This is the third posting in a series of Recommended Reading Lists in Philo. The first postings can be read below, or by clicking here:
Recommended Reading List III
As mentioned in the former posting on Recommended Readings, E.R. Goodenough provides some very useful suggestions of where to start and how to proceed when wanting to read the works of Philo himself; that is, he recommends which works to start with, and how to work one’s way through the writings of Philo. I recommend these suggestions of Goodenough, and present them below.
I have, however, deliberately refrained from commenting on the contents of each individual treaties. If the reader has read through the other introductory material mentioned in the two former postings on Recommended Readings, s/he will already have an impression of what to expect/what to look for.
In addition, here is the time to return to the introductory work of Schrenk, which provides brief characterizations of the individual treatises of Philo.
However, if one want a much more thorough presentation of the various writings of Philo, one should turn to the comprehensive introduction to Philo and his works written by Peder Borgen
1) The first work(s) to read, according to Goodenough, is
Against Flaccus, and
The Embassy to Gaius.
These are the more historical treatises of Philo. They are not his first writings, but they demonstrate how Philo considered the situation of the Jews in the Diaspora, but also the role of Israel.
2) Next comes On the Contemplative Life.
It is fragmentary, but was probably a part of an apology for the Jews, addressed to Gentiles. This work should be followed by the remains of what is now called
The Hypothetica,
a work that also should be categorized as apologetical, written for a Gentile audience.
3) According to Goodenough then, the student should next read Philo’s two books on
The Life of Moses De vita Mosis I-II.
As in the ancient time, Goodenough surmises, reading these books will probably make the reader eager to get to know more about the Jewish traditions. This can be obtained by reading further in Philo’s works, proceeding with
4) The Exposition of the Laws.
This is a not a label made by Philo, but is made by scholars in recent times, constituting a comprehensive category, comprising several treatises, representing Philo’s expositions of the Law; according to Goodenough,- written for the Gentiles.
On the Creation of the World (De Opificio Mundi)
On Abraham (De Abrahamo)
On Joseph (De Josepho)
On the Deacalogue (De Decalogue)
On The Special Laws I-IV (De Specialibus Legibus I-IV)
On Vitues (De virtutibus)
On Rewards and Punishments (De praemis et poenis)
Goodenough then says: “The reader who has followed Philo to this point has had a very good introduction to the man, and stands at the threshold of his deeper thought” (p. 45).
5) The next group of writings to be read, many scholars suggest are written for the more informed readers. It is as Philo here wants to lead his readers further into his intellectual world. These works are also much more allegorical; according to Goodenough they were written for the Jews. Not all scholars of today are in complete agreement with Goodenough in dividing the intended readers in Gentile and Jewish readers in this way, but most would probably agree that the treatises to be mentioned (and read) now, are for the more advanced readers. Anyway, a reader of today will probably be much better off if s/he read the Expositio before these.
The Allegory
Consists of 18 titles and 21 books; it starts out from specific biblical texts, but often digresses from in a way sometimes quite frustrating to the uninformed reader. Goodenough suggests that “Philo meant these works to be read by initiates who knew the main parts of his doctrines, and who would read them as books of devotion” p.47).
These books take their point of departures in some specific biblical texts. I will here list them according to the biblical texts they deal with:
Legum allegoriae I (Genesis 2:1-17)
Legum allegoriae II (Genesis 2:18-3:1a)
Legum allegoriae III Genesis 3:8b-19)
De Cherubim Genesis 3:24-4:1)
De sacrificcis Abelis et Caini Genesis 4:2-4)
Quod deterius potiori insidiari soleat Genesis 4:8-15)
De posteritate Caini Genesis 4:16-25)
De gigantibus Genesis 6:1-4a)
Quod deus sit immutabilis Genesis 6:4b-12)
De agricultura Genesis 9:20-21)
De plantatione Genesis 9:20-21)
De ebrietate Genesis 9:20-21)
De confusione linguarum Genesis 11:1-9)
De migratione Abrahami Genesis 12:1-6)
Quis rerum divinarum heres Genesis 15:2-18)
De congressu quaerendae eruditionis gratia Genesis 16:1-6)
De fuga et inventione Genesis 16:6b-14)
De mutatione nominum Genesis 17:1-5, 16-22)
De Deo Genesis 18)
De somniis I Genesis 28:10-22 + 31:10-13)
De somniis II Genesis 37:8-11; 40:9-11, 16-17; 41:17-24)
Having read through The Allegory, there remain only a few works.
Questions and Answers ad Genesim
Questions and Answers ad Exodum
These are a kind of commentaries on two biblical books, but commentaries in form of questions and answers. They may very well originate in some setting of teaching of Philo, and are interesting as examples of how he could deal with particular texts.
The rest belong to the more philosophical works of Philo. Some of them demonstrate too that there are parts missing, or in some cases only one of a two volume work is preserved. Those who have managed to read through the abovementioned works of Philo will surely want to read these too; and in this way they will have a great impression of how variegated the authorship of Philo was and is:
On the Eternity of the World
Every Good Man is Free,
On Providence,
Alexander, or On the Question whether dumb animals have the power of reason.
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