Editing Philo (section)

==Life==
Philo's dates of birth and death are unknown but can be judged by Philo's description of himself as "old" when he was part of the delegation to [[Caligula|Gaius Caligula]] in 38 CE. Jewish history professor [[Daniel R. Schwartz]] estimates his birth year as sometime between 15 and 10 BCE. Philo's reference to an event under the reign of Emperor [[Claudius]] indicates that he died sometime between 45 and 50 CE.<ref name=Schwartz /> Philo also recounts that he visited the [[Second Temple]] in Jerusalem at least once in his lifetime.<ref>''On Providence'' 2.64.</ref>

=== Family ===
Although the names of his parents are unknown, it is known that Philo came from a family which was noble, honourable and wealthy. It was either his father or paternal grandfather who was granted [[Roman citizenship]] from Roman dictator Gaius [[Julius Caesar]]. [[Jerome]] wrote that Philo came ''de genere sacerdotum'' (from a priestly family).<ref>[[Jerome]], ''[[De Viris Illustribus (Jerome)|De Viris Illustribus]]'' ([http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/books/hieronym/viris_l.htm#Caput%20XI e-text]), Caput XI ([[wikisource:Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Lives of Illustrious Men/Jerome/Philo Judaeus|English translation]]).</ref><ref name=Schwartz>Daniel R. Schwartz, "Philo, His Family, and His Times", in Kamesar (2009).</ref> His ancestors and family had social ties and connections to the priesthood in [[Judea]], the [[Hasmonean dynasty]], the [[Herodian dynasty]] and the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]] in [[Rome]].

Philo had one brother, Alexander Lysimachus, who was the general tax administrator of customs in [[Alexandria]]. He accumulated an immense amount of wealth, becoming not only the richest man in that city but also in the entire Hellenistic world. Alexander was so rich that he gave a loan to the wife of [[Herod Agrippa|king Herod Agrippa]], as well as gold and silver to overlay the nine gates of the [[Second Temple#Herod's Temple|temple in Jerusalem]]. Due to his extreme wealth, Alexander was also influential in imperial Roman circles as a friend of emperor Claudius.<ref>{{cite web |title=Philo Judaeus |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philo-Judaeus |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Through Alexander, Philo had two nephews, [[Tiberius Julius Alexander]] and [[Marcus Julius Alexander]]. The latter was the first husband of the Herodian princess [[Berenice (daughter of Herod Agrippa)|Berenice]]. Marcus died in 43 or 44. Some scholars identify Alexander Lysimachus as the Alexander referenced in the [[Acts of the Apostles|Book of Acts]], who presided over the [[Sanhedrin]] trial of [[John the Apostle|John]] and [[Saint Peter|Peter]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellicott |first=Charles John |title=A New Testament Commentary for English Readers, vol. 2 |publisher=Cassell and Co. |year=1897 |isbn=9781360285283 |location=London |pages=21}}</ref>

=== Diplomacy ===
Philo lived in an era of increasing ethnic tension in Alexandria, exacerbated by the new strictures of [[Roman Egypt|imperial rule]]. Some expatriate Hellenes (Greeks) in Alexandria condemned the Jews for a supposed alliance with Rome, even as Rome was seeking to suppress Jewish national and cultural identity in the [[Judaea (Roman province)|Roman province of Judaea]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Aberbach |first=David |title=The Roman-Jewish Wars and Hebrew Cultural Nationalism |date=2003 |url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403937339_3 |work=Major Turning Points in Jewish Intellectual History |pages=31–44 |editor-last=Aberbach |editor-first=David |access-date=2023-12-20 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781403937339_3 |isbn=978-1-4039-3733-9|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=Schwartz/> In ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', [[Josephus]] tells of Philo's selection by the Alexandrian Jewish community as their principal representative before the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula. He says that Philo agreed to represent the Alexandrian Jews about the civil disorder that had developed between the Jews and the Greeks. Josephus also tells us that Philo was skilled in philosophy and that he was brother to the [[alabarch]] Alexander.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities'' xviii. 8. 1.</ref> According to Josephus, Philo and the larger Jewish community refused to treat the emperor as a god, to erect statues in honour of the emperor, and to build altars and temples to the emperor. Josephus says Philo believed that God actively supported this refusal.

Josephus' complete comments about Philo:
{{Blockquote|There was now a tumult arisen at Alexandria, between the Jewish inhabitants and the Greeks; and three ambassadors were chosen out of each party that were at variance, who came to Gaius. Now one of these ambassadors from the people of Alexandria was [[Apion]], (29) who uttered many blasphemies against the Jews; and, among other things that he said, he charged them with neglecting the honors that belonged to Caesar; for that while all who were subject to the Roman empire built altars and temples to Gaius, and in other regards universally received him as they received the gods, these Jews alone thought it a dishonorable thing for them to erect statues in honor of him, as well as to swear by his name. Many of these severe things were said by Apion, by which he hoped to provoke Gaius to anger at the Jews, as he was likely to be. But Philo, the principal of the Jewish embassage, a man eminent on all accounts, brother to Alexander the Alabarch, (30) and one not unskillful in philosophy, was ready to betake himself to make his defense against those accusations; but Gaius prohibited him, and bid him begone; he was also in such a rage, that it openly appeared he was about to do them some very great mischief. So Philo being thus affronted, went out, and said to those Jews who were about him, that they should be of good courage, since Gaius's words indeed showed anger at them, but in reality had already set God against himself.<ref>''Antiquities of the Jews'', xviii.8, § 1, Whiston's translation (online)</ref>}}

This event is also described in Book 2, Chapter 5 of [[Eusebius]]'s ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Historia Ecclesiae]]''<ref>Eusebius, ''Church History,''http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm</ref>

=== Education ===
Philo along with his brothers received a thorough education. They were educated in the [[Hellenistic period#Culture|Hellenistic culture]] of Alexandria and the [[culture of ancient Rome]], to a degree in [[Ancient Egyptian religion]] and particularly in the traditions of [[Judaism]], in the study of Jewish traditional literature and in [[Greek philosophy]].

In his works, Philo shows extensive influence not only from philosophers such as [[Plato]] and the [[Stoics]], but also poets and orators, especially [[Homer]], [[Euripides]], and [[Demosthenes]].<ref>"On Consorting with the Preliminary Studies" 6 [i. 550]; "De Specialibus Legibus," ii. 229;</ref>{{sfn|Dillon|1996|p=140}} Philo's largest philosophical influence was Plato, drawing heavily from the ''Timaeus'' and the ''[[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]]'', and also from the ''[[Phaedo]]'', ''[[Theaetetus (dialogue)|Theaetetus]]'', ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'', ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'', and ''[[Laws (Plato)|Laws]]''.{{sfn|Dillon|1996|p=140}}

The extent of Philo's knowledge of Hebrew, however, is debated. Philo was more fluent in Greek than in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and read the [[Tanakh|Jewish Scriptures]] chiefly from the [[Septuagint]], a [[Koine Greek]] translation of Hebraic texts later compiled as the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the [[deuterocanonical books]].<ref name=Schwartz18>{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=Daniel R. |editor1-last=Kamesar |editor1-first=Adam |title=The Cambridge Companion to Philo |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86090-1 |page=18 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9nGKf_or4cC&pg=PA18 |chapter=1.1: Philo, His Family, and His Times |quote=At a very early stage, the use of Hebrew seems to have declined and the language of the Jews of Alexandria came to be Greek exclusively. The translation of the Torah (and in time the other books) allowed Greek to be a vehicle for Jewish culture. Indeed, there developed a very rich Jewish literature in Greek already in the second century BCE. By the time of the era of Philo, it is hardly surprising that he was a highly accomplished Greek stylist, and probably knew little to no Hebrew.}}</ref> His numerous etymologies of Hebrew names, which are along the lines of the [[etymologic]] ''[[midrash]]'' to Genesis and of the earlier [[Rabbinical Judaism|rabbinism]], although not modern Hebrew [[philology]], suggest some familiarity.<ref name="JE Knowledge of Hebrew">{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12116-philo-judaeus#anchor8 | title=Philo Judaeus: His Knowledge of Hebrew | encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] | date=1901–1906}}</ref> Philo offers for some names three or four etymologies, sometimes including the correct Hebrew root (e.g., {{langx|he|[[wikt:י־ר־ד|י־ר־ד]]|y-r-d|descend}} as the origin of the name [[Jordan]]). However, his works do not display much understanding of [[Hebrew grammar]], and they tend to follow the translation of the Septuagint more closely than the Hebrew version.<ref name=Schwartz18 /><ref>Anthony Hanson, "Philo's Etymologies"; ''Journal of Theological Studies'' 18, 1967; pp. 128–139.</ref>{{efn|The Septuagint translates {{langx|he|מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה|[[Malakh]] [[YHWH]]|Messenger of [[Yahweh]]}} as {{langx|grc|ἄγγελος Κυρίου||[[angel of the Lord]]}})}}.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle= Angel |volume= 1 |last= Pope  |first= Hugh |author-link= Hugh Pope |short=1 }}</ref>

Philo identified the angel of the Lord (in the singular) with the [[Logos]].<ref>[[Frederick Copleston]], ''A History of Philosophy'', Volume 1, Continuum, 2003, p. 460.</ref><ref>J.N.D. Kelly, ''Early Christian Doctrines'', 5th ed., HarperOne, 1978, p. 11.</ref> In the text attributed to Philo, he "consistently uses {{lang|grc|[[Kyrios|Κύριος]]}} as a designation for God".<ref name=McDonough>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0ZG4P8J1roC&pg=PA60 |author=[[Sean M. McDonough]] |title=YHWH at Patmos: Rev. 1:4 in Its Hellenistic and Early Jewish Setting, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=1999 |isbn=978-31-6147055-4 |page=60|chapter=2: The Use of the Name YHWH}}</ref> According to David B. Capes, "the problem for this case, however, is that Christian scholars are responsible for copying and transmitting Philo's words to later generations", and adds,
{{quote|[[George Howard (Hebraist)|George Howard]] surveys evidence and concludes: "Although it is improbable that Philo varied from the custom of writing the Tetragram when quoting from Scripture, it is likely that he used the word {{lang|grc|Κύριος}} when making a secondary reference to the divine name in his exposition".<ref name=Stuckenbruck-North>{{cite book |last1=Stuckenbruck |first1=Loren T. |last2=North |first2=Wendy |title=Early Jewish and Christian Monotheism |date=2004 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-42917-9 |page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5hPDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |language=en}}</ref>}} James Royse concludes:{{quote|(1) the exegete [Philo] knows and reads biblical manuscripts in which the tetragram is written in [[palaeo-Hebrew alphabet|palaeo-Hebrew]] or [[Aramaic script]] and not translated by ''kyrios'' and that (2) he quotes scriptures in the same way he would have pronounced it, that is, by translating it as ''kurios''."<ref name=Stuckenbruck-North/>}}