Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

critical studies 2002 217
traditions and philosophical issues, should not be neglected. But choices have
to be made, and it is hoped that differing approaches will result in a broader
illumination of Philo’s writings. (DTR)
20257. P.Kotzia-Panteli,‘Forschungsreisen.ZuIamblichos’Protreptikos
40,1–11 Pistelli,’ Philologus 146 (2002) 111–132, esp. 124–132.
Philo Migr. 217–219 is cited and discussed at some length in order to show
that the motif of the ‘traveller in search of gain’, which is found in Iamblichus’
Protrepticus and is often thought to originate in the Aristotelian work of the same
name (B53 Düring), is a typical theme of the protreptic genre and can be traced
back to Theophrastus. (DTR)
20258. J.L.Kugel(ed.),Shem in the Tents of Japheth: Essays on the
Encounter of Judaism and Hellenism, Supplements to the Journal for the
Study of Judaism 74 (Leiden 2002).
This monograph contains the papers of two conferences on the encounter
of Judaism and Hellenism held at Bar Ilan Universtiy in 1998 and Harvard
University in 1999. The title is a playful reversal of the biblical injunction that
Japheth should dwell in the tents of Shem (Gen 9:27). After an initial essay
by A. I. Baumgarten on whether the Greeks as overlords of Palestine for two
centuries were different from previous rulers, the volume is divided into three
parts: two papers on Issues of language, five papers on Hellenism in Jewish
Writings, and three papers on The Reception of Judaism by the Greek Fathers.
Papers specifically relating to Philo were presented by N. Cohen, A. van den
Hoek, D. T. Runia (2) and D. Winston. See the summaries presented under the
names of the authors. Reviews: M. Niehoff, SPhA 16 (2004) 298–300. (DTR)
20259. Y.T.Langermann,‘OntheBeginningsofHebrewScientific
Literature and on Studying History Through ‘Maqbilot’ (Parallels),’ Aleph
2 (2002) 169–189, esp. 180–185.
The author mentions four texts that he believes represent the earliest Jewish
writings in Hebrew about scientific knowledge; he dates these to the 8th or
9th century. One text is Sefer yetsirah (SY), which discusses components of the
universe and their relationship to numbers and letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The second part of the articleis a critiqueof Y. Liebes’ Ars Poetica in Sefer Yetsirah
(see above 20045)—specifically, of Liebes’ use of parallels to date SY to the 1st
century. Langermann primarily objects that Liebes ignores important questions
about his sources and juxtaposes parallels without explaining how he chooses
them and why they are significant. Liebes adduces so many parallels between
SY and Philo that he devotes a separate index to Philo’s works alone. According
to Langermann, these works may have been known to later Jewish writers and
thus parallels with Philo would not necessarily support a first-century dating
for SY.Citing an article by B. Chiesa, who suggests that Jews writing in Arabic