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79-695: Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE – 40 CE) was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo may also refer to: Philo 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. Philo

158-437: A famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sent some of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy a great quantity of corn, and others of them to Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs. And as soon as they were come back, and had brought those provisions, which was done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were in want of it, and left

237-580: A former consul or praetor of senatorial rank . Quirinius appointed Coponius as first prefect of Judea. Still, Jews living in the province maintained some form of independence and could judge offenders by their own laws, including capital offenses, until c.  28 CE . Judea in the early Roman period was divided into five administrative districts with centers in Jerusalem, Gadara , Amathus , Jericho , and Sepphoris . In 30–33 CE, Roman prefect Pontius Pilate had Jesus of Nazareth crucified on

316-498: A literal understanding of the Torah and the historicity of such described events, while at other times favoring allegorical readings. 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

395-523: A morality of virtues without passions, such as lust/desire and anger, but with a "common human sympathy". Commentators can also infer from his mission to Caligula that Philo was involved in politics. However, the nature of his political beliefs, especially his viewpoint on the Roman Empire, is a matter of debate. Philo did suggest in his writings that a prudent man should withhold his genuine opinion about tyrants: he will of necessity take up caution as

474-481: A most excellent memorial behind her of this benefaction, which she bestowed on our whole nation. And when her son Izates was informed of this famine, he sent great sums of money to the principal men in Jerusalem. In 66-70 the First Jewish–Roman War erupted. From 70 until 132 Judea's rebelliousness required a governing Roman legate capable of commanding legions. Because Agrippa II maintained loyalty to

553-718: A priestly family). 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

632-494: A quarter, and the third son, Archelaus , became an ethnarch and ruled over the remaining half of his father's kingdom. Major regions of the Herodian Kingdom were Judea , Samaria , Galilee , and Perea . Archelaus rule of Judea was gravely atrocious that he was dismissed in 6 CE by the first Roman emperor , Augustus , after an appeal from his own subjects. Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Perea from 4 BCE,

711-520: A row of procurators. Nevertheless, Agrippa's son, Agrippa II was designated King of the Jews in 48. He was the seventh and last of the Herodians . Jerusalem was plagued by famine between 44 and 48 According to Josephus , Helena of Adiabene "...went down to the city Jerusalem, her son conducting her on her journey a great way. Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; for whereas

790-438: A shield, as a protection to prevent his suffering any sudden and unexpected evil; for as I imagine what a wall is to a city, that caution is to an individual. Do not these men then talk foolishly, are they not mad, who desire to display their inexperience and freedom of speech to kings and tyrants, at times daring to speak and to do things in opposition to their will? Do they not perceive that they have not only put their necks under

869-520: 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

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948-455: Is a Jewish work composed in Alexandria , Egypt , around the 1st century BCE, to bolster the faith of the Jewish community in a hostile Greek world. It is one of the seven Sapiential or Wisdom books included in the Septuagint . The Logos has a special relation to humankind. Philo seems to look at humans as a trichotomy of nous (mind), psyche (soul), and soma (body), which was common to

1027-703: Is also described in Book 2, Chapter 5 of Eusebius 's Historia Ecclesiae 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

1106-413: Is always the same (ἀΐδιος). God needs no other being (χρῄζει γὰρ οὐδενὸς τὸ παράπαν) for self-existence or the creation of material things, and God is self-sufficient (ἑαυτῷ ἱκανός). God can never perish (ἅφθαρτος), is self-existent (ὁ ὤν, τὸ ὄν), and has no relations with any other being (τὸ γὰρ ὄν, ᾗ ὄν ἐστιν, οὐχὶ τῶν πρός τι). Philo considered the anthropomorphism of the Bible to be an impiety that

1185-516: Is interpreted by Philo as a manifestation of the Logos, which acts as Balaam's—or humankind's—conscience. As such, the Logos becomes the aspect of the divine that operates in the world through whom the world is created and sustained. Peter Schäfer argues that Philo's Logos was derived from his understanding of the "postbiblical Wisdom literature , in particular the Wisdom of Solomon ". The Wisdom of Solomon

1264-448: Is likely that he used the word Κύριος when making a secondary reference to the divine name in his exposition". James Royse concludes: (1) the exegete [Philo] knows and reads biblical manuscripts in which the tetragram is written in palaeo-Hebrew or Aramaic script and not translated by kyrios and that (2) he quotes scriptures in the same way he would have pronounced it, that is, by translating it as kurios ." Philo represents

1343-581: Is specific; no appropriate predicates can be conceived. To Philo, God exists beyond time and space and does not make special interventions into the world because God already encompasses the entire cosmos. Philo also integrated select theology from the rabbinic tradition, including God's transcendence , and humankind's inability to behold an ineffable God. He argued that God has no attributes (ἁπλοῡς)—in consequence, no name (ἅρρητος)—and, therefore, that God cannot be perceived by man (ἀκατάληπτος). Furthermore, he posited that God cannot change (ἅτρεπτος): God

1422-549: Is untouched by unreasonable emotions, as appears in Exodus 32 :12, wherein Moses, torn by his feelings, perceives God alone to be calm. He is free from sorrow, pain, and other affections. But God is frequently represented as endowed with human emotions, and this serves to explain expressions referring to human repentance in the ancient Jewish context. Similarly, God cannot exist or change in space. He has no "where" (πού, obtained by changing

1501-467: The simpulum and lituus on one side, though the reverse maintained Jewish imagery. Attributing these coins to specific governors is a challenge. They lack the governor's name, but display the reigning emperor's regnal year and name in Greek. Scholars rely on cross-referencing this information with historical records, particularly the writings of Josephus, to establish a governor's chronology and assign

1580-569: 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

1659-543: The New Testament . Writings from the late first and early second centuries indicate that Jewish farmers introduced rice to Judea during the early Roman period. The local crop was fine, large-kernel rice. During the Roman administration of Judaea, some governors commissioned the minting of coins for local use. Only six governors are known to have issued such coins, all minted in Jerusalem. All issues minted were prutot , small bronze coins averaging 2-2.5 grams, similar to

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1738-532: The Second Temple period . In 44 CE, Galilee and Perea were added to the province. In 132 CE, resulting from the merging of Galilee and Judea resulted in an enlarged province named Syria Palaestina . The first intervention of Rome in the region dates from 63 BCE, following the end of the Third Mithridatic War , in which Pompey defeated Mithridates VI Eupator , sacked Jerusalem , and established

1817-657: The Stoics , but also poets and orators, especially Homer , Euripides , and Demosthenes . 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

1896-650: The Torah (known in the Hellenic world as the Pentateuch ) but also include histories and comments on philosophy. Most of these were preserved in Greek by the Church Fathers ; some survive only through an Armenian translation, and a smaller number survive in a Latin translation. The exact dates of writing and original organization plans are unknown for many of the texts attributed to Philo. Most of Philo's surviving work deals with

1975-561: The Torah (the first five books of the Bible ). Within this corpus are three categories: Philo's commentary on the Pentateuch is usually classified into three genres. The Quaestiones explain the Pentateuch catechetically, in the form of questions and answers ("Zητήματα καὶ Λύσεις, Quæstiones et Solutiones"). Only the following fragments have been preserved: abundant passages in Armenian – possibly

2054-572: The development of Christianity . The Judean province did not initially include Galilee , Gaulanitis (today's Golan) , nor Peraea or the Decapolis . Its revenue was of little importance to the Roman treasury, but it controlled the land and coastal sea routes to the "bread basket" of Egypt and was a buffer against the Parthian Empire . The capital was moved from Jerusalem to Caesarea Maritima . Augustus appointed Publius Sulpicius Quirinius to

2133-421: The nature of God ; he contrasted the nature of God with the nature of the physical world. Philo did not consider God similar to Heaven , the world , or man; he affirmed a transcendent God without physical features or emotional qualities resembling those of human beings. Following Plato, Philo equates matter to nothingness and sees its effect in fallacy, discord, damage, and decay of things. Only God's existence

2212-502: The province of Syria . The assertion of Roman hegemony and the rise of Roman political and cultural influence brought an end to Hellenistic Judea . In the aftermath of the Hasmonean civil war , Pompey installed the prince Hyrcanus II as Ethnarch and High Priest of Israel , but not as king. Some years later Julius Caesar appointed Antipater the Idumaean , also known as Antipas , as the first Roman Procurator . Antipater's son Herod

2291-399: The "archetypal idea". Philo identified Plato's Ideas with the demiurge's thoughts. These thoughts make the contents of Logos; they were the seals for making sensual things during world creation. Logos resembles a book with creature paradigms. An Architect's design before the construction of a city serves to Philo as another simile of Logos. Since creation, Logos binds things together. As

2370-418: The "name of God," There are, in addition, Biblical elements: Philo connects his doctrine of the Logos with Scripture, first of all, based on Genesis 1:27, the relation of the Logos to God. He translates this passage as follows: "He made man after the image of God," concluding from that place that an image of God existed. The Logos is also designated as " high priest " in reference to the exalted position that

2449-556: The Alexandrian Greeks as the aggressors in the civil strife that had left many Jews and Greeks dead. Judaea (Roman province) Judaea ( Latin : Iudaea [juːˈdae̯.a] ; Ancient Greek : Ἰουδαία , romanized :  Ioudaía [i.uˈdɛ.a] ) was a Roman province from 6 to 132 CE , which at its height incorporated the Levantine regions of Judea , Idumea , Samaria , and Galilee , and parts of

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2528-546: The Emperor and often as provincial tax and finance ministers, to be elevated to governing magistrates with full state authority to keep the peace. He may have elevated Judea's procurator to imperial governing status because the imperial legate of Syria was not sympathetic to the Judeans. Following Agrippa's death in 44, the province returned to direct Roman control, incorporating Agrippa's personal territories of Galilee and Peraea, under

2607-627: The Empire, the Kingdom was retained until he died, either in 93/94 or 100, when the area returned to complete, undivided Roman control. Judaea was the stage of two, possibly three, major Jewish–Roman wars : Agriculture played a significant role in economic life in Judaea. Wheat, barley, olives and grapes were the main crops grown in Judaea's fields. Evidence for the cultivation of herbs, vegetables, and legumes comes from Rabbinic literature , Josephus ' works, and

2686-629: 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

2765-558: The Hellenistic view of the mind-body relationship . In Philo's writings, however, mind and spirit are used interchangeably. The soul is the type; man is the copy. The similarity is found in the mind (νοῦς) of humans. For the shaping of the nous, the individual has the Logos for a pattern to follow. The latter officiates here also as "the divider" (τομεύς), separating and uniting. The Logos, as "interpreter," announces God's designs to humankind, acting in this respect as prophet and priest. As

2844-639: The Jewish embassage, a man eminent on all accounts, brother to Alexander the Alabarch, (30) and one not unskillful in philosophy, was ready to betake himself to make his defense against those accusations; but Gaius prohibited him, and bid him begone; he was also in such a rage, that it openly appeared he was about to do them some very great mischief. So Philo being thus affronted, went out, and said to those Jews who were about him, that they should be of good courage, since Gaius's words indeed showed anger at them, but in reality had already set God against himself. This event

2923-569: 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

3002-568: The Law then follows in two sections. First come the biographies of the men who antedated the several written laws of the Torah, as Enos , Enoch , Noah , Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob . These were the Patriarchs, who were the living impersonations of the active law of virtue before there were any written laws. Then, the laws are discussed in detail: first, the chief ten commandments (the Decalogue), and then

3081-466: The Logos is directly related to the Middle Platonic view of God as unmoved and utterly transcendent; therefore, intermediary beings were necessary to bridge the enormous gap between God and the material world. The Logos was the highest of these intermediary beings and was called by Philo "the first-born of God." Philo also adapted Platonic elements in designating the Logos as the "idea of ideas" and

3160-523: The Logos is influenced by Heraclitus ' conception of the "dividing Logos" (λόγος τομεύς), which calls the various objects into existence by the combination of contrasts ("Quis Rerum Divinarum Heres Sit," § 43 [i. 503]), as well as the Stoic characterization of the Logos as the active and vivifying power. But Philo followed the Platonic distinction between imperfect matter and perfect Form, and Philo's conception of

3239-465: The Roman quadrans . The design of the coins reflects an attempt to accommodate Jewish sensibilities, likely in collaboration with the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. Unlike typical Roman coinage featuring the emperor's portrait, these coins displayed symbols like palm tree and ears of grain , echoing earlier Hasmonean and Herodian designs. A notable exception is the coinage of Pontius Pilate , (26-36 CE), which included Roman cultic items like

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3318-406: The Roman empire built altars and temples to Gaius, and in other regards universally received him as they received the gods, these Jews alone thought it a dishonorable thing for them to erect statues in honor of him, as well as to swear by his name. Many of these severe things were said by Apion, by which he hoped to provoke Gaius to anger at the Jews, as he was likely to be. But Philo, the principal of

3397-404: The Roman province was enacted by the first Roman emperor , Augustus , after an appeal by the populace against the ill rule of Herod Archelaus (4 BCE – 6 CE). With the onset of direct rule, the official census instituted by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius , the governor of Roman Syria , caused tensions and led to an uprising by Jewish rebel Judas of Galilee (6 CE). Other notable events in

3476-551: The accent in Genesis 3:9: "Adam, where [ποῡ] art thou?"), is not in any place. He is Himself the place; the dwelling-place of God means the same as God Himself, as in the Mishnah = "God is" (comp. Freudenthal, "Hellenistische Studien," p. 73), corresponding to the tenet of Greek philosophy that the existence of all things is summed up in God. God as such is motionless, as the Bible indicates by

3555-431: The apex of Jewish-Hellenistic syncretism . His work attempts to combine Plato and Moses into one philosophical system. 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 ἱερὸς λόγος , θεῖος λόγος , and ὀρθὸς λόγος (holy word, godly word, righteous word), uttered sometimes directly and sometimes through

3634-625: The charge of sedition , an act that led to the birth of Christianity . In 36 CE another messianic revolt erupted near Mount Gerizim , under the lead of a Samaritan , and was quickly crushed by Pilate; the Samaritans complained against Pilate's brutality to the Legate of Syria Lucius Vitellius the Elder , who removed Pilate from his post and sent him to Rome to account, replacing him with an acting prefect called Marcellus . In 37 CE, Emperor Caligula ordered

3713-546: 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. 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: There

3792-479: The coins accordingly. These coins were primarily circulated within Judaea, with the highest concentration found in Jerusalem, where hundreds have been discovered. However, evidence indicates that the coins transcended their intended region, with discoveries in Transjordan and even in distant locations like Dura and Antioch . The minting of provincial coins ceased in 59 CE, and they continued to circulate until

3871-634: The complete work – in explanation of Genesis and Exodus, an old Latin translation of a part of the "Genesis", and fragments from the Greek text in Eusebius , in the "Sacra Parallela", in the "Catena", and also in Ambrosius . The explanation is confined chiefly to determining the literal sense, although Philo frequently refers to the allegorical sense as the higher. Νόμων Ἱερῶν Ἀλληγορίαι, or "Legum Allegoriæ", deals, so far as it has been preserved, with selected passages from Genesis . According to Philo's original idea,

3950-558: The correct Hebrew root (e.g., Hebrew : י־ר־ד , romanized :  y-r-d , lit.   'descend' 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. . Philo identified the angel of the Lord (in the singular) with the Logos . In

4029-576: The costal plain including Philistia , extending over the territories of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms . The name Judaea (like the similar Judea ) was derived from the Iron Age Kingdom of Judah , that was centered predominantly in Judea . Since the Roman Republic 's conquest of Judea in 63  BCE , the latter had maintained a system of semi-autonomous vassalage . The incorporation of

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4108-462: The efficient causes that not only represent the types of things, but also produce and maintain them. Philo endeavored to harmonize this conception with the Bible by designating these powers as angels. Philo conceives the powers both as independent hypostases and as immanent attributes of a Divine Being. In the same way, Philo contrasts the two divine attributes of goodness and power (ἄγαθότης and ἀρχή, δίναμις χαριστική and συγκολαστική) as expressed in

4187-421: 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

4266-517: The erection of a statue of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem , a demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism. The Legate of Syria, Publius Petronius , fearing civil war if the order was carried out, delayed implementing it for nearly a year. King Herod Agrippa I finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order. Caligula later issued a second order to have his statue erected in the Temple of Jerusalem, but he

4345-520: The high priest occupied after the Exile as the physical center of the Jews' relationship with God. The Logos, like the high priest, is the expiator of the Jews' sins and the mediator and advocate for humankind before, and envoy to, God: ἱκέτης, and παράκλητος. He puts human minds in order. The right reason is an infallible law, the source of any other laws. The angel blocking Balaam 's way in Numbers 22:22–35

4424-507: The history of primal humanity is here considered a symbol of the religious and moral development of the human soul. This commentary included the following treatises: Philo wrote a systematic work on Moses and his laws, which is usually prefaced by the treatise " De Opificio Mundi ". The Creation is, according to Philo, the basis for the Mosaic legislation, which is in complete harmony with nature ("De Opificio Mundi", § 1 [i. 1]). The exposition of

4503-571: 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. According to Josephus , Philo was inspired mainly in this by Aristobulus of Alexandria and the Alexandrian school . Philo frequently engaged in Pythagorean-inspired numerology , explaining at length

4582-494: The importance of the first 10 numerals: 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. Philo stated his theology both through the negation of opposing ideas and through detailed, positive explanations of

4661-401: The latter, the Logos softens punishments by making God's merciful power stronger than the punitive. The Logos has a special mystic influence upon the human soul, illuminating it and nourishing it with higher spiritual food, like the manna, of which the most diminutive piece has the same vitality as the whole. Philo's ethics were strongly influenced by Pythagoreanism and Stoicism , preferring

4740-483: 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). Philo regards the Bible as the source not only of religious revelation but also of philosophical truth. By applying the Stoic mode of allegorical interpretation to

4819-450: The names of God; designating "Yhwh" as Goodness, Philo interpreted "Elohim" (LXX. Θεός) as designating the "cosmic power"; and as he considered the Creation the most important proof of divine goodness, he found the idea of goodness especially in Θεός. Philo also treats the divine powers of God as a single independent being, or demiurge , which he designates " Logos ". Philo's conception of

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4898-488: The partly interpolated passages on the Essenes. In Legatio ad Gaium ( Embassy to Gaius ), Philo describes his diplomatic mission to Gaius Caligula , one of the few events in his life which is explicitly known. He relates that he was carrying a petition describing the sufferings of the Alexandrian Jews and asking the emperor to secure their rights. Philo describes their sufferings in more detail than Josephus's to characterize

4977-765: The phrase "God stands". Philo endeavored to find the Divine Being active and acting in the world, in agreement with Stoicism, yet his Platonic conception of Matter as evil required that he place God outside of the world in order to prevent God from having any contact with evil. Hence, he was obliged to separate from the Divine Being the activity displayed in the world and to transfer it to the divine powers, which accordingly were sometimes inherent in God and at other times exterior to God. In order to balance these Platonic and Stoic conceptions, Philo conceived of these divine attributes as types or patterns of actual things ("archetypal ideas") in keeping with Plato, but also regarded them as

5056-399: The post of Legate of Syria and he conducted a tax census of Syria and Judea in 6 CE, which triggered the revolt of Judas of Galilee ; the revolt was quickly crushed by Quirinius. Judea was not a senatorial province , nor an imperial province , but instead was a "satellite of Syria" governed by a prefect who was a knight of the Equestrian Order (as was that of Roman Egypt ), not

5135-713: The precepts in amplification of each law. The work is divided into the following treatises: This exposition is more exoteric than allegorical and might have been intended for gentile audiences. Philo is also credited with writing: This is the second half of a work on the freedom of the just according to Stoic principles. The genuineness of this work has been disputed by Frankel (in "Monatsschrift", ii. 30 et seq., 61 et seq.), by Grätz ("Gesch." iii. 464 et seq.), and more recently by Ansfeld (1887), Hilgenfeld (in "Zeitschrift für Wissenschaftliche Theologie", 1888, pp. 49–71), and others. Now Wendland , Ohle , Schürer , Massebieau , and Krell consider it genuine, except

5214-426: The rabbis of the period together serve as a blueprint for the pursuit of individual enlightenment. Philo's deployment of allegory to harmonize Jewish scripture, mainly the Torah , with Greek philosophy was the first documented of its kind, and thereby often misunderstood. Many critics of Philo assumed his allegorical perspective would lend credibility to the notion of legend over historicity. Philo often advocated

5293-417: The receptacle and holder of ideas, Logos is distinct from the material world. At the same time, Logos pervades the world, supporting it. This image of God is the type for all other things (the "Archetypal Idea" of Plato), a seal impressed upon things. The Logos is a kind of shadow cast by God, having the outlines but not the blinding light of the Divine Being. He calls the Logos "second god [deuteros theos]"

5372-405: The region include the crucifixion of Jesus c.  30–33 CE (which led to the emergence of Christianity ) and in 37 CE, Emperor Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Second temple . Growing discontent at Roman rule led to the First Jewish–Roman War in 66–73 CE and ultimately the Siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in 70 CE, bringing an end to

5451-507: 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. Although the names of his parents are unknown, it is known that Philo came from a family which was noble, honourable and wealthy. It was either his father or paternal grandfather who was granted Roman citizenship from Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar . Jerome wrote that Philo came de genere sacerdotum (from

5530-419: The revolt was brutally crushed by the Legate of Syria , Publius Quinctilius Varus , who occupied Jerusalem and crucified 2,000 Jewish rebels. Because of his failure to properly rule Judea, Archelaus was removed from his post by Emperor Augustus in 6 CE, while Judea, Samaria, and Idumea came under direct Roman administration. This event had significant and ever-lasting effects on Jewish history , and

5609-444: The text attributed to Philo, he "consistently uses Κύριος 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, George Howard surveys evidence and concludes: "Although it is improbable that Philo varied from the custom of writing the Tetragram when quoting from Scripture, it

5688-476: The yoke like brute beasts, but that they have also surrendered and betrayed their whole bodies and souls likewise, and their wives and their children, and their parents, and all the rest of the numerous kindred and community of their other relations? ... when an opportunity offers, it is a good thing to attack our enemies and put down their power; but when we have no such opportunity, it is better to be quiet The works of Philo are mostly allegorical interpretations of

5767-646: Was a leading writer of the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria , Egypt. He wrote expansively in Koine Greek on the intersection of 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

5846-577: Was designated as the King of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 BCE but he did not gain military control until 37 BCE. During his reign, the last representatives of the Hasmoneans were eliminated, and the huge port of Caesarea Maritima was built. Herod died in 4 BCE, and his kingdom was partitioned into a tetrarchy and divided among three of his sons, two of whom ( Philip and Herod Antipas ) became rulers of

5925-812: Was dismissed by Emperor Caligula in 39 CE. Herod's son Philip ruled the northeastern part of his father's kingdom. Canaan State of Israel (1948–present) Following the death of Herod the Great , the Herodian Kingdom of Judea was divided into the Herodian Tetrarchy , jointly ruled by Herod's sons and sister: Herod Archelaus (who ruled Judea , Samaria and Idumea ), Herod Philip (who ruled Batanea , Trachonitis as well as Auranitis ), Herod Antipas (who ruled Galilee and Perea ) and Salome I (who briefly ruled Jamnia ). A messianic revolt erupted in Judea in 4 BCE because of Archelaus's incompetence;

6004-422: Was incompatible with the Platonic conception of "God in opposition to matter", instead interpreting the ascription to God of hands and feet, eyes and ears, tongue and windpipe, as allegories. In Philo's interpretation, Hebrew scripture adapts itself to human conceptions, and so God is occasionally represented as a man for pedagogic reasons. The same holds true for God's anthropopathic attributes. God, as such,

6083-503: Was murdered before the statue reached Jerusalem and his successor Claudius rescinded the order. The "Crisis under Caligula" has been proposed as the first open break between Rome and Jews . Between 41 and 44 AD, Judea regained its nominal autonomy , when Herod Agrippa was made King of the Jews by the emperor Claudius , thus in a sense restoring the Herodian dynasty. Claudius had allowed procurators , who served as personal agents to

6162-448: Was now a tumult arisen at Alexandria, between the Jewish inhabitants and the Greeks; and three ambassadors were chosen out of each party that were at variance, who came to Gaius. Now one of these ambassadors from the people of Alexandria was Apion , (29) who uttered many blasphemies against the Jews; and, among other things that he said, he charged them with neglecting the honors that belonged to Caesar; for that while all who were subject to

6241-571: 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 . 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

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