The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition

Rating:
Summary: Surprizingly Readable, Insightful and Enjoyable
Review: As tantalized and delighted as I was by the Classics of Western Spirituality anthology of Philo selections, I avoided buying this Hendrickson edition of the C.D. Yonge translation of the complete works of Philo of Alexandria until I could stand it no longer. Because Yonge worked in the 19th century, I thought his work would be as stilted as Hendrickson's Josephus by Whiston. I was wrong. Yonge's translation has been updated here by David Scholer to accord with a text discovered after Yonge wrote, keyed to Loeb Library numbers, with passages unavailable to Yonge newly translated. The text occasionally creaks, but it generally very readable, and actually enjoyable (not something that can be said of most ancient philosophical/theological texts!). The more modern Winston selections from the texts and their superior notes in the CWS edition are still excellent to have, but you really need to read more complete treatises to get into Philo's remarkable, even amusing, mind.

Rating:
Summary: An insightful and thorough commentary on the Pentateuch
Review: Philo Judaeus, the great Jewish exegete and philosopher, was a contemporary of Josephus and the Apostles Paul and Peter during the 1st century A.D. This volume of his complete works must be one of the most, if not the most, exhaustive commentaries on the five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) in existence.

In true rabbinic fashion, Philo discourses on the letter and spirit of the Pentateuch, from all the major characters of the five books of the Old Testament to the creation of the world. His prose style is a combination of stream-of-consciousness, meditation, and textual exposition. Philo's works are not merely a collection of essays on the Pentateuch, but a window into rich allegorical and contemplative mind of a great rabbi--the Pentateuch interpreted by a rabbi within the context of first century Hellenism buttressed by nearly 2000 years of a tradition personally handed down from God. Philo addresses the reader in 2nd person; it is almost as if the reader was a student sitting and listening at the feet of the rabbi.

It is, however, easy to lose one's place in the text. Philo divides his essays topically: e.g., The Creation of the World, Abel, Cain, Noah's Drunkenness, Abraham's Exodus from Ur, The Tower of Babel, Moses, etc. Within each essay, however, Philo waxes upon the topic and upon anything tangentially related to it in a great stream-of-consciousness. Moreover, the text is invariably printed in two columns, justified, separated with a line in 10 point font on every page, front and back. If it were not for the consecutive paragraph numbering, the text would seem like a great jumbled mass of impenetrable rabbinic commentary.

But Philo writes some true gems, and it is worth culling the dense text for them. His first essay alone, "On the Creation of the World", justifies purchasing the entire volume. Philo's exposition of Genesis chapter 1 is second to none. Not even St. Augustine's commentary of Genesis in "City of God" raises you to such heights. One of Philo's many insights into the purpose behind the order of creation is his answer to why God created vegetation before He created the sun. Philo's final essays, "Questions and Answers," offers his interpretation into every conceivable question concerning the Book of Genesis. In between "On the Creation of the World" and "Questions and Answers" are fascinating commentaries on all major characters in the first five books of the Old Testament and on the laws, the Ten Commandments and the 613 laws in the Pentateuch.

Philo's works are still relatively obscure. But they rank with the works of Josephus. Josephus gives us history; Philo, interpretation. It is as if Philo was a Jewish Augustine who mixed "Confessions" and "City of God" into one volume.

Rating:
Summary: An insightful and thorough commentary on the Pentateuch
Review: Philo Judaeus, the great Jewish exegete and philosopher, was a contemporary of Josephus and the Apostles Paul and Peter during the 1st century A.D. This volume of his complete works must be one of the most, if not the most, exhaustive commentaries on the five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) in existence.

In true rabbinic fashion, Philo discourses on the letter and spirit of the Pentateuch, from all the major characters of the five books of the Old Testament to the creation of the world. His prose style is a combination of stream-of-consciousness, meditation, and textual exposition. Philo's works are not merely a collection of essays on the Pentateuch, but a window into rich allegorical and contemplative mind of a great rabbi--the Pentateuch interpreted by a rabbi within the context of first century Hellenism buttressed by nearly 2000 years of a tradition personally handed down from God. Philo addresses the reader in 2nd person; it is almost as if the reader was a student sitting and listening at the feet of the rabbi.

It is, however, easy to lose one's place in the text. Philo divides his essays topically: e.g., The Creation of the World, Abel, Cain, Noah's Drunkenness, Abraham's Exodus from Ur, The Tower of Babel, Moses, etc. Within each essay, however, Philo waxes upon the topic and upon anything tangentially related to it in a great stream-of-consciousness. Moreover, the text is invariably printed in two columns, justified, separated with a line in 10 point font on every page, front and back. If it were not for the consecutive paragraph numbering, the text would seem like a great jumbled mass of impenetrable rabbinic commentary.

But Philo writes some true gems, and it is worth culling the dense text for them. His first essay alone, "On the Creation of the World", justifies purchasing the entire volume. Philo's exposition of Genesis chapter 1 is second to none. Not even St. Augustine's commentary of Genesis in "City of God" raises you to such heights. One of Philo's many insights into the purpose behind the order of creation is his answer to why God created vegetation before He created the sun. Philo's final essays, "Questions and Answers," offers his interpretation into every conceivable question concerning the Book of Genesis. In between "On the Creation of the World" and "Questions and Answers" are fascinating commentaries on all major characters in the first five books of the Old Testament and on the laws, the Ten Commandments and the 613 laws in the Pentateuch.

Philo's works are still relatively obscure. But they rank with the works of Josephus. Josephus gives us history; Philo, interpretation. It is as if Philo was a Jewish Augustine who mixed "Confessions" and "City of God" into one volume.

Rating:
Summary: "Hellenistic Monotheism at its Apogee"
Review: Philo of Alexandria was a contemporary of both Paul and Christ. Though he did not know them, it cannot be doubted that the Jewish philosopher made a significant impact on the early Christian world. He has been styled the first theologian on account of his hellenized Judaism, and for the fact that he espoused the concept of God's creating force - the Logos - as found in the Gospel of John, which was written nearly a half-century later. Philo's works may be divided into two groups: works that deal directly with the biblical texts, and those that do not. In the former works Philo links philosophy to the Pentateuch by the use of allegory, which uncovers how the Stoic concept of the Logos, and the Platonistic World of Forms are already present in the Old Testament; and in the later he describes the monastic order of the Therapeutae - mystics who claimed they saw the vision of God - the Essenes, and also defends the Jews against anti-Jewish acts by Gaius Caligula in an apologetic work "Embassy to Gaius." These works are a culmination of many divergent areas of thought; and to discover these works will be to discover the general milieu of Hellenistic ideas so pervasive in the Mediterranean world of the 1st century.

Rating:
Summary: "Hellenistic Monotheism at its Apogee"
Review: Philo of Alexandria was a contemporary of both Paul and Christ. Though he did not know them, it cannot be doubted that the Jewish philosopher made a significant impact on the early Christian world. He has been styled the first theologian on account of his hellenized Judaism, and for the fact that he espoused the concept of God's creating force - the Logos - as found in the Gospel of John, which was written nearly a half-century later. Philo's works may be divided into two groups: works that deal directly with the biblical texts, and those that do not. In the former works Philo links philosophy to the Pentateuch by the use of allegory, which uncovers how the Stoic concept of the Logos, and the Platonistic World of Forms are already present in the Old Testament; and in the later he describes the monastic order of the Therapeutae - mystics who claimed they saw the vision of God - the Essenes, and also defends the Jews against anti-Jewish acts by Gaius Caligula in an apologetic work "Embassy to Gaius." These works are a culmination of many divergent areas of thought; and to discover these works will be to discover the general milieu of Hellenistic ideas so pervasive in the Mediterranean world of the 1st century.

Rating:
Summary: Philo in One Book!
Review: Philo's complete works, are very difficult to come by, yet this book makes his work accessible! This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, as the Loeb edition is massive, and expensive. This is a must-have for all scholars, laymen, and those who enjoy extra-canonical literature, especially for insight to the Judaic background of the New Testament.

Rating:
Summary: A window in time.
Review: The writings of Philo Judaeus (Philo of Alexandria, c20 BC - c50 AD) are important to the historical examination of late Second Temple Judaism, the religious 'world' into which Christ came. A prominent scholar and exegete, Philo's writings are considered the most thorough and most representative documents illuminating Hellenistic Judaism. Philo is interesting to Christians because, like Saul of Tarsus (Paul the Apostle), he was a Pharisee, a student and interpreter of Hebrew Scripture. (The Pharisees were a rabbinical sect particularly known for their studies of Moses. Their exegetic work was esteemed such that they were held to be the spiritual "rulers" of Judaism. They are generally criticized by Christians but it should be noted that they shared some important beliefs with Christianity, namely the promise of the Messiah and of the Divine gift of eternal existence for those who enter a right relationship with God.) Not only a Hebrew scholar but a noted scholar within Alexandrian academe, Philo is an interesting expositor of Greek philosophy and mathematics of the period, showing a great fondness for Euclidean geometry and number theory. However, the exegesis of the scriptural Creation account and of the special laws and the Decalogue is the author's central focus. This complete and unabridged volume is no trivial work, perhaps only approached by the most serious-minded student.
From Philo's examination of the Creation account we learn that [two millennia ago] leading scholarship did not hold Genesis 1 to be a literal (i.e., scientific) accounting. Philo expresses certainty that Genesis 1 can only be rightly understood as spiritual allegory. "Literal" interpretations of Moses' language [within Genesis 1] must produce a god with a localized body, nostrils, mouth, hands, etc., wholly incompatible with the incorporeal God revealed in scripture (and required by reason, what kind of matter could the Maker of matter be made of?). The Creation account is rather understood as describing the relationship of Creator and creation -- God's intimacy ("hovering", Gen 1:2) and God's ultimacy ("above" the abyss, Gen 1:2). Philo's rejection of literal interpretations is often strongly worded: "let us take care that we are never filled with such absurdity..." and "let not such fabulous nonsense ever enter our minds."
We note that the ideas contained in language today are not the concepts which were understood in earlier ages. For example, the phrase "heaven and earth" was understood to mean three-dimensional space itself plus time -- as "heaven", and the constituents of all matter contained within space and time -- as "earth". Thus Genesis 1:1 speaks of creation ex nihilo, everything from nothing [interestingly, as does the inflationary big bang theory]. The creation of light, the "separation" of light and darkness; God's "breath", "image", "likeness", speech, sight -- all of these expressions are understood as spiritual revelations into the nature of God's relationship to his creation (and not as a science text). The modern fundamentalist "literal" interpretation of Genesis 1 tends to overlook significant theological and linguistic issues and ignores expositors like Philo, Augustine, and Aquinas, disingenuously [or ignorantly] claiming that interpretations other than the "obvious" one are modern inventions. Philo examines several allegorical interpretations in depth. Of comparisons of man to God, Philo states: "Moses says that man was made in the image and likeness of God. And he says well; for nothing that is born on earth is more resembling God than man. And let no one think that he is able to judge of this likeness from the characters of the body: for neither is God a being with the form of a man, nor is the human body like the form of God; but the resemblance is spoken of with reference to the most important part of the soul, namely the mind: for the mind which exists in each individual has been created after the likeness of that one mind which is in the universe as its primitive model, being in some sort the god of that body which carries it about and bears its image within it."