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Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

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critical studies 1998 97<br />

ritual Torah. By introducing apocalyptic cosmology into his interpretation, Paul<br />

develops a change in view that makes him construct a new, third ethnic group,<br />

with a new praxis. (TS)<br />

98104.W.M.Urassa,Psalm 8 <strong>and</strong> its Christological Re-interpretation<br />

in the New Testament Context: an Inter-contextual Study in Biblical Hermeneutics,<br />

Europäische Hochschulschriften Theologie 577 (Frankfurt<br />

am Main 1998), esp. 96–104.<br />

Although <strong>Philo</strong> makes no explicit or direct commentary on Ps 8, his commentaries<br />

on Gen 1–3 do seem to bear some great influence on the Psalm’s reinterpretations<br />

in the NT. Created after the image <strong>of</strong> God, man is appointed king<br />

over all the creatures under the moon (cf. esp. Opif. 84). From there a line can<br />

be drawn to Jewish apocalyptic speculations on the ‘heavenly man’ <strong>and</strong> to the<br />

Gnostic concept <strong>of</strong> the primordial man. (DZ)<br />

98105. M.-A. Vannier, ‘Aux sources de la voie négative,’ Revue des<br />

Sciences Religieuses 72 (1998) 403–419, esp. 408–410.<br />

In her survey <strong>of</strong> the ancient sources <strong>of</strong> negative theology in medieval writers,<br />

the author briefly discusses the contribution <strong>of</strong> <strong>Philo</strong>. He is the first to make<br />

the connection between Scripture <strong>and</strong> Platonism. Various texts are cited to<br />

illustrate God’s essential unknowability. A text such as Somn. 1.184, however,<br />

reveals the difference between <strong>Philo</strong>’s approach <strong>and</strong> that <strong>of</strong> Plato. God is not<br />

an abstract principle, but the creator, who differs fundamentally from what he<br />

creates. (DTR)<br />

98106. S. Wan, ‘Commentary as Pedagogical Guide: Scripture <strong>and</strong><br />

Commentary in the Thoughts <strong>of</strong> <strong>Philo</strong> Judaeus,’ Journal <strong>of</strong> Humanities<br />

East/West (Taiwan) 18 (1998) 65–98.<br />

The article commences with reflections on the relation between scripture<br />

<strong>and</strong>education.Theymightseemtobenaturalallies,butinactualfactthere<br />

is potentially a strong conflict between them. Scripture projects its authority<br />

through self-transcendence, but this can have the effect <strong>of</strong> making it remote.<br />

Education is meant to project its ideals on the community. One way <strong>of</strong> linking<br />

the two is through scriptural commentary as a pedagogical instrument to bridge<br />

the gap between scripture <strong>and</strong> educational ideals. In the remainder <strong>of</strong> the article<br />

the author pursues this subject with specific reference to <strong>Philo</strong>. He first explains<br />

how Plato <strong>and</strong> the Platonist tradition used allegory to make Homer morally <strong>and</strong><br />

intellectually palatable. He then explains how the Torah or Law functioned in<br />

Hellenistic Judaism. It is clear that Torah-centred education was in competition<br />

with Greek liberal education. <strong>Philo</strong> accords the latter some value, but mainly<br />

because ultimately it will lead the soul to seek the higher reality <strong>of</strong> moral<br />

<strong>and</strong> spiritual values. In this process scriptural commentaries, especially in the<br />

allegorical mode, play a vital role. The remainder <strong>of</strong> the article sets out how

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