An Essence-Energy Distinction in Philo as the Basis for the Language of Deification (original) (raw)

Journal of Theological Studies 68.2 (2017): 551-571

This article advances a new interpretation of Philo of Alexandria’s ‘deification’ of Moses. Though previous scholarship has provided a variety of explanations for how the Jewish writer is able to extend the name ‘God’ to Moses, the present study attempts to improve upon earlier theories by rooting the language of deification in the philosophical distinctions that Philo himself espouses in his doctrine of God. Rejecting the notion that Philo was not a strict monotheist, and that the language of deification implies a mitigated monotheism, this paper argues that Philo’s God is indeed one, but that the singular Deity has both an essence, which remains transcendent and imparticipable, and an energeia, or activity, which is operative and present in the world and shareable with such biblical figures as Moses. The distinction, between ‘what’ God is and how he is present in creation, in turn accounts for the well-known but problematic concept of the Logos, which David Winston has properly called ‘the face of God turned toward creation’. That the name ‘God’ encompasses both dimensions of the Deity is what allows Philo to call Moses ‘God’ without attributing to him the very divine essence.

"Divine Embodiment in Philo of Alexandria," Journal for the Study of Judaism (2018): 223 - 262

Journal for the Study of Judaism, 2018

Because later polemics established Jews and Christians as binary opposites, distinguished largely by their views on God’s body, scholars have not sufficiently explored how other Jews in the early Roman period, who stood outside the Jesus movement, conceived of how the divine could become embodied on earth. The first-century Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria often operates as the quintessential representative of a Jew who stressed God’s absolute incorporeality. Here I demonstrate how Philo also presents a means by which a part of Israel’s God could become united with human materiality, showing how the patriarchs and Moses function as his paradigms. This evidence suggests that scholarship on divine embodiment has been limited by knowledge of later developments in Christian theology. Incarnational formulas, like that found in John 1:14 were not the only way that Jews in the first and second century CE understood that God could become united with human form.

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“Seeing God in Philo of Alexandria: The Logos, the Powers, or the Existent One?” The Studia Philonica Annual 21 (2009): 25–47

This essay surveys selected Philonic visio Dei passages and demonstrates the presence of four recurring elements in all three of the commentary series. (1) The identity of the object of sight varies, not only from passage to passage in a treatise, but even within the same passage. Nevertheless, in all three commentary series there are clear statements of the visibility of the “Existent One” (τὸ ὄν). (2) A hierarchy of visionary accomplishment, based on the spiritual advancement of the noetic philosopher, often determines who is seen, and quite often it is τὸ ὄν who is seen by the highest category of mystic philosopher. (3) The intermediaries operate as autonomous agents, conceptually distinct from τὸ ὄν, both in passages promoting a hierarchy of visionary accomplishment, as well as those depicting the Logos as the ἀναγωγός, the “means and guide” of the noetic ascent. (4) Philo occasionally allows his allegiance to divine transcendence to direct the discussion, and τὸ ὄν is then said to be absolutely “non-visible.” It is also apparent that “intermediary-free” visio Dei passages are not as commonly encountered as those populated by intermediaries, and are most prevalent in the Exposition.

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“Seeing God in Philo of Alexandria: Means, Methods, and Mysticism,” Journal for the Study of Judaism 43.2 (2012): 147–179

For Philo of Alexandria, seeing God represents the pinnacle of human experience. This essay examines three important aspects of that experience: the effectual means of the vision, the methods employed in evoking it, and the function and influence of Philo’s mysticism in the experience. While in some contexts Philo emphasizes the singular role of God in empowering the contemplative ascent and affording the vision, many others highlight the part played by human effort. Philo’s accounts of the practices that evoke the ascent and vision of God are also varied. Though Platonic philosophical contemplation and the practice of virtue are occasionally implicated, in most cases exegetical text work is instrumental. Finally, while some have attempted to divorce Philo’s mystical praxis from the vision of God, contending that “seeing” is simply a metaphor for “knowing” (i.e., “achieving a rational awareness of God’s existence”), a number of factors indicate the importance of Philo’s mysticism in the experience and suggest that an actual, mystical visual encounter underlies and informs these textual representations.

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God’s Power and Powers in Philo of Alexandria

God’s Power and Powers in Philo of Alexandria, 2023

A treatise on the concept of power in Philo of Alexandria. It deals with the relation of Philo to the Old Testament traditions, for which the concept of power is surprisingly significant. It also examines his reception of ancient philosophy. It notes the differentiated conception of power in Philo and discusses its relation to Philo's conception of God.

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The Logos and Its Function in the Writings of Philo

2000

© 1998, A Journal from the Radical Reformation, Spring 1998, Vol. 7, No. 3. The term Logos (λογος) was widely used in the Greco-Roman culture and in Judaism. It has many meanings such as word, speech, statement, discourse, refutation, ratio, account, explanation, and reason. But the meanings which have philosophical and religious implications are basically two: as an inward thought or reason, an intuitive conception, and as an outward expression of thought in speech. Therefore in any theistic system the word could refer to a revelation or be personified and designate a separate being. In most schools of Greek philosophy this term designated a rational, intelligent and thus vivifying principle of the universe. The Greeks deduced the existence of this principle from understanding the universe as a living reality, comparing it to a living creature. The ancient people did not have the dynamic concept of “function”; therefore every phenomenon had to have an underlying factor, agent, or p...

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The Metaphysics of Truth: The Divine Abstract in Enoch and Philo

This paper examines the ordered cosmos of 1 and 2 Enoch and the intelligible cosmos of Philo. I hope to demonstrate that there is a strong similarity between the Enoch literature's narrative and the cosmological thought of Philo. I will argue for a point of connection between (1) Philo's theory of the intelligible cosmos as an abstract formula latent in the phenomenal world; (2) The Enoch literature's principle of divinely prescribed order and the results of transgression from it; and (3) Mircea Eliade's theory of the “archaic mentality” where reality and value are qualities defined by the similarity of an object to the transcendent form. Examining these theories in tangent will hopefully provide some original insight into an area of Hellenistic Judaism's cosmological thought which has already been highlighted by scholars in other texts of the time.

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Philo of Alexandria: Holiness as self-possession and selftranscendence

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

Philo’s writings can be seen as a crucial link between Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity, particularly in his way of drawing on Greek philosophy in reading the scriptures. Pierre Hadot has pointed out how Graeco-Roman philosophy was seen at that time as a practical subject aiming at the care of self in its twofold movement of interiorisation and exteriorisation. This article explores how Philo draws on these aspects of philosophy to articulate his Jewish understanding of the journey towards perfection or holiness.

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PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JEWISH EXEGETE AND HIS INTERCULTURAL CONDITION - Scriptura, v. 114 (2015)

Philo of Alexandria, the first century Jewish exegete, is one of the most important non-Christians in the history of Christianity. It is common to find brief reference to his works in theological manuals or introductory books on the New Testament. However, it is very common to find reductionist commentaries on the man and his works. In order to appreciate the real importance of Philo’s treatises (and his relevance for our third world postcolonial context) it is necessary to realize the complexity of his cultural context and of his agenda. This is the main aim of this article.

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