Studying Early Judaism: The Writings of Philo of Alexandria

A Guide to Resources for New Testament Studies

Studying Early Judaism

This is a Substack series studying early Judaism, check out the first post.

In this post, we are recommending resources for studying The Writing of Philo of Alexandria.

Who was Philo of Alexandria?

Philo Judaeus (~15 BC to ~AD 50) was a Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher. His upper-class family was wealthy and prominent in civic life. Philo reflects not only a deep Jewish commitment to his ancestral traditions and the unique inspiration of the Jewish Scriptures, but also a deep interest in Greek thought and moral philosophy.

Philo is important for New Testament studies for several reasons:

• Jewish interest in Greek moral philosophy

• diverse Jewish interpretive methods

• A vast library of extant works in Greek (especially helpful for NT word studies with comparative literature)

• Jewish political engagement with Roman power

Reading Philo’s Works

There are two classic translations of Philo’s works: Yonge’s 19th century translation and Colson and Whitaker’s Loeb translations (early 20th century). Loeb is more academically respected and more up to date, but Yonge’s work is available for free ONLINE.

Studying Philo of Alexandria

An excellent place to start with studying Philo is the introduction by Ken Schenck.

Torrey Seland’s work is also excellent.

Here’s another good resource.

Brill is producing a critical and technical commentary series on Philo’s works from experts; several volumes have already been published (early volumes were with SBL Press).

There is a scholarly journal associated with Philo studies called the Studia Philonica Annual. This is the best place to stay up to date on scholarship.