet-King,” Novum Testamentum 65 (2023) 192-204.

Abstract: “Wayne Meeks argues that Philo’s presentation of Moses as king, prophet, and priest in De vita Mosis may reflect the traditions lying behind the Fourth Gospel’s depiction of Jesus as both prophet and king. This article proposes more specific parallels between the prophetic roles in De vita Mosis and the Gospel. First, the water miracle at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1–11) has substantial similarities to Philo’s rewriting of Moses’s water miracles in the wilderness (Mos. 1.181–213) that are not shared by the LXX (Exod 15, 17). Second, both the Gospel and Philo assign to the prophetic office a close proximity to the divine. Third, in both the Gospel and Philo, the prophet is a heavenly revealer who returns to the Father. Philo thus helps explain Jesus’s prophetic role in the Fourth Gospel, not simply regarding the merging of prophet with king, but also regarding the particular form that prophecy takes.”

Philo and Paul on Politics

John-Paul Harper, Paul and Philo on the Politics of the Land, Jerusalem, and Temple. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/ 562. Mohr Siebeck, 2021.

“In this study, John-Paul Harper critically compares how Paul and Philo rethought the significant Jewish symbols of Land, Jerusalem, and Temple. Drawing particular attention to their political significance, he demonstrates how these symbols offer important insights into how both Paul and Philo conceptualised authority in the local community (Temple), within the wider “people of God” (Jerusalem), and in relation to the Roman Empire (Land). The author argues that, while both conceptualised authority in charismatic terms, Philo’s appropriation tended to be more individualistic and focussed on otherworldly realities, whereas Paul’s tended to be more communal and focussed on this-worldly realities. Along the way, the author contributes to contemporary discussions of Paul and Philo’s Jewish identity, their perspectives on community leadership and order, and their perspectives on the Roman Empire.”

A Review is available here.

Prophecy in Philo and GJohn

Matthew J. Klem, ‘Prophecy in Philo and the Fourth Gospel,’ Novum Testamentum 65 (2), 192-204. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685365-bja10039

Abstract: “Wayne Meeks argues that Philo’s presentation of Moses as king, prophet, and priest in De vita Mosis may reflect the traditions lying behind the Fourth Gospel’s depiction of Jesus as both prophet and king. This article proposes more specific parallels between the prophetic roles in De vita Mosis and the Gospel. First, the water miracle at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1–11) has substantial similarities to Philo’s rewriting of Moses’s water miracles in the wilderness (Mos. 1.181–213) that are not shared by the LXX (Exod 15, 17). Second, both the Gospel and Philo assign to the prophetic office a close proximity to the divine. Third, in both the Gospel and Philo, the prophet is a heavenly revealer who returns to the Father. Philo thus helps explain Jesus’s prophetic role in the Fourth Gospel, not simply regarding the merging of prophet with king, but also regarding the particular form that prophecy takes.”

TLG updated

According to its self-presentation, “The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae® (TLG®) is a research program at the University of California, Irvine. Founded in 1972 the TLG has collected and digitized most literary texts written in Greek from Homer to the fall of Byzantium in AD 1453. Its goal is to create a comprehensive digital library of Greek literature from antiquity to the present era.”

Every scholar working with ancient Greek texts know TLG; it is a wonderful source also for Philo scholars. Some years ago the texts were available on a CD; now the site given above makes the texts available online, some for free, others need a subscription. Several Lexica are also available.

Last update: March 29, 2023: “The TLG has been updated with 70 new works from 51 authors. Additions include works by Byzantine authors, such as Theodorus Prodromus, Joannes TZETZES , Nicephorus Chrysoberges, Theodorus PEDIASIMUS, GREGORIUS II Patriarcha and others. Post-Byzantine additions include works by Georgius AETOLUS, Leonardus PHORTIUS, PROCOPIUS NAZIANZENUS, Antonius BUBULES, Basilius VATATZES, and Jacobus TRIBOLES.”

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.

Prof. Peder Borgen turned 95 on Jan. 26!

The Methodist, ecumenist, churchman and New Testament scholar, Professor dr.theol & PhD, Peder Johan Borgen turned 95 on Thursday 26. January. After his theological education and doctoral studies, he was senior lecturer in Christian studies at the University of Bergen, and then professor of the New Testament and its Greco-Roman environment at the University of Trondheim from 1973 to 1993, ending his professional career there as a senior researcher in 1999.

As a New Testament researcher, Borgen has particularly focused on the Gospel of John, but also on other New Testament writings, and not least the Jew Philo of Alexandria (Egypt) who lived around the same time as Jesus and Paul, and who had a large literary authorship as a Jewish philosopher, politician and Bible interpreter. Borgen’s main work⸺his Norwegian doctoral thesis from 1966⸺is a study of the Gospel of John’s description of the bread from heaven (John 6), seen in the light of Philo’s theology and other Jewish writings. The thesis received a great deal of international attention, and is one of the few Norwegian PhD theses that has been published internationally as many as three times (1965, 1981, 2017). His later works on Philo of Alexandria have also helped to make Borgen well known, perhaps more internationally than in Norway. In Norway,his Free Church status and the fact that he did not work at any church related theological institution but in a Religious Studies University context, probably meant that he did not become more widely known in his native country. His professional works have also preferably been published abroad and in English. In 2020, however, a biography was published in Norwegian; in 2022, however, also this published in the USA.

His great anniversary will be spent in Lillestrøm together with his dear wife Inger and the rest of his closest family members.

We, his former students, doctoral students, and colleagues, congratulate him, thanking him for his scholarly achievements. We thank him also for his mentorship, encouragement, and inspiration up through the years.

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.”

Did Ancient Philosophers read Philo?

The headline here signals a recent article with that title:

Gregory E. Sterling, “Did Ancient Philosophers Read Philo? Philo of Alexandria and Plotinus” Philip R Bosman and Gideon R Kotzé, eds., Ancient Philosophy and Early Christianity: Studies in Honor of Johan C. Thom. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 188. Leiden: Brill, 2022, pp. 37-56

The volume as such “celebrates the scholarship of Professor Johan C. Thom by tackling various important topics relevant for the study of the New Testament, such as the intellectual environment of early Christianity, especially Greek, Latin, and early Jewish texts, New Testament Apocrypha and other early Christian writings, as well as Greek grammar. The authors offer fresh insights on philosophical texts and traditions, the cultural repertoire of early Christian literature, critical editions, linguistics and interpretation, and comparative analyses of ancient writings.” The article by Sterling is the only one that deals primarily and directly with Philo and his relations to the ancient philosophers. What are Sterling’s answers to the question raised? Have a look here.