Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

critical studies 2006 411
206100. M.Wolter,‘DerReichtumGottes,’Jahrbuch für biblische
Theologie 21 (2006) 145–160.
The semantic contours of the concept of the ‘richness of God’ as it occurs in
about ten Philonic texts can be summarized as follows: (1) God is immeasurable
and the quality of his richness marks his being God in clear differentiation from
human beings and their richness. (2) God is not rich only for himself but also
in order to do good things for others, because his richness has the intrinsic
property to be transmitted to another in a universal sense. In this transmission
God acts in caring for and preserving his whole creation. (3) Because God is
God his richness is immeasurable and in this way his action towards his creation
in the described manner is the reason for his being God. Many texts underline
this Philonic background, which in turn illustrates the New Testament discourse
on the ‘richness of God’ as a tradition shared between Hellenistic Judaism and
Christianity. (GS)
206101. B. G. Wright, ‘Translation as Scripture: the Septuagint in
Aristeas and Philo,’ in W. Kraus and R. G. Wooden (edd.), Septuagint
Research: Issues and Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures,
Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies 53 (Atlanta
2006) 47–61.
Based on ideas propounded by G. Toury, A. Pietersma has posited an interlinear
model of the Septuagint according to which the Greek translation is understood
as originally meant to have been used together with the Hebrew. In two
accounts of the origins of the LXX—the Letter of Aristeas and Philo—however,
the LXX stands independent of the original Hebrew. These accounts thus go
beyond the interlinear model and reflect circumstances contemporary to the
later authors. The Letter of Aristeas likely served as ‘a foundational myth of
origins for the Septuagint’s transformed position/function as an independent,
scriptural authority’ (p. 54). Taking this position of the LXX as a given, Philo
argues for the precision of the Greek translation in relation to the Hebrew, probably
to underscore its divine origins and to justify Philo’s own exegetical approach
which relied so closely upon the translation’s exact wording. (EB)
206102. Xuefu Zhang, Feiluo sixiang daolun I: liangxi wenming
shiyezhong de youtai zhexue [Chinese: An Introduction to the Thought of
Philo I: Jewish Philosophy in the Context of the Hebrew and Hellenistic
Civilizations] (Beijing 2006).
This is vol. 1 of a two-volume treatment of the thought of Philo in Chinese.
Vol. 2 was published in 2008. According to the cover the aim is to study Philo
from the perspective of Hellenistic Judaism. Vol. 1 consists of four chapters.
The first places Philo in his Alexandrian and Jewish context. There then follows
a chapter on Allegorical interpretation, asking whether it is based on free
association or on structured hermeneutics and arguing for its cosmological