The Restoration of Israel:

SBL's Bookreview services (www.bookreviews.org) announces some new reviews being published on their web site. Among these is a review of Fuller, Michael E.
The Restoration of Israel: Israel’s Re-gathering and the Fate of the Nations in Early Jewish Literature and Luke-Acts (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche 138; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2006. Pp. xi + 332. Cloth. €91.59.ISBN 3110188961.
The reviewer is M. Eugene Boring, says in his introduction: "This informative study is a slightly revised version of the author’s 2005 Ph.D. dissertation
at the University of Durham, directed by Loren T. Stuckenbruck. The volume is a timely contribution to the current discussion of the theme of exile and restoration in early Jewish literature, regarded both in its own right and as context and background for themes of New Testament theology. E. P. Sanders, for example, has emphasized the importance of Israel’s ideas of restoration in studying first-century Jewish eschatology, the Pauline writings, and especially the historical Jesus, and N. T. Wright has declared the early Jewish understanding of exilic theology to be the mother of early Christian origins—in opposition to Ernst Käsemann’s dictum that apocalyptic played this central role. Although Fuller does not make his dissertation a direct challenge to Wright’s thesis, he claims that Wright has overstated the prevalence of the exilic model of restoration in the period of Second Temple Judaism and does not do justice to the diversity and complexity of this motif (10–11). Fuller divides the exile/restoration model of early Judaism’s selfunderstanding into three main motifs—Israel’s regathering, the defeat of the nations, and a new temple—devoting a chapter to each of the first two topics, but dealing with the
motif of a new temple only incidentally."

Concerning Philo, who is dealt with in chapter One, part 6 (The Return as Spiritual Journey; Philo of Alexandria:The UNiversal Pilgrimage to God, pp. 82-102), Boring says: "The chapter concludes with a discussion of Philo as representative of that Diaspora Judaism that did not find the Diaspora as such oppressive and did not anticipate a literal return of Israel to the land. Philo mostly ignores biblical references to restoration. When he does attend to them, he mostly spiritualizes them. Whatever lingering expectation of a literal return may be present in Philo’s writings is subjugated to this spiritual or allegorical aspect."

Philo usually keeps both to a spiritual and literal interpretations, and one might wonder if Fuller here underplays the literal view of Philo's view on the return of Israel; cf. here at least the famous statment in Praem 162-172. I wonder how Fuller interprets this passage.

You can find a link to the List of contents on this page.

Philo at SBL International Meeting?

The 25th SBL International Meeting will be held this summer in Vienna, Juli 22-26. Due to some other events, I will not be able to attend, but is nevertheless interested in how Philo will be present(ed) at the meeting.

There will be no session exclusively devoted to the works of Philo, but as often is the case, he will be present(ed) in several papers. Here are the papers that - according to my search of their abstracts - Philo will be present(ed):

Elena Narinskaya, Durham University
A Dialogue of Ideas through the Centuries: Ephrem and Philo in Their Approaches to Various Aspects of Life
There are self-evident differences between the Church Father of the fourth century, St. Ephrem the Syrian, and the Jewish scholar of the first century, Philo of Alexandria. They belonged to different historical periods, they lived in different countries, and they confessed different religious traditions. However, one can identify similar presentations in the writings of the two authors and their comparable ideological perception. The paper will compare writings of the two authors on the various aspects of life including, De Vita Contemplativa, the life of
virtue, the life of nature.. The paper will emphasise the similarities of the two authosrs’ approaches to life and to highlight their shared ideas, which will be presented and sorted out thematically. The presentation will deal with two basic questions: 1) Are there more then just striking similarities between the presentations of the two authors? 2) Are we to give more credit to the interactions between Christian and Jewish Scholarship?


Hindy Najman, University of Toronto
The Authority and Transformation of Mosaic Law in Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls
I will consider the variety of ways in which Mosaic Law is invoked, appropriated and reconceived in both the writings of Philo of Alexandria and some of the scrolls discovered at Qumran. The authority of the Mosaic Torah is essential to comprehending communal self-definition. Similarities and differences will be considered.
In addition, the paper will address the transformation of Mosaic Torah within the context of its appropriation.

24-10
Nicola Hayward, McGill University
Women’s Commensality and Women’s Empowerment in Greco-Roman Banquet Settings
This paper focuses on women’s commensality in relation to the sensual setting of the banquet. Themes to be engaged include how meals function in the sensual setting of the banquet, the implication for women and male reactions. There is a connection between sexual activity, the belly and the appetites. This is reflected in Philo’s
and Clement of Alexandria’s anxiety about the body. Given this connection between food and sexual appetites, women’s presence at public meals added an element of danger to the context, since women were identified with licentious carnality. The dominant discourse in antiquity presented women who participated in banquets as
sexually promiscuous. This discourse, facilitated by negative perceptions of the female body and the sexualized nature of banquets, elicited criticisms of women from Greco-Roman writers who saw a respectable woman’s participation in them as being unchaste. This discourse has always considered the topic from the male’s perspective.
Recently the theme of meal settings has generated significant interest from scholars, with particular focus on understanding early Christian meal practice, including the importance of dining for males. Previous studies, which focus on women’s commensality, tend to concentrate on private/public distinction, yet the sensual
setting of the banquet and its implication for women, from a woman’s perspective, remains unexplored. I argue that women’s participation in public meals continued to received harsh criticism from the male elite, partly because women were moving from private to public space, but also because women’s commensality provided an environment that empowered women. My contribution considers what forms such empowerment might have taken from the perspectives of the female courtesan and “respectable women.” I will locate my research between Kathleen Corely who articulates female commensality in relation to public/private roles, and Joan Burton
who argues for the loosening of gender and class restrictions in the Hellenistic period.

Markus Tiwald, University of Vienna
Paul: Apostle of Christ and Jew
The interpretation of the “Tora” – and all that was included in this very complex expression – was the central topic in early Judaism and was handled in a wide range of different theological concepts. The diversity of these concepts can be highlighted by the differing theology in the scriptures of Qumran, Jewish pseudepigrapha and
the writings of Philo and Josephus. According to these results it can be shown, that the theology of the apostle Paul has to be understood as an inner-Jewish dialogue about the right fulfillment and interpretation of scripture – but not as an “abrogation of the Tora”, as often suggested by some exegetes. Paul was Jew – and he remained Jew also in his Christian times. As a Christian he did not abrogate the Tora, but adopted the position of a liberal Tora-interpretation that was already present in early Judaism.

Ljubica Jovanovic, Vanderbilt University
‘Open His Mouth and His Ears to Hear and Speak with His Tongue in the Revealed
Language’: Jubilees 12:25-27
The Hellenistic identification of patriarch Joseph with a scientist of ancient optics who interprets dream images and light reflected on shiny surfaces could explain otherwise problematic biblical reference to his magical use of the silver cup (Gen 44:5.15). It is a major reason for a renewed interest in Joseph of the Hellenistic era and for the outburst of the texts that elaborate on this scientific image, such as historical writings of Josephus, the philosophical writings of Philo, and the ancient play: Ethiopic Joseph. This Joseph as an ancient scientist of optics gains an access to esoteric knowledge, religious experience, and scientific understanding through sight.
Jubilees holds that vision is deceptive and therefore cannot be relied on as a source of divine revelation: sight leads people into sin. Thus, Jubilees gives an alternative depiction of Joseph, rejecting his image as a Hellenistic scientist and systematically suppressing any indication that dreams and visions could be symbolic by expunging all references to them, from Joseph’s youthful dreams to God’s apparition in the form of burning bush. Jubilees further censors any mention of divination by rendering, “I can practise divination?’ (Gen 44:15), with, “A man
takes pleasure in his cup as I do in this cup? (Jub. 43:10). Science and augury are not paths to divine knowledge but “errors of the earth” and impurity (Jub. 11:16-17). For Jubilees, truth lies not in the vision, but in the voice. Its revelations are speeches devoid of imagery or descriptions (e.g. 1:1-27; 32:17. 21-26). Vision leads to magic and to Hellenistic syncretism, which Jubilees rejects. And Joseph is a good Jew, and not a magician. Jubilees’ worldview promotes hearing, not vision, as the only portal to divine communication.

Updating

In the Philo of Alexandria Seminar of the Nov. 1995 annual meeting of Society of Biblical Literature Katie Evans had a paper on Alexander the Alabarch; Roman and Jew. The full text of the paper was later published in SBL Seminar Papers, 1995, p. 576-594.

However, she also made a webpage on Alexander; this has now been moved as a subpage to her homepage. See also here. She also states that she plans a page on Philo of Alexandria, on Alexanders Egypt, and on Alexanders Palestine. But so far, none of these are avialable.

So still, you have to direct you browser here, to find more info about Philo. :-)

Had the works of Philo been newly discovered...

In 1994 Abraham Terian published an interesting article with the title'Had the Works of Philo Been Newly Discovered', Biblical Archaeologist 57.2 (1994):86-97.In this article he presented Philo to his readers, focusing especially the study of Philo was influenced by the findings in Qumran, and the Nag Hammadi in Egypt. One might wonder what might have happened if the works of Philo had been found after Qumran and Nag Hammadi?
Terian presents and discuss some of the research on Philo, and the nature of the works of Philo, dealing also especially with the Armenian texts, as Terian is an expert on just the Armenian texts of Philo. Terian ends his article with the call: "Nearly half a century after the discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices, it is perhaps time to rediscover Philo."

This article was published 13 years ago; what has happened to Philo studies in these years? It is my impression that Philo studies have had a much greater place in recent publications; it has, for instance, been much more natural to include Philo when decribing the possible background of some New Testament topics; and Philo has been much more studied for his own part and as a representative of the Diaspora Judaism of the time of Jesus and Paul. One of those contributing to this resurge is Gregory E. Sterling.

Gregory E. Sterling has two articles out that in particular focus on the value of Philo for New Testament research. Those interested in this topic, should have a closer look at these articles: '"Philo has not been used half enough": The Significance of Philo of Alexandria for the Study of the New Testament,' Perspectives in Religious Studies 30.3 (2003): 251-269.
Sterling here states frankly that "I think that the Philonic corpus is the single most important body of material from Second Temple Judaism for our understanding of the development of Christianity in the first and second centuries. . . . I am convinced, that the Philonic corpus helps us to understand the dynamics of early Christianity more adequately than any other corpus." (p. 252.

The rest of the article is a presentation of various aspects of Philo's life and works as reflected in his work and as focused in recent research. Another article takes this a little further. Hence the abovementioned article and the one mentioned below together represent relevant introduction to the value of Philo for further New Testament studies.
'The Place of Philo of Alexandria in the Study of Christian Origins' in R. Deines & K-W. Niebuhr (eds.), Philo und das Neue Testament. Wechelseitige Wahrnehmungen (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 171; Mohr Siebeck; Tubingen 2004), pp. 21-52.

Greek fonts

For those of you struggling with Greek fonts, and the various diacritical marks, in Microsoft Word), here are some suggestions that may help you. I usually do not have these problems myself, as I use NotaBene), but those using Word more regularly may know the problem:

1. Go to this webpage: http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/unicode/tituut.asp and download the Titus font. Further descriptions are given on the page on how to download and install the font.

2. Then go to this page: http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/unicode/tituutk.asp and download the UniqTitus (Unicode keyboard entry tool for MS-Word). You will find further information onn how to download and innstall this item in Word on the webpage and / or in the files downloaded (on installing). Read carefully.

Having done this, you will have access to a lot of diacritics and additional characters for both Roman letters, Greek and Coptic. Have a look at the webpages, and give it a try. I did, and it worked very well.

Then I return to NotaBene, my favorite wordprocessor!

Perspectives in Religious Studies

Having daily access to a library with rather limited resources for subscribing to various journals, it is a pleasure to be able to search and often even make printouts from the search engine FirstSearch.
Last week I stumbled over an issue of Perspectives in Religious Studies containing several articles on Philo. It looks like a whole issue was devoted to Philo. The issue concerned is this: Perspectives in Religious Studies 30.3 (2003), and the articles on Philo are these (all printable from First Search):

G. E. Sterling, “‘Philo Has not Been Used Half Enough’: The Significance of Philo of Alexandria for the Study of the New Testament,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (2003) 251–69.
M. Martin, “Philo’s Use of Synkrisis: An Examination of Philonic Composition in the Light of the Progymnasmata,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (2003) 271–97.
D. S. Dodson, “Philo’s De Somniis in the context of ancient dream theories and classifications,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (2003) 299–312.
J. E. Ellis, “Philo’s view of Homosexual activity,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (2003) 313–23.
J. Whitlark, “Enabling 'xaris': Transformation of the convention of Reciprocity by Philo and in Ephesians,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (2003) 325–57.
A. E. Arterbury, “Abraham’s Hospitality Among Jewish and Early Christian Writers: A Tradition History of Gen 18:1–16 and Its Relevance for the Study of the New Testament,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (2003) 359–76.
I point out to those having further interest in these articles that all of them articles have also been presented in the last issue of The Studia Philonica Annual, in its Bibliogrsaphy Section, pp. 143-187.

Philo on Pentecost

THE SEVENTH FESTIVAL
Decalogue 160:
(160) And also the day on which is offered the sheaf of corn, as an offering of gratitude for the fertility and productiveness of the plain, as exhibited in the fulness of the ears of corn. And the day of pentecost, which is numbered from this day by seven portions of seven days, in which it is the custom to offer up loaves, which are truly called the loaves of the first fruits, since, in fact, they are the first fruits of the productions and crops of eatable grain, which God has given to mankind, as the most tractable of all his creatures.

Spec. Leg 2,176ff:
The solemn assembly on the occasion of the festival of the sheaf having such great privileges, is the prelude to another festival of still greater importance; for from this day the fiftieth day is reckoned, making up the sacred number of seven sevens, with the addition of a unit as a seal to the whole; and this festival, being that of the first fruits of the corn, has derived its name of pentecost from the number of fifty, (pentēkostos). And on it it is the custom to offer up two leavened loaves made of wheat, as a first fruit of the best kind of food made of corn; either because, before the fruit of the year is converted to the use of man, the first produce of the new crop, the first gathered corn that appears is offered as a first fruit, in order that by an insignificant emblem the people may display their grateful disposition;
(177) We must disclose another reason. Its nature is wondrous and highly prized for numerous reasons including the fact that it consists of the most elemental and oldest of the things which are encased in substances, as the mathematicians tell us, the rightangled triangle. For its sides, which exist in lengths of three and four and five, combine to make up the sum twelve, the pattern of the zodiac cycle, the doubling of the most fecund number six which is the beginning of perfection since it is the sum of the same numbers of which it is also the product. To the second power, it seems, they produce fifty, through the addition of 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 and 5 x 5. The result is that it is necessary to say that to the same degree that fifty is better than twelve, the second power is better than the first power. (178) If the image of the lesser is the most beautiful sphere of those which are in heaven, the zodiac, then of what would the better, the number fifty, be a pattern than a completely better nature? This is not the occasion to speak about this. It is sufficient for the present that the difference has been noted so that a principal point is not considered to be subordinate.
(179)The feast which takes place on the basis of the number fifty has received the name “the feast of the first produce” since during the feast it is customary to offer two leavened loaves made from wheat as the first fruit of grain, the best food. It is named “the feast of the first produce” either because before the annual crop has proceeded to human use, the first produce of the new grain and the first fruit which has appeared are offered as first fruit. (180) For it is just and religiously correct that those who have received the greatest gift from God, the abundance of the most necessary as well as most beneficial and even the sweetest food, should not enjoy it or have any use of it at all before they offer the first fruits to the Supplier. They are giving him nothing since all things and possessions and gifts are his, but through a small symbol demonstrate a thankful and God-loving character to the one who needs no favors but showers continuous and ever-flowing favors. (181) Or else because the fruit of wheat is most especially the first and most excellent of all productions.

Philo and John on the vision of God

I found an older article by Donald A. Hagner on the vision of God in Philo and John, now available on the Internet. I mention it here, as some would like to read it, and it will be included in the next update of my Philo page.Donald A. Hagner, 'The Vision of God in Philo and John:A Comparative Study,' Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 14.2 (1971): 81-93.