SWIFTLY RUNS THE WORD: PHILO'S DOCTRINE OF MEDIATION IN DE VITA MOSIS by Emily Parker Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia December 2009 1 Copyright by Emily Parker, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Voire reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63599-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63599-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY . • ( • To comply with the Canadian Privacy Act the National Library of Canada has requested that the following pages be removed from this copy of the thesis: Preliminary Pages / Examiners Signature Page (pii) Dalhousie Library Copyright Agreement (piii) Appendices - Copyright Releases (if applicable) \ TABLE OF CONTENTS: ABSTRACT vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..1 CHAPTER TWO: PHILO'S WORKS, LIFE, AND INTELLECTUAL MILIEU 12 (2.1) Mos. and the Philonic Corpus 12 (2.2) Philo and the Pax Romana -. .....19 (2.3) Philo's Intellectual Milieu: The Middle-Platonists 21 (2.4) The Elements of Moses: Pythagoras, Plato, and the Stoic Sage 23 CHAPTER THREE: PHILOSOPHY, KINGSHIP AND THE LAW 39 (3.1) Philo's Introduction 39 (3.2) Preliminary Activities 42 (3.2.1) Birth, Early Education, and Return to the Nation 42 (3.2.2) Philosophical Training in Exile 45 (3.2.3) Call to Kingship: The Burning Bush 48 (3.2.4) Miraculous Demonstrations and Punishments in Egypt ....54 (3.3) Moses as King 57 (3.3.1) Introduction to Kingship 57 (3.3.2) Educating the Nation 58 (3.4) Moses as Legislator 68 (3.4.1) Introduction to the Legislative Office 68 (3.4.2) The Virtues and the Universality of the Law 71 (3.4.3) The Parts of Scripture and the Generic Quality of Their Content 73 CHAPTER FOUR: HIGH PRIEST AND PROPHET 76 (4.1) Moses as High Priest 76 (4.1.1) Introduction to the High Priest's Office 76 (4.1.2) The Symbolic Creation 79 (4.1.3) Appointing the Priesthood 87 IV (4.2) Moses as Prophet 97 (4.2.1) Introduction to the Prophetic Office 97 (4.2.2) Question and Answer Prophecy 100 (4.2.3) Prophecy by Divine Inspiration 108 (4.3) Philo's Conclusion 115 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 118 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 139 v ABSTRACT This thesis examines Philo of Alexandria's doctrine of mediation mDe Vita Mosis. Acting through his official roles as philosopher-king, legislator, high priest, and prophet, Philo's Moses is a divine mediator who reveals, completes, and fulfills the hierarchy of created beings, enabling the restoration of the human soul to a state of perfection beyond that of the pre-fallen human nature. Philo's interpretation of the Septuagint depends on philosophical elements drawn from Plato, the Stoics, and the Pythagoreans. Philo, like other Middle Platonists, develops the doctrine of Plato's Timaeus by locating the ideas in the mind of God, which enables him to posit an unbroken chain of created existents, hierarchically arranged from the creator to the creation, thereby making the constitution of Moses not just cosmic, but divine. Despite Philo's evident reliance on the Hellenic philosophical tradition, we have no evidence that any Hellene had articulated their roles with such precision and exactitude before Philo. VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED Philonic Treatises Abr. De Abrahamo Agr. De Agricultura Cher. De Cherubim Conf. De Confusione Linguarum Cong. De Congressu Eruditionis Gratia Decal. De Decalogo Det. Quod Deterius Potion Insidiari Soleat Ebr. De Ebrietate Flacc. In Flaccum Fug. De Fuga et Inventione Gig. De Gigantibus Her. Quis Rerum Divinarum Heres Sit Ios. De Iosepho LA Legum Allegoriarum (Books 1-3) Legal Legatio Ad Gaium Migr. De Migratione Abrahami Mos. De Vita Mosis (Books 1-2) Mut. De Mutatione Nominum Opif. De Opificio Mundi Post. De Posteritate Caini Praem. De Praemiis et Poenis Prob. Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit QE Quaestiones et Solutiones in Exodum QG Quaestiones et Solutiones in Genesim Sacr. De Sacrificiis Abelis et Caini Sobr. De Sobrietate Somn. De Somniis (Books 1-2) Spec. De Specialibus Legibus (Books 1-3) Virt. De Virtutibus Other Works: SVF Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta Standard works of Philonic Scholarship: vii SPh Studia Philonica SPhA Studia Philonica Annual ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my teacher of seven years, Dr. Wayne Hankey, I owe my utmost thanks. Dr. Hankey's contribution to this thesis is significant, yet it represents only the smallest fraction of his contribution to my development as a scholar, and as a soul, turned towards the good. I am extremely grateful for the careful insights delivered with expediency by my two readers, Dr. Michael Fournier and Dr. Eli Diamond. I thank Donna Edwards, for her foresight and attention to detail. For his support and sound advice relating to my overall direction as a graduate student, I thank Dr. Peter O'Brien. Through many conversations with Tim Riggs and Simon Fortier, I have been able to recognize and express crucial ideas, which have formed this thesis. During my first year as a grad student I participated in a large share of fun, thanks to Andra Striowski and Michelle Wilband. And, of course, I am extremely appreciative of the constituent members of my oikos, Marija, Hugh, and Annie, who have gone out of their way many times to make my life easier. IX CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION In the book of Exodus, the children of Israel say to Moses: "Speak thou to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die."1 Indeed, we see Moses acting as mediator who tells to the people what God has told to him. Philo Judaeus of Alexandria takes up and expands upon the notion that Moses is the medium for the divine message. In Quis Rerum Divinarum Heres Sit (Her.), Philo explains that Moses' role as messenger and spokesman is divinely sanctioned by the Father of the universe: "to the archangel and eldest logos the father that created the whole has given the special prerogative to stand in the middle separating the created from the maker."2 In De Vita Mosis (Mos.), Philo retells the life of Moses, drawing from the whole Pentateuch, but with a particular concentration on the book of Exodus, in order to describe his activities as philosopher- king, legislator, high priest, and prophet. Throughout Mos., Philo presents Moses as a divine figure on account of his excellence in general, and in relation to his achievements in the official roles: "for he was named god and king of the whole nation."3 By the first century CE, Greek and Roman authors began to ascribe divine status not only to the heroes of Greek mythology, but also to more contemporary figures, such as Pythagoras and Emperor Augustus, whose eminence as philosophers and kings, afforded them the highest of praise. Edwards identifies a trend among the Hellenistic Greek biographers, who locate the teachings of all philosophical truths in one divine source. Edwards states: "for the Greeks of the Roman period.. .both Parmenides and Plato were disciples of 1 Exodus 20:19 KCU surav npbq Moouofjv XaXr\aov au r^lv Kai |ifi XaXeixu> Tipoc; fuifiq 6 Qeoq |j.r|7iox£ OOTOG&VCOUSV 1 Her., 205. xa> 5s apxayyeXco Kai 7ipsaPuxaxcp Xoyco 5copeav e5a>Kev E^aipsxov 6 xa 6A,a yswiiaac; 7taxf|p, iva usGopioc; oxac; xo ysvoiievov SiaKpivji xoi3 7i£7ioi.r|K6xo<; 3 Mos., 1.158. cbvouda6r| yap olou xofi eOvouc; 6s6g Kai fiaaikevq- 1 Pythagoras."4 According to Edwards, the purposes of the Greek biographers were slightly different than those of the Latin authors: "to the Greeks of the time biography was a keepsake from the wreck of history.. .whereas Latin writers of biography took the Emperors as their subject, Greeks extolled the masters of the intellectual disciplines in which their own supremacy was admitted."5 According to Edwards, the Hellenistic world provides a context wherein the lives and deeds of great men came to be seen as divine: It is true that in these times a "holy man" could enjoy the global, rather than merely civic, eminence that was necessary to make a true celebrity.