Philo of Alexandria - Books and Journals

424 part three
that al-Qirqisani knew Philo is certain. Chiesa presents in detail the parallels
between a fragment identified as belonging to book VI of al-Qirqisani’s Kitab
al-anwar,andPhilo’sDecal.andSpec.(HMK)
a96103. W. Fauth, ‘Salutatio Solis Orientis. Zu einer Form der Heliolatrie
bei Pythagoreern, Manichäern, Therapeuten und Essenern,’ in H.
Cancik (ed.), Geschichte, Tradition, Reflexion. Festschrift für Martin Hengel
zum 70. Geburtstag. Bd. II: Griechische und Römische Religion (Tübingen
1996) 41–54, esp. 48–51.
This article deals with testimonia concerning sun worship in various more
or less philosophical circles or communities. The author gives a brief survey of
the various scholarly opinions concerning the community of the Therapeutae
as pictured in Philo’s De vita contemplativa. He notes that a neglected feature in
the discussion is the sun worship of the Therapeutae, which according to him
can be explained on the basis of (1) the Egyptian environment, (2) the sun as
image for both intellectual and visionary ‘illumination’, and (3) the community’s
aspiration to moral and inner purity. The attitude of the Essenes (for which see
Philo, Prob.75andJosephus,BJ 2.128) towards the rising and setting sun must
be seen against the background of the dualism between (the sons of) light and
darkness as expressed in Qumran texts. (HMK)
a96104. B. Kollmann, ‘Das Schwurverbot Mt 5,33–37/Jak 5,12 im
Spiegel antiker Eidkritik,’ Biblische Zeitschrift 40 (1996) 179–193, esp.
184–188.
Since R. Hirzel’s monograph on the oath in antiquity (1902), the view is
generally accepted that theologically motivated rejection of swearing an oath is
something genuinely Jewish (and Christian). This article argues, however, that
theological (as distinct from ethical or anthropological) criticism of the oath is
by no means something ‘unGreek’, but was fully present (from an early time)
in the Greek world, notably in Pythagoreanism, and from there entered into
the Jewish and Christian tradition. The author elaborates on Philo’s theory and
criticism of the oath, in which he sees influence of various Greek traditions.
Where Philo (as well as Josephus) describes the Essene community and ascribes
to it a total prohibition of the oath, he lends it pythagorean features (Prob. 84).
(HMK)
a96105. J.Maier,‘LaTorah di purità nel Levitico esuatrattazione
nella letteratura giudaica del periodo del Secondo Tempio e nei primi
secoli cristiani,’ Annali di storia dell’esegesi 13 (1996) 39–66, esp. 44 and
numerous text references in the Appendice (47–66).
This article presents a collection of texts concerning the laws on purity and
impurity, for which see Lev 11–14. Four groups are considered: texts from