A Brief Guide to Philo

by Kenneth Schenck

This is a compact introduction to the work of Philo (c. 20 BCE-50 CE), the important Jewish thinker and scriptural interpreter. Kenneth Schenck provides a guide for understanding Philo's complex works, a roadmap for topics and contents of Philo's writings, and a description of contemporary research so students can easily find their ways into Philo study.

Genres: History

Paperback

First published February 2, 2005

Reviews

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philo was an Alexandrian Jew whose writings have provided great insight into Second Temple Judaism and the thought world of the New Testament. As a diaspora Jew, he was heavily influenced by his Hellenistic culture and education. After introducing Philo's life (what we know about it) and providing a quick outline of his writings, Schenck spends a whole chapter discussing the philosophical backgrounds to Philo: Judaism, Platonism, Stoicism, and Pythagoreanism. This is fairly technical but is absolutely essential to understand how Philo thought and read scripture. The author next explores the similarities between much of Philo's writing and the New Testament; specifically, 1 Corinthians, Colossians, Hebrews, and John. This parallels are very obvious. However, Schenck wants the reader to understand that similarities do not equal dependency. His main goal is for us to understand that this was, in many respects, the way people in the first century world thought and spoke. If you have any desire to know more about Philo or read his work, I recommend you start here.