We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 January 2010
Faith in God. There is a doctrine of God in Philo's works, for he was a philosophical theologian (or a theological philosopher) of a very high order. But, although the Philonic doctrine of God is coherent and consistent, it is not presented in a systematic way, for Philo was not merely a theologian or a philosopher. He was an ardent believer, a devout worshipper, a charismatic exegete, and he wrote with the fervour of a mystic. What personal religion meant to him is shown by his words in Quaest. in Ex.11.51, ‘For the beginning and end of happiness is to be able to see God.’ Explaining, in Leg. Gaj. 4, that the name ‘Israel’ means ‘he that sees God’ (presumably ish (man), ra (see – from ra'ah), el (God)), he adds: ‘to see him seems to me of all possessions, public or private, the most precious’. Philo can say, in Quaest. in Gn.IV.4: ‘the limit of happiness is the presence of God, which completely fills the whole soul with his whole incorporeal and eternal light’ and ‘for the soul to be separated from the contemplation of the Existent One is the most complete of evils’. The definition of faith in Abr. 268 also gives a clear idea of what belief in God meant to Philo: ‘Faith in God, then, is the one sure and infallible good, consolation of life, fulfilment of bright hopes, dearth of ills, harvest of goods, inacquaintance with misery, acquaintance with piety, heritage of happiness, all-round betterment of the soul which is firmly stayed on him who is the cause of all things and can do all things yet only wills the best.’
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
