Interpreting Philo’s De Abrahamo

The last of the two sessions in the Philo of Alexandria Group at the SBL Annual Meeting last November was devoted to the theme Interpreting Philo’s De Abrahamo. The session was presided over by Annewies van den Hoek, Harvard University, and the first speaker was professor (now retired) John Dillon, Trinity College, Dublin. He is working on a commentary on De Abrahamo, and presented a section of that work.
It is always fascinating to listen to Professor Dillon. In his ways of presenting, he might remind you somewhat of Philo; easily going into some digressions; because of his great knowledge of this writing and its context, small issues might rise great questions. But he managed to keep himself on the track, to the reward of all who were present.
His presentation was followed by three responses, on which see below.

If you click on the pictures, you'll get them full-sized.

Update:
Ken Schenck, whom I have seen, but never been able to talk to, also has some comments on this session. Check out his blog here.

After Dillon's presentation, Professor Erich Gruen, University of California-Berkeley, was the next speaker. He commented on some aspects of Abraham more than on the particular commentary section presented by Dillon.

Ellen Birmbaum gave the next response to Dillons paper; polite, kindly as ever, but with several to the point observations she gave her response.

The Place of De Abrahamo in Philo's Oeuvre

Professor David T. Runia, now the Master of Queen's College, Queen's College, University of Melbourne, Australia, presented a paper in which he commented on the location and importance of De Abrahamo in Philo's works as a whole.

The Text of Philo's De Abrahamo

The last speaker this evening in the Philo Group was Professor James R. Royse, San Francisco State University, probably the greatest expert on questions related to the texts of Philo works. His paper then dealt with issues concerning textual problems of De Abrahamo.

Arrived in San Diego

I arrived in San Diego Thursday night, after having spent a couple of days with a brother in Indianapolis. It's a terrible long travel, getting here from Norway. Hence it was good to have a break in Indianapolis, even having a great day of golfing with my two brothers.

Today -Friday - I had breakfast with Ellen Birnbaum and David Runia;- or rather they were having breakfast together, and I were invited to join them when I dumped into Ellen. Two great Philo scholars.
I think I will join the Philo session on Monday, and then I have a lot of other sessions I would like to attend, but even more I have to 'chose away.'

When I get home, I will read the latest book by Sarah Pearse, which arrived just before I left Norway. Ellen B said many nice things about the book.

I must also say, I have bought my self a Palm T/X, and now I have downloaded the free Philo texts, both Greek and English. It is even possible to have both texts on the screen simultaneously, and be able to scroll them both, following each other. A great thing! Now I have Philo in my pocket! (well, don't overinterpet that statement....).

Update on SBL

Yesterday I read a posting on the Logos Blog about some sessions that they (www.logos.com) were to be involved in at SBL, but when I looked for it earlier today the blog was -for some reasons - not available.

But now Ellen Birnbaum wrote me today, and reminded me of the sessions, including the whole program, and now the Logos blog is also available.

Focusing on Philo related studies, I would like to point your attention to this sessions (see the Logos Blog for the other sessions):

AM 18-21 Electronic Books and Databases for Research in Josephus, Philo and the Pseudepigrapha
Date: 11/18/2007 - 11:45AM-12:45PM
Room: Manchester 1 - MM

This meeting presents an overview of searchable, morphologically tagged databases of the Greek Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, the writings of Philo (the Philo Concordance project), and the Niese edition of The Works of Josephus with critical apparatus. Along with these databases, scholarly monographs now available in digital form for the study of these texts will be presented.

Leaving for San Diego

I am soon on my way to the SBL Annual Meeting in San Diego. I am making a stop in Chicago/ indianapolis, hence I am leaving tomorrow Tuesday. It might turn out to be a busy meeting; seeing people, buying books,- and even attend some lectures. And as usual there is a lot of collisionss of interest, hence pick and choose the best is the way of surviving through it all. Have a nice time.

Some more lectures on Philo

Using some simple search procedures, I was able to detect the following sessions including one or more lectures on Philo at the upcoming SBL Annual Meeting in San Diego. If you know of some papers I have missed, please use the comments field (kommentarer) below.

Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti
11/18/2007. 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Edward A - GH

Theme: Literary and Historical Contexts of Early Christian Anthropology

Matthew Goff, Florida State University
"Spiritual" and "Fleshly" Types of Humankind in 4QInstruction, Philo and Paul (20 min) Discussion (10 min)

Abstract: 4QInstruction is a sapiential text in Hebrew that was written during the second century BCE and published in 1999. The emergence of this composition provides a new perspective for comparing Diaspora Jewish texts, and Hellenistic literature in general, to the Hebrew wisdom literature of the late Second Temple period. My paper will examine the anthropology of 4QInstruction and compare it to that of Philo's On the Creation of the World and 1 Corinthians. All three texts make a distinction between "fleshly" and "spiritual" kinds of people. Moreover, these three compositions ground their understanding of humankind in an interpretation of Gen 1-3. These and other works include variants of an early Jewish exegetical tradition attested in both Palestine and the wider Hellenistic world.

Jutta Leonhardt-Balzer, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität
A Case of Psychological Dualism: Philo's Interpretation of the Instruction of the Two Spirits in QEx I 23 (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)

Abstract: The Instruction of the Two Spirits (1QS III,13-IV,26) is one of the best-known dualistic texts from Qumran, combining cosmic, ethical and psychological dualism. However, A. Lange and others have shown that it did not originate in the Qumran community, but represents a tradition taken up from outside. In his Quaestiones, Philo presents a wide variety of traditions, not all of which he agrees with. In QEx I 23, he takes up the tradition of the two spirits and interprets it in an emphatically psychological way. This paper argues that Philo is acquainted with the Instruction of the Two Spirits, but takes it up in a way that emphasizes the already existing psychological dualism and allows him to tone down the cosmic aspects which do not fit into his own view.

S18-18 Hellenistic Judaism
11/18/2007. 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Edward D - GH

Theme: Philosophy and Wisdom in Hellenistic Judaism

4^th and 5^th lecture:

Erin Roberts, Brown University
Philo, Wealth, and Stoic Ethics (20 min)

Abstract: The question of whether Philo of Alexandria expresses a consistent ethical view of wealth has been a matter of dispute. Arguments against a consistent view proceed either by drawing attention to the discrepancy between Philo's own personal wealth and passages from his writings that portray wealth as something which should be avoided, or by highlighting the contradictory ways that Philo depicts wealth in his writings (sometimes disparaging it, other times praising it). Arguments for a consistent view maintain that what really matters to Philo is the will of the possessor of wealth or the measure of one's desire for riches; by turning the focus inward, these arguments ameliorate the two sorts of inconsistency mentioned above. The purpose of this paper is to reframe the discussion so that our evaluation of Philo's ethical consistency turns upon the question of whether Philo has a doctrine akin to that of the Stoic adiaphora, and, if so, whether he considers wealth to be contained therein. My argument aligns with those who claim that Philo's view of wealth is consistent, but I think that we have sufficient evidence to take the argument further. With attention to two Stoic paradoxes--"virtue is the only good" and "the sage alone is rich"--I explain how Philo portrays desire to be dangerous to virtue and consider how he proposes that one may overcome or control desire. I maintain that Philo views desire not so much as being dangerous to virtue as being indicative of the absence of virtue and that Philo supports the extirpation of passions from the human soul. Finally, I argue in favor of Philonic consistency because the literature points us toward the conclusion that Philo does have a doctrine of adiaphora which can be seen to underlie his views about economic wealth.

Philippa Townsend, Princeton University
Being Jewish Under Rome: Philo on Greeks and Egyptians (20 min)
Discussion (25 min)

Abstract: Most scholarship on Philo makes a sharp distinction between his attitudes towards Greeks and Egyptians. However, this paper argues that in Against Flaccus and Embassy to Gaius, Philo quite deliberately elides the distinction between Egyptians and Greeks in Alexandria, consistently referring to the Greek citizens of Alexandria as "Egyptians," with all the attendant connotations of extreme barbarism which that term consistently has in his work. While these texts have often been taken to show that the tension in Alexandria was between Jews and the native Egyptians, this reading suggests that Philo's complaint was actually with the Alexandrian Greeks. Further, this paper argues that the conflation of Greeks and Egyptians in these texts should be understood within a broader context in which Philo was concerned to undermine Greek cultural prestige in the eyes of the Romans. Drawing on evidence from On the Contemplative Life, among other texts, I will argue that in his depiction of Greeks, Philo plays on xenophobic anxieties within Roman society about the degenerative effect of Greek moral laxity, while at the same time attempting to bolster the status of Jews as moral exemplars within the Empire. This paper argues, then, that Philo's depiction of both Greeks and Egyptians can only be understood within the context of a conversation with Rome.

S18-66 Hellenistic Judaism
Joint Session With: Josephus, Hellenistic Judaism
11/18/2007. 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Point Loma - MM

Theme: Josephus

Tessa Rajak, University of Reading, Presiding
Fabian Eugene Udoh, University of Notre Dame
Joseph as a Prototype of the Enslaved: Philo (De Iosepho) and Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 2.39-90) (20 min)

Abstract: John Byron, in his 2003 study, Slavery Metaphors in Early Judaism and Pauline Christianity, entitles his section on the representation of Joseph in both Philo (De Iosepho) and Josephus (A.J. 2.39-90): “Joseph as a Paradigmatic Enslaved Figure.” He concludes his brief study by noting that “Joseph, as a paradigmatic enslaved figure, represents the pattern of Humiliation-Obedience-Examination.” While one will readily agree that, in both Philo and Josephus, Joseph is a prototype of the enslaved, Byron’s work as a whole betrays negligible contact with the ideology and practice of slavery in the Greco-Roman world. This contact is certainly lacking in his analysis of the figure of Joseph. Byron, consequently, fails to show how Josephus and Philo might be said to see in the slave-Joseph “a prototype of the enslaved.” In this paper, I will examine the notions of slavery that underlie the presentation of Joseph by both Philo and Josephus. I will draw from the extensive literature of slavery (though there is no “slave literature”) by Greco-Roman authors in order to explore the ways in which Philo and Josephus assimilated, and perhaps flouted, the various modes by which the free negotiated and legitimized the social structure of slavery and the meaning it generated. In so doing, I shall seek to uncover in what manner, and to what end, the slave-Joseph is an exemplary slave. This paper will further the on-going discussion of slavery in first-century Judaism and early Christianity, particularly in the New Testament.

Sessions on Philo at the SBL Annual Meeting

The preliminary Program Book of teh SBL Annual Meeting is now available on the sbl-site.org, and I am trying to get an overview of what sessions I would like to attend. The following is a presentation of the primary Philo sessions in the Philo group:

S18-128

Philo of Alexandria
11/18/2007. 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Emma C - GH

Theme: Philo in Context

Hindy Najman, University of Toronto, Presiding
Julia Annas, University of Arizona
Philo and Plato's Laws (35 min)

Abstract: Philo is familiar with Plato's Laws, and some of his language in his works on the Decalogue and the Special Laws reflects this. More importantly, his project in these works can reasonably be seen as similar to Plato's attempt, in the Laws, to show how a system of laws can be presented in a persuasive framework which brings out the ethical aims of the laws and the virtues encouraged in those who live according to them. Law is thus presented in a eudaimonistic framework.

Robert A. Kraft, University of Pennsylvania
Looking for Philo's Abraham in all the Wrong Places (35 min)

Abstract: Philo's information about Abraham is mostly built on the Genesis traditions, but occasionally also takes the reader outside that body of material. What other Abrahamic literature or traditions might have been extant in the mid first century, apart from what is also found in Josephus? This presentation is intended as part of the "new M.R.James" (Lost Apocrypha of the OT) project, and surveys the various possibilities that have been suggested over the years (with Philo as a focal point).

Allen Kerkeslager, Saint Joseph's University
Rome as an Alternative to Alexandria in the Early Transmission of Philo's Works and Philonism (35 min)

Abstract: The most popular reconstruction of the early history of Philo's works and ideas is that they were directly transmitted from Philo through Jewish communities in Alexandria to the earliest Christian communities in Alexandria. In this view these Christian communities survived the devastating revolt of 116-117 and transmitted various forms of Philonism during the second century, including forms associated with "Gnosticism." This reconstruction is assumed in extrapolations from second-century Christianity in Alexandria back to first-century Judaism and Christianity in Alexandria. Despite its tantalizing simplicity, this reconstruction has become increasingly untenable. First, recent research on the revolt in 116-117 has shown that its suppression was much more devastating than once supposed. Jewish and Christian communities in Egypt could not have survived to pass on Philo's works or ideas. Second, much of the purported evidence for Philonism in second-century Christian documents from Egypt can be better explained as a recent development in Egyptian Christianity. Extrapolation of first-century Jewish or Christian communities from these documents is anachronistic. Third, the use of Philo in Egypt in the late second century appears with a flood of Christian and Jewish literature imported into Egypt. Philo's works had circulated widely enough before the revolt in 116-117 that their appearance in Egypt after this point might also be due to transmission from another region. This paper will suggest that the survival of Philo's works and ideas up to the middle of the second century is due largely to their transmission in Rome, not Alexandria. Philo sent copies of his works to Herodians and other elites in Rome. Philo's works and ideas were transmitted from Rome in the second century by Gentile Christian travelers and missionaries, some of whom reintroduced them to Alexandria.

C. T. Robert Hayward, University of Durham
Philo, Jerome, and Jewish Exegesis of Genesis 49:14-15 (35 min)
Discussion (10 min)

Abstract: The paper will seek to identify ancient materials in the exegesis of the these verses as represnted by LXX, the Aramaic Targumim, and the Midrashim, comparing and contrasting them with the particular observations offered by Philo on the one hand, and with the remarks made by Jerome in his Hebrew Questions on Genesis and the translation he offered in his Vulgate.

S19-120

Philo of Alexandria
11/19/2007. 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Oxford - GH

Theme: Interpreting Philo’s De Abrahamo

Annewies van den Hoek, Harvard University, Presiding
John Dillon, Trinity College, Dublin
A Sample Commentary on Philo De Abrahamo 119–132 (25 min)

Abstract: A sample commentary of De Abrahamo 119-132 will be presented. In this section Philo enters upon an allegorization of the incident described in Genesis 18, where Abraham is approached by, and entertains, a trio of strangers, who are in fact the Lord, under an alternately monadic and triadic guise. This leads Philo to an exposition of the relation between God himself and his two chief Powers, the Creative and the Administrative (represented by theos and kyrios respectively) which is of great interest, both as to its possible sources and to its philosophical significance. The issue of three levels of approach to God, linked to the triad of manifestations of the divinity, is also of much interest, and requires discussion.

Erich Gruen, University of California-Berkeley, Respondent (15 min)
Ellen Birnbaum, Cambridge, MA, Respondent (15 min)

David T. Runia, University of Melbourne

The Place of De Abrahamo in Philo’s Oeuvre (25 min)

Abstract: Philo’s treatise De Abrahamo is called a bios and it describes the life of the first Patriarch. But at the same time it is part of a much larger work, known as the Exposition of the Law. The paper first explores the link between De opificio mundi (the opening treatise) and De Abrahamo (the next treatise). It then examines how the themes in the treatise reflect the larger agenda that Philo had before him when composing his lengthy Commentary on the Law.

James R. Royse, San Francisco State University
The Text of Philo’s De Abrahamo (25 min)

Abstract: The treatise De Abrahamo is well-attested within the manuscript tradition of Philo, and is also included within the ancient Armenian translation of Philo’s works, which often confirms the readings of the better Greek manuscripts. In this paper I examine the place of De Abrahamo within the Philonic corpus, looking at both the Greek manuscripts and the Armenian version. Special attention will be given to the several places where Cohn judges that the Armenian alone has preserved the authentic text.

Discussion (15 min)
Other (30 min)