Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

186 part two
the Jewish thinker. The third section of the chapter discusses Philo’s anthropology
and his ethical and spiritual teaching (35–41). Philo’s thoughts on anthropological
and psychological matters are less consistent than his theological ideas,
because he has no clear teaching on the soul. (DTR; summary supplied by the
author)
20170.H.J.Spierenburg,De Philonische geheime leer: de Kabbala van
Philo van Alexandrië [Dutch: The Philonic Secret Doctrine: the Kabbala
of Philo of Alexandria] (Deventer 2001).
This is the first monograph devoted to an account of Philo’s thought from a
theosophical perspective. After two introductory chapters on Philo’s life and his
writings, the author introduces the allegorical method used by Philo, illustrating
it by giving an account of the allegorization of the ark of the covenant. After
this a chapter follows on the development of the Kabbalistic tree of the ten
divine emanations (Sefirot) from Rabbi Hillel to the Zohar. Fivechaptersare
then devoted to central aspects of Philonic doctrine: the Deity; the immaterial
world; the structure of the universe; the structure of the human soul; the original,
functioning and final goal of the soul. The parallelism between the Kabbalistic
tree and Philo’s theology and psychology is demonstrated through two diagrams
on pp. 82 and 84. A brief chapter follows on a secret in the Septuagint, namely
the significance of the twelve jewels on the High Priest’s λγεν. Thiscanonly
be explained here because it presupposes acquaintance with Philo’s psychology.
In the climactic chapter of the book the relation between Philo and the Kabbalah
is explained. Two texts that demonstrate this link are Her. 216, 221, 225 (on the
Menorah) and Fug. 100–104 (on the six cities of refuge). The author is unable
to determine, however, whether Philo used the Kabbalistic schema consciously
or unconsciously. A final chapter elaborates on the relation between Philo’s
theology and psychology and the much older Hindu Advaita-Vedanta school.
The author claims that it is startling how great the parallelism is. (DTR)
20171.G.E.Sterling(ed.),TheAncestral Wisdom: Hellenistic Philosophy
in Second Temple Judaism. Essays of David Winston,StudiaPhilonica
Monographs 4, Brown Judaic Series 331 (Providence RI 2001), esp. 27–
32, 115–219.
This volume collects together significant essays on Hellenistic Judaism written
by David Winston over a period of nearly thirty years. The basis for the selection
is explained in the Preface by the editor. Some of Winston’s best known and
most accessible essays are not included because the material they contain will
be used in his forthcoming monograph on Philo. Essays were chosen because
they cover a range of texts and authors or have been difficult to access. All the
essays published have been modified in small points of detail, including the addition
of bibliographical material and some conceptual aspects. Part One consists
of just a single essay, which gives an overview of Hellenistic Jewish philosophy,
including several pages devoted to Philo (1996/97 = RRS 9693). Part