Philo's Portrayal of Moses in the Context of Ancient Judaism
Philo's Portrayal of Moses in the Context of Ancient Judaism

Author: Louis H. Feldman

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess

Published: 2016-12-15

Total Pages: 555

ISBN-13: 0268159521

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Philo's Portrayal of Moses in the Context of Ancient Judaism presents the most comprehensive study of Philo's De Vita Mosis that exists in any language. Feldman, well known for his work on Josephus and ancient Judaism, here paves new ground using rabbinic material with philological precision to illuminate important parallels and differences between Philo's writing on Moses and rabbinic literature. One way in which Hellenistic culture marginalized Judaism was by exposing the apparent defects in Moses' life and character. Philo's De Vita Mosis is a counterattack to these charges and is a vital piece of his attempt to reconcile Judaism and Hellenism. Feldman rigorously examines the text and shows how Philo presents a narrative of Moses's life similar to that of a mythical divine and heroic figure, glorifying his birth, education, and virtues. Feldman demonstrates that Philo is careful to explain in a scientific way those portions of the Bible, particularly miracles, that appear incredible to his skeptical Hellenistic readers. Through Feldman's careful analysis, Moses emerges as unique among ancient lawgivers. Philo's Portrayal of Moses in the Context of Ancient Judaism mirrors the organization of Philo's biography of Moses, which is in two books, the first, in the style of Plutarch, proceeding chronologically, and the second, in the style of Suetonius, arranged topically. Following an introductory chapter, Feldman's study discusses the life of Moses chronologically in the second chapter and examines his virtues topically in the third. Feldman compares the particular features of Philo's portrait of Moses with the way in which Moses is viewed both by Jewish sources in antiquity (including Pseudo-Philo; Josephus; Graeco-Jewish historians, poets, and philosophers; and in the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Samaritan tradition, Dead Sea Scrolls, and rabbinic tradition) and by non-Jewish sources, notably the Greek and Roman writers who mention him.

Philo Judaeus
Philo Judaeus

Author: Naomi G. Cohen

Publisher: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13:

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Philo's specific agenda is seen to be the presentation of a brief for a commitment to Judaism, including the obligation both to the study and to the practice of the Torah commandments and the 'ancient unwritten traditions'. This he argues from the vantage point of a thoroughly hellenized Jew to a thoroughly hellenized audience. Among the subjects treated in the book: Philo as part of an ongoing Palestinian - Diaspora midrashic tradition; Judaism considered as a philosophy: The Greek Virtues and the Mosaic Laws; Philo's Shema (includes a discussion of Philo's conception of the Phylacteries, the Mezuzah, and the absence in Philo of Parashath Tsitsith); the use of many Greek words and Greek word combinations in an idiosyncratic Jewish connotation in Jewish contexts; Philo's curriculum of study; The Oral Law and Philo.

The Jewish Philosophy Reader
The Jewish Philosophy Reader

Author: Daniel H. Frank

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 9780415168601

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A Chomprehensive anthology of classic writings on Jewish philosophy from the Bible to postmodernism.

Is There a Jewish Philosophy?
Is There a Jewish Philosophy?

Author: Leon Roth

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 1999-03-01

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 190982173X

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Elegantly written essays provide an engaging, thought-provoking discussion of the fundamentals of Judaism, in which the application of Jewish ethical principles shines through.

Jewish Worship in Philo of Alexandria
Jewish Worship in Philo of Alexandria

Author: Jutta Leonhardt

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9783161475979

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As a knowledgeable contemporary of the later Second Temple, Philo of Alexandria's approach to worship and his view of the essence of Jewish worship are of particular interest to the study of that period. Jutta Leonhardt discusses his views on the Jewish festivals, especially the Sabbath, on prayer, psalms, hymns, praise and thanksgiving, and on Temple offerings, sacrifices and purification rites. These aspects are presented with their parallels in Jewish and pagan traditions and in Greek and Hellenistic philosophy. Jewish worship in Philo has never been studied as a coherent whole before. Only individual aspects of worship, such as prayer of petition, or thanksgiving, or Philo has been used in studies on Second Temple Judaism as a quarry for general examples of acts of worship.Philo accepted and participated in Jewish worship, and even knew about details of various Jewish traditions of his time. His writings, however, do not refer to them directly and cannot easily be used to reconstruct Jewish rituals of his time. His main aim is to discuss the rites as collected in the Mosaic Torah, since these are binding for all Jews. These laws are frequently presented using the terminology of pagan cults and interpreted with recourse to Greek philosophy. In this philosophical description of actual rites there are parallels to Plato's references to religion in the ideal state in the Nomoi. Philo presents Judaism as the ultimate Hellenistic cult, which combines the various aspects of the different pagan cults in a sublime and perfect form to represent mankind and the universe in the worship of the one God who created the world.

History of Jewish Philosophy
History of Jewish Philosophy

Author: Daniel Frank

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2005-10-20

Total Pages: 871

ISBN-13: 113489435X

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Jewish philosophy is often presented as an addendum to Jewish religion rather than as a rich and varied tradition in its own right, but the History of Jewish Philosophy explores the entire scope and variety of Jewish philosophy from philosophical interpretations of the Bible right up to contemporary Jewish feminist and postmodernist thought. The links between Jewish philosophy and its wider cultural context are stressed, building up a comprehensive and historically sensitive view of Jewish philosophy and its place in the development of philosophy as a whole. Includes: · Detailed discussions of the most important Jewish philosophers and philosophical movements · Descriptions of the social and cultural contexts in which Jewish philosophical thought developed throughout the centuries · Contributions by 35 leading scholars in the field, from Britain, Canada, Israel and the US · Detailed and extensive bibliographies

Philo of Alexandria
Philo of Alexandria

Author: Mireille Hadas-Lebel

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2012-07-26

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9004232370

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Philo (20BCE?-45CE?) is the most illustrious son of Alexandrian Jewry and the first major scholar to combine a deep Jewish learning with Greek philosophy. His unique allegorical exegesis of the Greek Bible was to have a profound influence on the early fathers of the Church. Philo was, above all, a philosopher, but he was also intensely practical in his defence of the Jewish faith and law in general, and that of Alexandria’s embattled Jewish community in particular. A famous example was his leadership of a perilous mission to plead the community’s cause to Emperor Caligula. This monograph provides a guide to Philo's life, his thought and his action, as well as his continuing influence on theological and philosophical thought.