Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

192 part two
20185. E.Villari,Il morso e il cavaliere. Una metafora della temperanza
e del dominio di sé, Università 52 (Genua 2001).
There is undoubtedly a direct relation between certain Philonic texts (especially
QG 3.3 and Agr. 67–94, both cited in an appendix), and Plato’s Phaedrus.
Noteworthy is the role of the ‘bit’ in the relation between the rider and the horse.
It is used to indicate the role of a brake on the passions and the mastery that the
intellectual part should exercise on all that belongs to the senses. But in Philo’s
exegesis of the myth of the flying chariot of the Phaedrus his own views on sensuality
also emerge. It is given a negative value in the moral and intellectual perspective
(basically it is regarded as the origin of sin), but a positive value as an
essential aspect of creation. (RR)
20186. H.C.Waetjen,‘Logos pros ton Theon and the Objectification
of Truth in the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel,’ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
63 (2001) 265–286.
Philo is seen to be the first person to give expression to the uniting together of
the biblical Word of God and the Greek Logos with the resulting objectification
of truth as correct seeing rather than hearing. Philo’s objectification of truth was
appropriated by the Gospel of John, which attempted in the Prologue of the
Gospel to refute Philo’s platonically-oriented metaphysics. Philo’s understanding
of the Logos and its activity is thus contrasted with that of the Gospel of John.
(KAF)
20187. R. Weber, Das „Gesetz“ bei Philon von Alexandrien und Flavius
Josephus: Studien zum Verständnis und zur Funktion der Thora bei
den beiden Hauptzeugen des hellenistischen Judentums, Arbeitenzur
Religion und Geschichte des Urchristentums 11 (Frankfurt am Main
2001).
Thisisthesecondvolume(forfirstpartsee20082) oftherevisedandcompleted
published version of Weber’s 1990 Göttingen Habilitationsschrift Eusebes
Logismos. Studien zum Verständnis und zur Funktion der Thora im hellenistischen
Judentum.Philo together with Josephus forms the inner core of the
widespread Hellenistic–Jewish culture. Their understanding of the Torah is profoundly
related to the entire way of life of the Jews in the Hellenistic world.
In conclusion Weber sums up the understanding of the Torah in Hellenistic
Judaism (including Philo) in five points. (1) The Torah functions as fundumental
medium of identity and self-expression. (2) The particular is universalized,
while foreign aspects are integrated and adapted. (3) The Torah is
understood as universal law, known to all human beings as normative guide
to action, which can be performed. (4) The Torah is also the inner unity of
a universal and fundamental ordering of the cosmos, making it a ‘religion for
humanity’ (D. Georgi). (5) Philosophy and religion draw near to each other, so
that in Hellenistic Judaism the roots can be found of the (Christian) West. It