Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

critical studies 2003 279
Recognizing the ‘highly rhetorical’ nature of Philo’s idealized presentation of
the Therapeutae, Taylor nonetheless believes that he wrote about a real rather
than a fictive group, and she aims to establish what can be known about them.
In the first part of the book, she explores the historical context of Contempl.
(Philo’s primary intended audience, according to her, was the Emperor Claudius
and other officials in Rome), the term ‘Therapeutae,’ the Essenes, the geographic
and social locations of the group (including maps and photographs of Lake
Mareotis and environs), the philosophy of Judaism adhered to by this group, the
group’s allegorical and ascetic practices (she identifies the community as extreme
allegorizers), and the solar calendar most likely followed by this group. The
second part of the book focuses on women and gender in Contempl.HereTaylor
considers paradigms of other women philosophers in antiquity (and includes
photographs of artistic representations of these figures); Philo’s presentation
of the female Therapeutae, or Therapeutrides; his descriptions of communal,
personal, and sacred space (with illustrations); and his account of the group’s
‘spiritual and musical/mystical enterprise’ (p. 339). Throughout the book Taylor
draws upon other relevant evidence in order to place Philo’s discussions in a
larger social, political, and philosophical context. Reviews: D. M. Hay, SPhA 16
(2004) 290–294; P. W. van der Horst, Gnomon 76 (2004) 634–635; P. W. van der
Horst, NTT 58 (2004) 351–352; M. Niehoff, SCI 23 (2004) 305–309; J. J. Collins,
DSD 12 (2005) 220–223; P. Graffigna, Adamant 11 (2005) 511–514; A. Kamesar,
CR 55 (2005) 596–597; A. Loades, Feminist Theory 6 (2005) 347–354; J. Økland,
JBL 124 (2005) 378–381; P. Richardson, JSJ 36 (2005) 373–376; K. R. Atkinson,
QC 14 (2006) 91–98; A. van den Hoek, JR 86 (2006) 146–149; S. Pearce, JJS 57
(2006) 179–180. (EB)
203123. J. W. Thompson, ‘Creation, Shame and Nature in 1Cor 11:2–
16: the Background and Coherence of Paul’s Argument,’ in J. T. Fitzgerald,
T. H. Olbricht and L. H. White (edd.), EarlyChristianityand
Classical Culture. Comparative Studies in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe,
Novum Testamentum Supplements 110 (Leiden 2003) 237–257.
This study explores how Paul’s argument in 1Cor 11:2–16 would have been
persuasive in its Hellenistic-Jewish context, particularly as it sought to combine
appeals to Scripture, shame, and nature. Philo’s perspective offers helpful comparisons
to how Paul argues. Both appeal to the created order and its hierarchy
of being as the basis for conduct. An examination of Philo’s use of ρή shows
how it signifies both source and sovereignty in a hierarchical relationship that is
grounded in creation. (KAF)
203124. H. G. Thümmel, ‘Philon und Origenes,’ in L. Perrone (ed.),
Origeniana Octava. Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition, Bibliotheca
Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 164 (Leuven 2003) 275–
286.