Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

90 part two
9884. R. Radice, ‘Le judaïsme alexandrin et la philosophie grecque:
influences probables et points de contact,’ in C. Lévy (ed.), Philon d’Alexandrie
et le langage de la philosophie, Monothéismes et Philosophie
(Turnhout 1998) 483–492.
The author complains about a certain lack of reciprocity in the study of the
relations between Philo and the Greek philosophical tradition, as seen in the
fact that almost all scholars are inclined to underline the debt that Philo has
incurred to Greek philosophical thought, but virtually no one is prepared to
admit the reverse, namely the influence that the Alexandrian could have exerted
on thinkers of the Imperial age and on the Platonist tradition in general. If,
however, one thinks of the distribution of Philo’s writings in the Christian era,
along the three axes of Alexandria, Syria and Rome–Italy, which take their lead
from Clement, Justin and Ambrose respectively, it is difficult not to place these in
relation to the three major representatives of ‘secular’ thought, such as Alcinous
(and the Middle Platonists in general), Numenius and Seneca. Both Numenius
(whom Radice does not discuss explicitly) on the one hand and Alcinous and
Seneca on the other reveal a number of fairly obvious points of contact with
Philo. This can easily be observed if one places Philo within the confines of the
Platonist tradition, as a representative of a particular line of thinking (p. 490).
(RR)
9885. C.L.Rossetti,‘Sei diventato Tempio di Dio’: il mistero del
Tempio e dell’abitazione divina negli scritti di Origene, Tesigregoriana,
Serie Teologica 43 (Rome 1998), esp. 16–22.
In Philo’s thought on the Temple two themes can be discerned: the cosmic
temple and the temple-soul. A brief review of passages leads to the conclusion
that Philo’s allegorical interpretation of the tabernacle/temple highlights on the
one hand the cosmic character of true worship of God (the whole cosmos is
called to worship), and on the other hand the spiritual worship to be rendered
by the human soul as a microcosm. Philo achieves a brilliant synthesis between
prophetic Judaism and the Stoa, while his interpretations have clearly influenced
Clement and Origen. (HMK)
9886. R.Roukema,Gnosis en geloof in het vroege Christendom (Zoetermeer
1998), esp. 72–74, 95–102.
On two occasions in this judicious introductory survey of Gnosticism in
relation to Early Christianity the author pays attention to Philo. In a chapter
entitled Origin and purpose of life, Cher. 114–115 is cited and its ideas on
the body and the soul’s knowledge outlined. In the chapter on Plato, Philo
and Platonic philosophy, Philo’s thoughts on the status of Greek philosophy,
on creation as presented in Opif., on unity and plurality in God, and on the
origin and destiny of souls are outlined. In the end, however, Philo is not a
Platonist philosopher, but a Jew who was profoundly influenced by the Greek