lation of the Hebrew Bible, connected Greek education and philosophy
with Jewish culture, and adapted many elements of the surrounding cul-
ture, perhaps most importantly allegorical interpretation. This technique
had been used by Stoics in their interpretation of mythology, but it has
been questioned whether or not they influenced Philo directly. Earlier
Jewish-Greek authors whose writings are almost entirely lost may also
have had significance for the author. Other influences came from contem-
porary Platonism. Philo perceived the human soul as the central element
in the ascent to divine contemplation. He considered the divine revelation
manifest in the Scriptures equal to the highest form of philosophy. An-
other distinctive element of his thought was his perception of the divine
Logos and its role in the creation of the world. The Logos, the active prin-
ciple of God’s thought, was at times perceived as the creator of the cosmos
and at other times as the mediator between God and the world.
Scholars have debated at length which of the two, the philosophical or
the exegetical aspects, were more dominant in Philo’s writing. The ques-
tion as formulated is overly simplified and therefore difficult to answer.
Both aspects are important for Philo, but most of his treatises are allegori-
cal commentaries on the Pentateuch, which may be considered the basis of
his interests.
Most of Philo’s treatises have been preserved, and the philosophical
works represent only a small part. The works includeOn the Eternity of the
World, That Every Good Man Is Free, On Providence 1 and 2,andWhether
Animals Have Reason.The two former have been transmitted in the original
Greek. The latter three are known through Armenian translations from the
sixth century, although fragments ofOn Providenceare extant in Greek.
Although Philo’s writing shows a strong philosophical orientation in
general, the five above-mentioned treatises have been singled out as
“philosophical” because of the prevalence of philosophical argumentation
and the lack of allegorical interpretation in them; in fact, they hardly con-
tain any direct references to the Scriptures. For this and other reasons these
works have often been treated as stepchildren in Philo’s oeuvre. To explain
the absence of scriptural references and some inconsistencies in Philo’s
philosophical views, scholars have argued that these treatises could have
stemmed from his youth before he was fully immersed in his Jewish heri-
tage. This argument, however, is problematic, contradicts details within
Philo’s works, and in the end has proven untenable.
In addition, some scholars have tried to dismiss these works as alto-
gether inauthentic. In the last twenty-five years, however, closer attention273PhiloEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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