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Explore the Jewish traditions preserved in the commentaries of a largely neglected Alexandrian Christian exegete

Justin M. Rogers surveys commentaries on Genesis, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Zechariah by Didymus the Blind (ca. 313–398 CE), who was regarded by his students as one of the greatest Christian exegetes of the fourth century. Rogers highlights Didymus’s Jewish sources, zeroing in on traditions of Philo of Alexandria, whose treatises were directly accessible to Didymus while he was authoring his exegetical works. Philonic material in Didymus is covered by extensive commentary, demonstrating that Philo was among the principle sources for the exegetical works of Didymus the Blind. Rogers also explores the mediating influence of the Alexandrian Christian tradition, focusing especially on the roles of Clement and Origen.

Features

• Fresh insights into the Alexandrian Christian reception of Philo
• A thorough discussion of Didymus’s exegetical method, particularly in the Commentary on Genesis
• Examination of the use and importance of Jewish and Christian sources in Late Antique Christian commentaries

The best current research on Philo's allegorical exegesis of Scripture

The strong element of Greek philosophy in Philo's thought has been recognized since antiquity, but his relation to the Pythagorean-Platonic tenet of reincarnation has been a neglected, even avoided, topic in research. This book confirms the view common in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries that Philo accepted the doctrine of reincarnation even though he preferred not to speak openly about it. The book shows how allegorization enabled Philo to give a reincarnational interpretation to very different scriptural passages.

Features:

• Highlights the importance of reading Philonic parallel passages together for fuller understanding of Philo s message
• Discusses the difference between protological and universal allegory in Philo's exegesis of the first chapters of Genesis
• Introduces new concepts to Philonic research such as the corporealization of the mind (the result of transgression and a driving force for reincarnation) and monadization (the human soul's transformation into pure mind upon salvation)

The Philo of Alexandria Scripture Index identifies and lists every instance in which Philo of Alexandria cites or alludes to passages from Jewish Scripture. With 7,831 references, this book is the most comprehensive study of its kind to date. Unlike other volumes with a single index of Philo’s citations and allusions organized by biblical book, this volume includes a second index that follows Philo’s treatise order. This second format allows students and scholars easily to examine Philo’s engagement with Scripture in individual treatises and to interrogate how Philo collected and grouped intertexts. In addition to the indices, Sean A. Adams and Zanne Domoney-Lyttle provide an introduction to their methodology and their selection of texts, including Philo’s fragmentary works and those that survive only in the Armenian tradition.