Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Some more reviews
Lester Grabbe has a review in www.bokkreviews.org on Reinhard Gregor Kratz, Das Judentum im Zeitalter des Zweiten Temples. Forschungen zum Alten Testament, 42 Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004, pp. x + 387 Hardcover As far as I can see from the review, there is nothing about Philo in this volume. Too bad...:-|
Monday, June 27, 2005
Aphrodisias
The review of Harland's book (see below), made me aware of a website, dealing with Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity: The Late Roman and Byzantine Inscriptions, by Charlotte Roueché, King's College London.
- This site contains:
- Inscriptions
- Commentary
- Indices and reference materials
- Information about the project
It it just the kind of site that makes Internet so extremely useful.
Have a look!
Review of Harland, Associations, Synagogues
The Bryn Mawr Classical Review has just published a review ofPhilip A. Harland, Associations, Synagogues, and Congregations: Claiming a Place in Ancient Mediterranean Society. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. Pp. xvi, 399. ISBN 0-8006-3589-2. $22.00. You can read the review Here.
The reviewer says, inter alia, that "Harland's most valuable contribution is to weave together his critical reading of areas that have generated particular academic interest in recent years -- Greco-Roman associations, the Roman imperial cult, and synagogues and churches during the formative period of Judaism and Christianity. In so doing, he succeeds in challenging a simplistic reading of early Judaeo-Christianity as self-enclosed sectarian groups, in favour of a more complex picture that allows for a spectrum of group-society interaction, ranging from the sectarian to the moderately integrated."
The reviewer says, inter alia, that "Harland's most valuable contribution is to weave together his critical reading of areas that have generated particular academic interest in recent years -- Greco-Roman associations, the Roman imperial cult, and synagogues and churches during the formative period of Judaism and Christianity. In so doing, he succeeds in challenging a simplistic reading of early Judaeo-Christianity as self-enclosed sectarian groups, in favour of a more complex picture that allows for a spectrum of group-society interaction, ranging from the sectarian to the moderately integrated."
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
The Septuagint
A new review related to the focus of this blog has been posted on www.bookreviews.org: Dines, Jennifer,
Edited by Michael A. Knibb
The Septuagint
London: T&T Clark, 2004.Pp. xvii + 196. Cloth.
$29.95. ISBN 056708464.Reviewed by Frank Shaw Cincinnati, OH 45209
I have not seen the book myself, but the reviewer seems quite favorable to it as he writes:
"This small but handy manual for an extremely complex topic, originally slotted for a place in Sheffield/Continuums recently defunct Guides to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha but now part of T&T Clark/Continuum's Understanding the Bible and Its
World series, is the third introduction to the Septuagint to appear in English in just four years after a nearly century-long hiatus."
"In spite of (a)few slips, this enjoyable introduction by a highly qualified and wellbalanced LXX scholar will fill a need. The work contains three handy indices and a seventeen-page bibliography, and for use as a textbook it has the added attraction of the Hebrew and Greek always being transliterated (and usually translated), with only a few highly technical discussions of actual texts."
Edited by Michael A. Knibb
The Septuagint
London: T&T Clark, 2004.Pp. xvii + 196. Cloth.
$29.95. ISBN 056708464.Reviewed by Frank Shaw Cincinnati, OH 45209
I have not seen the book myself, but the reviewer seems quite favorable to it as he writes:
"This small but handy manual for an extremely complex topic, originally slotted for a place in Sheffield/Continuums recently defunct Guides to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha but now part of T&T Clark/Continuum's Understanding the Bible and Its
World series, is the third introduction to the Septuagint to appear in English in just four years after a nearly century-long hiatus."
"In spite of (a)few slips, this enjoyable introduction by a highly qualified and wellbalanced LXX scholar will fill a need. The work contains three handy indices and a seventeen-page bibliography, and for use as a textbook it has the added attraction of the Hebrew and Greek always being transliterated (and usually translated), with only a few highly technical discussions of actual texts."
Friday, June 17, 2005
Josephus und das Neue Testament
Just a note to mention a seminar planned for May 2006:
2. Internationales Symposium zum Corpus Judaeo-Hellenisticum (CJH)
“Josephus und das Neue Testament - das Neue Testament und Josephus: Wechselseitige Wahrnehmung”,
25. - 28. Mai 2006, Greifswald
Das Symposium ist als die zweite Tagung im Rahmen des CJH-Projektes geplant - die erste (“Philo und das NT - das NT und Philo”) fand 1.-4. Mai 2003 in Eisenach / Jena statt. Alle Beiträge sind inzwischen im Tagungsband nachzulesen: Philo und das Neue TestamentPhilo und das Neue Testament ..., hg. von Roland Deines und Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, WUNT 172, Tübingen 2004.
Nach bewährtem Modell soll es auch auf dem Greifswalder Symposium wieder Paar-Vorträge geben - die dasselbe Thema sowohl aus der Perspektive des Josephus als auch aus der Perspektive des Neuen Testamentes behandeln. Einzelvorträge zu speziellen Themen schließen sich an. Ein öffentlicher Vortrag ist für den 26. Mai (Fr), 20.00 vorgesehen.
A presentation of the program is given here.
2. Internationales Symposium zum Corpus Judaeo-Hellenisticum (CJH)
“Josephus und das Neue Testament - das Neue Testament und Josephus: Wechselseitige Wahrnehmung”,
25. - 28. Mai 2006, Greifswald
Das Symposium ist als die zweite Tagung im Rahmen des CJH-Projektes geplant - die erste (“Philo und das NT - das NT und Philo”) fand 1.-4. Mai 2003 in Eisenach / Jena statt. Alle Beiträge sind inzwischen im Tagungsband nachzulesen: Philo und das Neue TestamentPhilo und das Neue Testament ..., hg. von Roland Deines und Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, WUNT 172, Tübingen 2004.
Nach bewährtem Modell soll es auch auf dem Greifswalder Symposium wieder Paar-Vorträge geben - die dasselbe Thema sowohl aus der Perspektive des Josephus als auch aus der Perspektive des Neuen Testamentes behandeln. Einzelvorträge zu speziellen Themen schließen sich an. Ein öffentlicher Vortrag ist für den 26. Mai (Fr), 20.00 vorgesehen.
A presentation of the program is given here.
Biblioblogging at the SBL
While some would perhaps not count the Philo of Alexandria Blog among the biblioblogs, it is in fact, a blog that is as close as possible to this group. As Philo is primarily an expositor of the Scriptures, a blog dealing with Philo's works would necessarily also have to deal with the same Scriptures, and indeed, the New Testament too.
At the SBL Annual Meeting this year in Philadelphia, there will be a CARG Session on biblioblogging:Computer Assisted Research Section
Theme: The Pleasures, Pains and Prospects for Biblioblogging (S20-12)
Sunday, November 20th, 9:00am — 11: 00am
The phenomenon of "blogging", the maintenance of a regular online journal or weblog, has proliferated massively in recent times. As in all areas of life, political, religious, cultural, art, entertainment and media, so too in the area of academic Biblical Studies, the blog is an informative, innovative, up-to-the-minute way of discovering more about the subject, discussing the latest developments, interacting on controversial topics and enjoying the lighter side of the discipline. These "biblioblogs" are now widely consulted by those in the guild, and are contributing something of interest and intelligence. But what is the future of the biblioblogs? What is their scope for development? This session gathers together a panel of pioneers in this area."
See also the comments on this event on Mark Goodacre's New Testament Gateway WeBlog here.
At the SBL Annual Meeting this year in Philadelphia, there will be a CARG Session on biblioblogging:
Theme: The Pleasures, Pains and Prospects for Biblioblogging (S20-12)
Sunday, November 20th, 9:00am — 11: 00am
The phenomenon of "blogging", the maintenance of a regular online journal or weblog, has proliferated massively in recent times. As in all areas of life, political, religious, cultural, art, entertainment and media, so too in the area of academic Biblical Studies, the blog is an informative, innovative, up-to-the-minute way of discovering more about the subject, discussing the latest developments, interacting on controversial topics and enjoying the lighter side of the discipline. These "biblioblogs" are now widely consulted by those in the guild, and are contributing something of interest and intelligence. But what is the future of the biblioblogs? What is their scope for development? This session gathers together a panel of pioneers in this area."
See also the comments on this event on Mark Goodacre's New Testament Gateway WeBlog here.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Philo and the city
Sometimes you find articles, or references to articles you think you ought to have seen before, or read before, or at least- have noticed before. You may think they are new to you -then you search your bibliography and find it is already there- . Sometimes something old seems new, but they aren't. And sometimes something new seems old. And it is, - but it is nevertheless new to you..
What am I trying to say? That even in such a small field of study as 'Philo of Alexandria', it is hard to be on the cutting edge of what is published about him, his works and the various ideas therein.
The article below I should have known, but I didn't. Did you?
Runia, David T. "The Idea and the Reality of the City in the Thought of Philo of Alexandria"
Journal of the History of Ideas - Volume 61, Number 3, July 2000, pp. 361-379.
Excerpt
The theme of my paper is the conception of the city as a social and cultural phenomenon held by the Jewish exegete and philosopher Philo of Alexandria (15 bc to 50 ad). There can be no doubt that the city occupied a central position in his own life. As an inhabitant of Alexandria he was thoroughly immersed in a highly urbanized form of life. From a more theoretical angle the city has an important place in his thought because of what it represents: of all physical products of human activity the city is the largest and most complex (here there is in fact little difference between Philo and us, although there is an obvious difference in scale). It is not my aim to examine Philo's political philosophy, i.e., his views on how the city should be governed, nor his views on the actual political administration of the Roman Empire in his time. These subjects have already been treated with sufficient competence by others. 1 I will argue that, though as an Alexandrian Philo was very much a homo urbanus, he nevertheless reveals a significant ambivalence towards the city. This attitude is related to his dual ideological background (Jewish and Greek), and anticipates developments in later antiquity.
What am I trying to say? That even in such a small field of study as 'Philo of Alexandria', it is hard to be on the cutting edge of what is published about him, his works and the various ideas therein.
The article below I should have known, but I didn't. Did you?
Journal of the History of Ideas - Volume 61, Number 3, July 2000, pp. 361-379.
Excerpt
The theme of my paper is the conception of the city as a social and cultural phenomenon held by the Jewish exegete and philosopher Philo of Alexandria (15 bc to 50 ad). There can be no doubt that the city occupied a central position in his own life. As an inhabitant of Alexandria he was thoroughly immersed in a highly urbanized form of life. From a more theoretical angle the city has an important place in his thought because of what it represents: of all physical products of human activity the city is the largest and most complex (here there is in fact little difference between Philo and us, although there is an obvious difference in scale). It is not my aim to examine Philo's political philosophy, i.e., his views on how the city should be governed, nor his views on the actual political administration of the Roman Empire in his time. These subjects have already been treated with sufficient competence by others. 1 I will argue that, though as an Alexandrian Philo was very much a homo urbanus, he nevertheless reveals a significant ambivalence towards the city. This attitude is related to his dual ideological background (Jewish and Greek), and anticipates developments in later antiquity.
Idolatry and the ...
Miller, Isaac (2004)
Idolatry and the Polemics of World-Formation from Philo to Augustine.
The Journal of Religious History 28 (2), 126-145.
This article examines the association of idolatry with erroneous ideas about the natural world in the writings of late antique Jewish and Christian authors. It follows two polemical genres. The first is the hexaemeral commentaries composed by Philo of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea and Augustine, which positioned the hexaemeron against the background of natural philosophy and used various critiques of idolatry to revise or refute pagan natural philosophy. The second genre is that of heresiology initiated by Irenaeus of Lyon and adapted by Augustine to refute Gnostic and Manichaean cosmological myths and disregard for the creation account in Genesis. The article analyses a variety of ways in which the prohibitions against idolatry figured in methodological questions about how to conceptualize the natural world, how to locate the sources of conceptual error, and how to distinguish those errors from truth.
Idolatry and the Polemics of World-Formation from Philo to Augustine.
The Journal of Religious History 28 (2), 126-145.
This article examines the association of idolatry with erroneous ideas about the natural world in the writings of late antique Jewish and Christian authors. It follows two polemical genres. The first is the hexaemeral commentaries composed by Philo of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea and Augustine, which positioned the hexaemeron against the background of natural philosophy and used various critiques of idolatry to revise or refute pagan natural philosophy. The second genre is that of heresiology initiated by Irenaeus of Lyon and adapted by Augustine to refute Gnostic and Manichaean cosmological myths and disregard for the creation account in Genesis. The article analyses a variety of ways in which the prohibitions against idolatry figured in methodological questions about how to conceptualize the natural world, how to locate the sources of conceptual error, and how to distinguish those errors from truth.
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