Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

critical studies 1998 91
philosophy of his time. In his writings numerous themes occur which will be
further developed in Gnosticism. (DTR)
9887. D. T. Runia, ‘l’exégèse philosophique et l’influence de la pensée
philonienne dans la tradition patristique,’ in C. Lévy (ed.), Philon
d’Alexandrie et le langage de la philosophie, Monothéismes et Philosophie
(Turnhout 1998) 327–348.
The article combines a theoretical look at the question of the influence of
Philo on early Christian thought with a practical example of how that influence
took place. Starting point is the thesis of Valentin Nikiprowetzky that Philo’s use
of philosophy is ‘instrumentalist’. This needs to be related to the fact that Philo
places reason in the form of logos in Scripture itself. After outlining a number of
difficulties involved in the study of Philo and the Fathers, the author sets out what
he judges to be the four principal aspects of Philo’s influence: the central role of
exegesis, the methods of exegesis (including allegory), the use of specific philosophical
terminology, and the use of a number of particularly influential biblical
texts. These aspects are then illustrated by means of two texts of the Alexandrian
theologian Didymus the Blind, the former from his Genesis commentary
on the creation of humankind in Gen 1:26–28, the latter from the Commentary
on Zechariah and involving the use of the verbum Philonicum γαλματρέω.
The article ends with some conclusions on the value of Nikiprowetzky’s thesis
for the subject of Philo’s influence on the Fathers. It should be noted that very
often in the Fathers philosophy becomes spirituality, a change that is anticipated
in Philo himself. (DTR)
9888. D.T.Runia,‘ANewPhiloWordIndex(Reviewarticle),’The
Studia Philonica Annual 10 (1998) 131–134.
The features of the new Philo word index by Borgen, Fuglseth and Skarsten
(see above 3217) are reviewed under the headings of completeness, accuracy
and user-friendliness. The index is a considerable advance in comparison with
Mayer’s earlier work and will no doubt render valuable service for Philonic
scholarship in the coming years. The article ends by citing a witty listing of the
advantages of the book compared with the computer. (DTR)
9889. L. H. Schiffman, ‘The Prohibition of Judicial Corruption in the
Dead Sea scrolls, Philo, Josephus and Talmudic law,’ in J. Magness and S.
Gitin (edd.), Hesed ve-emet. Studies in Honor of Ernest S. Frerichs,Brown
Judaic Studies 320 (Atlanta 1998) 155–178, esp. 162–164.
Brief remarks on Philo’s views on the administration of justice and the
prohibition against taking bribes in Spec. 4.55–78 in the wider context of an
examination of the prohibition of judicial corruption in Second Temple and early
rabbinic Judaism. (DTR)