Who was Philo of Alexandria?
From: Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator Volume I: Genesis (2023)
One of the most remarkable figures of the first century was a Jewish philosopher named Philo of Alexandria.
We know little about Philo’s early life. He is believed to have been born around 25 B.C.E. and died in 50 C.E. We know from Josephus that Philo came from an affluent home. His father received Roman citizenship from Julius Caesar. His brother Alexander Lysimachus worked as a tax administrator in Alexandria and was purported to be quite wealthy. Josephus extended a loan to the Hasmonean King Agrippa I of Judea, contributing a large sum of gold and silver to overlay the Temple's gates in Jerusalem. Alexander had considerable influence in Roman high society and had the ear of Claudius, destined to become the Roman Emperor after Caligula’s death.
While the early Hellenistic Judaic thinkers who composed the Septuagint acted as apologists for Alexandrian Judaism in the fourth and third centuries B.C.E., none would exert a greater influence on Western theology's history Philo of Alexandria. This section will briefly describe this most remarkable ancient Judaic thinker.
Philo’s biographical background is sketchy at best. He belonged to one of the wealthier priestly Alexandrian Jewish families. Alexander's brother had very close political connections with the Herodian dynasty and the Roman court. His brother Alexander was so rich that he plated the gates of the Jerusalem Temple and lent money to Agrippa I.[1] We know from his writings that he frequently socialized with non-Jews at various sporting events such as horse racing, theater, wrestling, and boxing.[2]
Under the Ptolemaic rulers, the Jews enjoyed all civil rights and possessed Greek citizenship. As a proud Jew, Philo saw nothing wrong with a Jew incorporating the principles of paideia in their secular studies curriculum. Philo’s education probably consisted of astronomy, grammar, music, philosophy, rhetoric, logic, and of course—arithmetic and geometry. Philo reminisces about his educational upbringing, which he believed helped him better to appreciate the spiritual and ethical values of Judaic wisdom. Philo regarded philosophy as a “handmaiden to wisdom”:
When Ms. Philosophy first enamored me, I felt a desire for her; in my youth, I consorted with one of her handmaidens—Ms. Grammar. Everything I sired through her, e.g., writing, reading, a familiarity with the works of the poets and historians—everything I accomplished was all because of her. Around the same time, I formed a relationship with another one of her handmaidens, Ms. Geometry. My, she had perfect geometric proportions! I could not help but be mesmerized by her beauty. Although I never took any of her children for my private use, I did bestow them as a gift to my lawful wife. Then I consorted with another handmaiden, and her name was Ms. Music. She had great rhythm; she, too was also perfectly formed. Through her, I became the parent of Diatonic, Chromatic, and Harmonic. Some people will grow old with poetry; others with painting or a variety of other intellectual and artistic pursuits. Tragically, these men never know anything about the real mistress—Ms. Philosophy.[3]
Philo as a Community Leader
Numerous passages in Philo’s writings indicate that he had played a political role in the Jewish community.[4] He also played a pivotal role as a judge in the Alexandrian Jewish courts (as argued by the twentieth-century Philo scholar Edwin Goodenough). Philo preferred the lecture hall of the synagogue, or the Alexandrian Library, or the peace of solitude, which often gave him profound insights about the Torah, himself, and the world around him. Philo also advised his fellow Jews to be cautious whenever dealing with non-Jewish political authorities. According to Philo, the trademark of a cautious man is someone who acts with modesty and is wary of political authorities who lack scruples. A wise man is well aware of the dangers that lurk. An arrogant person endangers himself and risks the lives of his immediate family and community.[5]
Philo spent nearly his entire life in Alexandria; rarely did he travel outside of Egypt. Philo did write about his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but it is unclear whether he journeyed to Jerusalem more than once.[6] He also traveled to Rome and played a major role in representing the Alexandrian Jewish community when he led a mission to meet with the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula, sometime around 39-40 ce.[7] This delegation went to report to the Emperor about the Jews’ suffering and their deprivation of citizenship by the Roman prefect Flaccus. Unfortunately, his meeting ended in failure; Caligula became incensed that the Jewish envoys refused to recognize and celebrate his godhood, and he dismissed his Jewish entourage as foolish.[8] Just how dangerous was this mission? Given Caligula’s erratic personality, Philo and his entourage may have ended in disaster for everyone involved. The Roman historian Anthony A. Barret points out:
The obsessive fear of a major conspiracy might to some degree account for the apparently ruthless behavior of Caligula in the final six months of his life. Seneca, in particular, provides horrific descriptions of his brutality, especially toward senators, of how he scourged them to death, tortured them by fire and the rack, gagged their mouths with sponges to prevent them from crying out, beheaded them, and even executed them in the evening because he was too impatient to wait until the next day. But when the texts are examined carefully, relatively few specific details or names emerge. Three of the cases as transmitted in the sources involve what seem to be variants on one of the conventional behavior traits of the tyrant, who traditionally adds refinement to his cruelty by executing a son in the presence of his father, or even executes them together. Similar stories were told even about Augustus.[9]
The civil unrest in Alexandria for the Jewish community subsided after Caligula’s assassination in early 41 CE. The Roman Senate declared Caligula’s Uncle Claudius as Emperor in his place. Although Philo failed to convince Caligula to restore civility and civil rights to the Alexandrian Jewish community, it appears that Philo did convince Claudius. Among Claudius’ immediate decrees was the restoration of the Alexandria Jewish community’s religious and judicial rights. However, he did not restore their Greek citizenship as they had possessed before.
Philo’s Personal Life and Interests
Philo’s writings reveal many interesting things about his life. For one thing, he was a great patron of the sports. He loved attending horse and chariot races,[10] and often writes about these events as someone who had a deep knowledge of the events he was watching. Throughout his writings, he utilizes them as a metaphor for ethical and spiritual truths pertaining to the evolution of consciousness. Philo also loved watching boxing,[11] wrestling matches[12]and the Olympic games.[13] He attended the theater, where he watched a play written by Euripides or other famous dramatists.[14] In addition, he frequented musical concerts, especially programs involving choral music, because of his love of harmony. Philo did not shy away from being a theater critic. [15] Given his high profile in Alexandrian society, people often invited Philo to banquets, where he sometimes became a helpless slave to the food and drink.[16]
In one memorable passage, Philo said that pork is forbidden because it is “confessed to being the tastiest of meats, as anyone who has ever eaten swine can easily attest.”[17] The reader can only wonder, “How did Philo know?” In one apocryphal story about a conversation attested by Philo’s wife, we discover that despite his wealth, Philo and his wife lived somewhat of a frugal life. “Philo’s wife was asked in an assembly of many women why she alone of all her gender did not wear any golden ornaments, she replied: ‘The virtue of a husband is a sufficient ornament for his wife.’”[18]
Regardless of whether this story was true, we know this about Philo. He was deeply in touch with his spirituality and often shared a number of his personal religious experiences.[19] He also attended retreats where he would practice spiritual exercises.[20] Philo also writes about the prophetic experience from a personal perspective.[21] One gets the impression that Philo strove to understand firsthand what the biblical prophets experienced in their ecstatic prophetic experiences. Philo was a complex person, yet his mannerisms were surprisingly modern. Yet for all of his spiritual aspirations to know God more intimately and fully, he never abandoned his work as a leader representing and instructing his community, while defending the Jews of Alexandria against all foes who sought to destroy her.
Did Philo Know Hebrew?
Scholars have long debated whether Philo knew Biblical Hebrew or not. Goodenough, Sandmel, Winston, Runia, and others think he did not know Hebrew. Harry A. Wolfson points out (like many others) that Philo never quotes from the original Hebrew text but from the Septuagint. However, since he was teaching a Greek audience, citations from a Hebrew text would have fallen upon deaf ears. That being said, his exposition of Hebrew name etymologies reflects someone who had some knowledge of Biblical Hebrew.
Critics assert that Philo might have had special name lexicons that were part of the Jewish community library; alternatively, he might have asked elders who could read Hebrew for assistance in his renderings. This theory is unproven, and the answer to this critical question remains speculative. Samuel Belkin’s (1911-1976) research on Philo makes an altogether different argument that goes beyond name etymologies. Belkin argues that Philo frequently ignores the Septuagint’s rendering of a verse in many legal expositions, preferring to use the Hebrew text that Jewish scholars had used in his day.[22] Admittedly, Philo believed that the Septuagint had a canonical status equal to the original Hebrew Bible, for both were the product of Divine inspiration.
[1] Cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.159–160; Jewish War 5.205.
[2] Prelim. Studies 46; and Cherubim 79.
[3] Prelim. Studies 74-76.
[4] Special Laws 3:1-5.
[5] Dreams 2:81-82.
[6] Providence 2.64.
[7] Two of his works, Flaccus (In Flaccum) and The Embassy to Gaius (De Legatione ad Gaium). provide very important details about his meeting.
[8] Embassy 370. Caligula’s madness is well-known; he used to appear in public dressed as various gods and demigods such as Hercules, Mercury, Venus and Apollo (Philo, Embassy 11-15). Reportedly, he began referring to himself as a god when meeting with politicians and he was referred to as Jupiter on occasion in public documents. Dio and Suetonius make similar observations about the Caligula (cf. Cal. 52; Dio, Xiph. 59. 26. 6 ff.). See Ittai Gradel, Emperor Worship And Roman Religion (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2002).
[9] Anthony A. Barrett, Caligula: The Corruption of Power (London, New York: B.T. Batsford Ltd., 1993, 2001), p. 150.
[10] Creation 87; Alleg. Interp. 3:128; Worse 141; Husbandry 72-75, passim. It is clear that of all the sporting events Philo attended, he enjoyed the horse and chariot races the best.
[11] Cherubim 80.
[12] Husbandry 121.
[13] Unchangeable 31:147.
[14] Every Good Man 99.
[15] Drunkenness 177.
[16] Alleg. Interp. 3:155.
[17] Special Laws 4:101.
[18] Philo, Fragments, Sermon 123.
[19] Cherubim 27; Migration 34-35.
[20] Contemplative Life 28.
[21] Heir 69-74.
[22] For numerous examples proving Philo’s knowledge of Hebrew, see Samuel Belkin, Philo and the Oral Law: The Philonic Interpretation of Biblical Law in Relation to the Palestinian Halakah (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1940), 36-48. More recently, Naomi Cohen’s excellent article in Tradition, “Philo’s Place in the Chain of Jewish Tradition,” which makes a similar case for Philo’s knowledge of Biblical Hebrew (pp. 11-13), is a compelling read.