Philo of Alexandria (/ˈfaɪloʊ/; Greek: Φίλων, Philōn; Hebrew: ידידיה הכהן, Yedidia (Jedediah) HaCohen; c. 25 BCE – c. 50 CE), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo used philosophical allegory to attempt to fuse and harmonize Greek philosophy with Jewish philosophy. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoic philosophy. His allegorical exegesis was important for several Christian Church Fathers, but he has barely any reception history within Rabbinic Judaism. He believed that literal interpretations of the Hebrew Bible would stifle humanity’s view and perception of a God too complex and marvelous to be understood in literal human terms.
Some scholars hold that his concept of the Logos as God’s creative principle influenced early Christology. Other scholars, however, deny direct influence but say both Philo and Early Christianity borrow from a common source.
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Philo, Logos, Philo the Jew, Philo of Alexandria
Bible reference(s): John 1:1, John 1:14
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Philo,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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