Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

274 part two
203109. D.T.Runia,‘TheKing,theArchitect,andtheCraftsman:a
Philosophical Image in Philo of Alexandria,’ in R. W. Sharples and A.
Sheppard (edd.), Ancient Approaches to Plato’s Timaeus, Bulletin of the
Institute of Classical Studies Supplement 78 (London 2003) 89–106.
There are two traditions on the founding of Alexandria, one that it was
planned and built by Alexander himself, the other that he made use of the
famous architect Dinocrates of Rhodes. This background is relevant to Philo’s
interpretation of the Genesis creation account, in which he makes extensive use
of the commentary tradition of Plato’s Timaeus, and in particular to the image
that he uses at Opif. 17–18 to illustrate how God created the cosmos. The article
gives a translation and detailed analysis of Opif. 15–24, discussing in sequence
the interpretation of ‘day one’ in the Genesis account, the noetic cosmos, the
role of the noetic cosmos in creation, the contents of ‘day one’ according to
Moses, the location of the noetic cosmos, the image itself, the application of the
image to the creation of the cosmos, the general interpretation of the passage,
and finally a brief treatment of some other related themes. It is argued that
Philo in his image tries to have it both ways. In the image the functions of king,
architect and builder are kept separate, in its application the persons involved
are coalesced, the reason being that Philo refuses to accept a split-level theology
in the manner of Middle Platonism. The article concludes with some reflections
on Philo’s relation to the development of the Platonist tradition up to his time,
and a brief epilogue on the use of Philo’s image in later Christian tradition and by
Rabbi Hoshai#a of Caesarea, the friend of Origen (who was no doubt his source).
(DTR)
203110. D. T. Runia, ‘Philo of Alexandria, Legatio ad Gaium 1–7,’
in D. E. Aune, T. Seland and J. H. Ulrichsen (edd.), Neotestamentica
et Philonica: Studies in Honor of Peder Borgen, Supplements to Novum
Testamentum 106 (Leiden 2003) 349–370.
The prologue of Philo’s Legat. is a remarkable passage which has given rise to
a number of interpretative difficulties. The article first outlines various scholarly
discussions that have been held about the passage, including whether there
is a lacuna between it and the rest of the treatise. The author advocates a
contextual reading, in which an attempt is made to relate the theological contents
of the passage to the historical/apologetic contents of the rest of the work.
This contextual reading takes up the largest part of the paper. It is concluded
(p. 369) that the contents of the passage are closely related to the subject matter
of the whole work, with as its chief theme the role of divine providence. The
theological section §§ 4–7 has a triple purpose: to explain the special relationship
between God and Israel; to locate the role of providence within the divine
nature; to anticipate the theme of the purported rivalry between God and the
megalomaniac emperor Gaius. The text is difficult because Philo does not make
all the connections in his train of thought clear, but it is not necessary to conclude
that it is incomplete. (DTR)