Nine years after the publication of the French original H.-L.'s book has been translated into English. This is evidence for the continuing interest in the book, which can already be seen from the reviews of the French edition. The impact of the original can also be derived from the fact that it was translated into Hebrew in 2006.
The book has nine main chapters, outlining Philo's life, thought and impact, mainly based on the evidence of the ancient sources. H.-L. begins with a chapter on the city of Alexandria, the setting of Philo's life. She describes its foundation, the ports and the lighthouse, the intellectual activity around the museum, library, gymnasium, stadium, hippodrome and theatre, the different districts, the religious syncretism of its various temples and the influence of Roman rule on its life.
The second chapter approaches Jewish life in Alexandria at the time of Philo, his family background, life in the diaspora, the emotional ties with Jerusalem, the Jews' situation between the Greek upper class and the Egyptian majority, the existence of proselytes from the pagan as well as ‘renegades’ (p. 45) from the Jewish tradition and the delicate balance of Jewish life as a ‘fragile minority’ (p. 48).
In the third chapter H.-L. turns to Philo's cultural background as a Hellenised Jew, educated according to the highest standards of Greek education, who probably did not know Hebrew, but cherished the Septuagint translation as a fully authoritative rendering of the Hebrew original. Philo's account of the translation legend emphasises its inspired nature much more strongly than his predecessor Aristeas. Philo exhibits a ‘Judaeo-Hellenistic symbiosis’ (p. 66) which faced strong opposition and polemic from the Egyptian side.
Consequently the fourth chapter describes the pogrom in Alexandria, its origins, development, the failure and fate of the governor Flaccus and Philo's embassy to the emperor Gaius, the threat to the Temple in Jerusalem and the inconclusive end of Philo's attempt to intercede with the emperor.
Chapter 5 moves on to Philo's attitude to Jewish ‘practice and ethics’, beginning with a general list of ‘exterior criteria for the Jewish identity’ (p. 92), such as circumcision, dietary laws, Sabbath, Passover in the Egyptian diaspora, the other pilgrim festivals and the Day of Atonement. These are described, each in a separate section, before the chapter closes with comments about Philo's universalist interpretation of the festivals and Jewish rites.
Chapter 6 treats Philo's biblical commentary. The bible, that is the Torah, is the basis of Philo's treatises, although he also mentions other biblical books. Although H.-L. bases her analysis on the Biblia Patristica index of Philo's biblical quotations, which can sometimes be identified only with difficulty, that does not affect the validity of her conclusions. Just like the Pharisaic exegesis of his time Philo emphasises the necessity of interpreting the biblical text on different levels, but, unlike the Pharisees, Philo favours the allegorical method to explain the literal meaning. The basic pattern is that of questions and answers as found in the books of that name on Genesis and Exodus, but also in the allegorical interpretation. Exegetically Philo focuses on the creation of the world, paradise, the fall, Cain and Abel, the patriarchs as embodied law, Joseph and Moses as ideal leaders, and the Decalogue as structure of the Mosaic laws. What is – surprisingly – missing from the book is a reference to Philo's quadruple description of Moses in Vita Mosis II not only as king and legislator (pp. 139–45), but also as prophet and priest. Philo's exegesis is described as diverse, driven by a desire to interpret apparent contradictions and problems in the biblical text and demonstrating the continuing relevance of the bible.
The seventh chapter then depicts Philo's attitude to the contemplation of the universe and to philosophy. Philo is influenced by Platonic, Pythagorean and Stoic traditions. He presents the Essenes and Therapeutae in the Greek way as examples of ‘barbarian wisdoms’ (p. 171). Philo's aim is not to follow a specific philosophical tradition, not even an eclectic approach, but to present the ‘“true” philosophy’ of Moses, using whatever wisdom he can find.
Philo's writings thus gravitate around a number of topics, which are discussed in Chapter 8. One main theme is the relationship between God, the Logos and the divine powers, another that of the relationship of the law of nature with the Mosaic law. Spiritual progress is seen as migration from the passions. In political thought Philo, in contrast to Plato and Greek thought, favours democracy. The fate of the just is that their souls ascend to God after death and that their memory remains with the living. Thus man is a passing ‘sojourner on earth’ (p. 199).
The final chapter describes Philo's influence on the Christian tradition. He is called a ‘father of the Church honoris causa’. While specific Philonic influences on the New Testament texts cannot be proved, Philo's account of the miraculous translation of the Septuagint was taken up by the Christians and increasingly embellished. Unambiguous references to Philo's exegesis can first be found in Clement of Alexandria and Origen. With Origen's move to Caesarea Philo's writings become influential there. In the Latin world it is Ambrose of Milan who uses Philo's exegetical writings. After Ambrose there are Latin and Armenian translations, and H.-L. outlines the transmission of Philo in Christianity until the critical edition. Apart from a few individuals the Jewish tradition did not take a renewed interest in Philo until the eighteenth–nineteenth century. Overall, the Philonic heritage lies in his reconciliation of faith and reason, a concept which shaped Western thought for centuries.
An epilogue (‘requiem’) concludes that Claudius' introduction of limitations for that Claudius' introduction of limitations for the Jews in Alexandria introduced the decline of Alexandrian Hellenistic Judaism, which was doomed to vanish in the aftermath of the subsequent Jewish revolts.
There remain a few critical comments to be made. The book uses a wide range of ancient sources to supplement what we know about Philo from his own works with only minimal explicit interaction with scholarship, although H.-L., as one of the contributors to the French edition of Philo's work, is clearly aware of it. The bibliography has been minimally updated for the English translation, but already the French edition has a flexible attitude to up-to-date scholarship (cf. ‘a recent study’ on the Stromateis of the year 1988 in ch. 9). The heavy reliance on ancient sources occasionally leads to H.-L. adopting the perspective of ancient polemic; thus she quotes Philo's description of Gaius' hatred of the Jews and concludes: ‘Such was the man that the Alexandrian Jewish delegation … was prepared to confront’ (p. 82). On the other hand she expresses the surprise of the modern Jew at the uncritical acceptance of the Greek bible translation as authoritative (p. 58) without considering modern parallels.
The book is an introduction to Philo for the general reader rather than someone with a more specialised interest, although its broad use of the ancient sources also makes it a good read for the experts. Each chapter can be read by itself and there is little overlap. The English edition has been well prepared, although there are some slight oversights (cf. the incomplete cross reference on p. 66 n. 30).
In spite of these minor issues, the decision to translate this book into English will make this valuable overview of Philo accessible to a non-French speaking audience, a move to be highly welcomed.
