Notes to "Philo, Alexandrian and Jew *) This article was originally published in a Dutch version under the title ‘Philo, Alexandrijn en Jood’ in the journal for Dutch classics teachers Lampas 22 (1989) 205-218, as part of a special number devoted to the question of the acculturation of Jews in the Greco-Roman society of their time. The general theme of the fascicle determined the particular emphases of my article, which was intended to present Philo as a kind of case study.
1) Titles that have appeared so far are Harl (1986), Harlé–Pralon (1988), Le Boulluec–Sandevoir (1989).
2) On the settlement of Jews in Egypt see Hengel (1980) 85ff.
3) The dating of this work is controversial. The majority of scholars date it to the 2nd century B.C., i.e. quite some time before Philo. One or two scholars, however, maintain that it is dependent on Philo and was written in the 1st century A.D.
4) Bickermann (1976). An excellent survey of all facets to do with the Septuagint in Harl-Dorival-Munnich (1988).
5) In a remarkable passage at De vita Moysis 2.43-44 Philo remarks that the Jewish law has not been given its due recognition because of the nation’s lack of prosperity. If the situation of the Jews would improve, then all nations would abandon their own customs and honour our laws alone. The advent of Christianity caused this prediction to be at least partly fulfilled.
6) See De congressu eruditionis gratia 73-80, where a further distinction is also made between philosophy (filosofia) and wisdom (sofia).
7) Festugière (1949) 521-585, esp. 533ff.
8) See esp. Nikiprowetzky (1977).
9) Cf. the extensive material collected by Stern (1976-84), Gager (1983).
10) Because the Allegorical Commentary starts with Genesis 2, and the De opificio mundi also contains (limited) allegorization, it is often also regarded as part of that series, and so stands at the beginning of all editions and translations of Philo’s works. Formally, however, it belongs to the Exposition of the Law.
11) The lives of Isaac and Jacob are no longer extant. Some scholars regard the De vita Moysis as a separate work at a more introductory level; cf. Sandmel (1979) 47.
12) I presented a detailed examination of Philo’s use of this work in my dissertation, Runia (1986).
13) I have somewhat simplified Philo’s more complex presentation, which in various passages contain interpretations that cannot easily be reconciled to each other, and have lead scholars to suspect the presence of various exegetical traditions (see our discussion further below). For a detailed analysis see especially Tobin (1983) and the study of Goulet discussed below at n.15.
14) There is some alternation between masculine and neuter descriptions of God in Middle Platonism. But whether the phrase o wn occurs in Numenius is a matter of some debate. Cf. the studies of Whittaker (1967), (1978).
16) Philo himself does not do this, using only a kind of arithmological symbolism in the De opificio mundi, but there are some tiny hints elsewhere in his writings that others may have attempted a full-blown allegorical interpretation.
17) See my review in Runia (1988).
18) Cf. the study of Tobin cited in n.13.
19) This is especially the case in the Quaestiones, which have often been described as exegetical notebooks.
20) Cf. the fine chapter on Judaism in Momigliano (1975), and esp. 92-93.
21) E.g. Dillon (1977) 139-183, Winston (1985).
22) Borgen (1984) 154. The entire volume of ANRW II 21.1 (= Haase (1984), Halbband 1.) is devoted to Philo and gives a good picture of the state of Philonic research at the end of the 1970’s.