The Cambridge Companion to Philo

A Layman Reviews The Cambridge Companion To Philo

The Jewish-Greek philosopher Philo of Alexandria (20 B.C.E. -- 50 C.E) was a near-contemporary of Jesus and Paul. Philo has long fascinated scholars interested in the interplay among Greek thought, Judaism, and early Christianity. Philo also continues to be read and admired by non-specialists with an interest in Platonism, in in allegorical, non-literalist Scriptural interpretation, in pre-Talmudic, off-the beaten-path forms of Judaism, and, broadly, in spirituality and mysticism. I am a non-specialist admirer of Philo who has returned to his writings several times over the years. I have read Philo in the excellent selection of his works edited by David Winston for the Paulist Press, The Contemplative Life, Giants and Selections (Classics of Western Spirituality) together with several volumes of his complete works in the Loeb Classical Library.

I was excited to learn of and to read this new "Cambridge Companion to Philo". (2009) I read the volume neither as a scholar nor as a newcomer but rather as a lay student with some prior background in the author and his times. As discussed below, the volume consists of a series of nine essays on Philo and his thought prepared by nine international and learned scholars. Unlike some anthologies which consist of isolated essays in which the authors talk past one another, the essays in this collection are interrelated and organized by the editor of the volume, Adam Kamesar, Professor at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati. The essays each show love of their subject and a prodigious mastery of the literature. The volume gives an understanding of the best of current thinking on Philo from standpoints of classical philosophy, Judaism, and Christianity.

The book consists of three parts together with an extended bibliography classified to each of the essays. Part 1, titled "Philo's Life and Writings" includes three essays. The opening essay by Daniel Schwartz of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, "Philo, his Life and his Times" describes the little scholars know about Philo himself and about the Alexandrian Jewish community in which he lived. This article is helpful in understanding the internalized character of Philo's Judaism. James Royse teaches at San Francisco State University. His essay, "The Works of Philo" is a good guide for the interested beginner through the complex organization and character of Philo's voluminous writings. Adam Kamesar's contribution, "Biblical Interpretation in Philo" is a detailed discussion of Philo's allegorical method of interpreting the Torah, with comparisons to other uses of allegorical interpretation in Greek literature.

Part 2 of the Volume, "Philo's Thought" is the central and most difficult part of the anthology. Cristina Termini's "Philo's Thought within the Context of Middle Judaism" explores Philo's thinking about matters such as Monotheism, Logos, Creation, and Salvation, in light of Jewish teachings on these matters between the 3d Century BCE and the 2nd Century CE. Termini teaches at the Pontifica Universitya S. Tommaso d'Aquino, Rome. Roberto Radice's essay "Philo's Theology and Theory of Creation" takes its initial orientation to Philo from Plato and from the Stoics. Radice is Professor of Ancient Philosophy in Milan, Italy. The final essay in this set "Philo's Ethics" examines the influence of Stoicism upon Philo as well as Philo's qualifications of Stoicism in light of his strong Jewish beliefs in transcendence. The author, Carlos Levy, is a Professor at the Sorbonne in Paris.

The third and final part of the anthology is titled "Philo's Influence and Significance." A long, detailed essay by Folker Siegert, "Philo and the New Testament" tries to detect the extent to which Philo may have influenced, directly or indirectly, the writings of the New Testament. Siegert is Professor of Jewish Studies and New Testament in Munster. David Runia's outstanding essay, "Philo and the Early Christian Fathers" gives an overview of Philo's reception by early Christian writers and examines the role they played in preserving his writings. Runia, a Professor at the University of Melbourne, examines why early Christian writers found Philo an important and, in part, congenial writer. David Winston's essay, "Philo and Rabbinic Literature" examines the neglect of Philo in Talmudic Judaism during its formative years. He discusses similarities and differences between Philo's Judaism and that of the Rabbis, and he offers what I found the most perceptive observations in the volume on the relationship between Greek thought and Judaism in Philo's works. Winston is a prolific writer on Philo and Professor Emeritus at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. He writes:

"Much of the debate about the fundamental character of Philo's thought has unfortunately revolved around resolution of the question as to which side of his psyche ultimately reveals the true nature of the man. The answer should have been apparent to anyone who read his work without any preconceived notions. Philo was fully convinced, rightly or wrongly, that the two traditions he sought to reconcile were really in mutual accord. He would undoubtedly have been quite content to be described as Philo Judaeus et philosophico-mysticus." (p.253)

In his introduction,, Kamesar states that "while it is introductory, the Companion goes beyond the elementary level. The chapters are intended to provide not only a sense of recent progress in the scholarship on Philo, but also a certain vision of the topics under consideration." (p.2) I think Kamesar has accurately described the scope of the book. This Companion is probably too detailed for those readers with no prior background in Philo or in ancient philosophy. New readers might do better to start with an introduction, such as Sandmel's "Philo of Alexandria."Philo of Alexandria: An Introduction But the value of the book is not limited to scholars. The Companion encouraged me to revisit Philo and to reconsider why, as a non-specialist, I continue to want to learn about him. The book will be valuable to readers with a deep interest and modest background in its subject. I continue to be fascinated by the thought and spirituality of this great Platonic Jew.

Robin Friedman