My dissertation analyzes the status of mixed offspring in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple texts to understand the diverse ways children from intermarried couples were presented in pre-Mishnaic Jewish literature. Prior to the Mishnah (m. Qidd 3:12), there is no evidence of a monolithic ruling to regulate the status of mixed progeny. My goal, therefore, is to examine the different ways mixed offspring were treated, and to better understand whether they endured any social repercussions due to their mixed lineage. In turn, I explore the diverse ways Jewish identity was constructed in antiquity, and how matters like gender, lineage, and geography were used to establish social boundaries. Within contemporary scholarship, the study of mixed progeny in antiquity has been incidental to other research topics, including the expulsion narrative in Ezra 9–10, genealogical purity, and the matrilineal principle in Judaism. To date, no comprehensive approach has been undertaken to trace the status of mixed progeny in pre-Mishnaic Jewish literature. My dissertation seeks to fill this lacuna. Following a brief introduction in chapter 1, my subsequent chapters are divided into four time periods: the pre-Persian period (chapter 2); the Persian period (chapter 3); the Hellenistic period (chapter 4); and the early Roman period (chapter 5). Within each chapter, I analyze texts generally dated to those eras that include some information about mixed offspring. In my concluding chapter, I reveal three main factors that impacted the status of mixed progeny in antiquity: genealogy, residential location, and piety. I also provide a heuristic framework to categorize my findings of mixed offspring. While there were two main responses towards mixed progeny in antiquity (accepted or rejected), not every case fits nicely into these two classifications. Therefore, the treatment of mixed progeny must be understood on a spectrum to better appreciate the nuance within each text. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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<p>In this study I situate socio-historically the adoption of the term <em>ekklēsia</em> as a permanent collective identity by early Christ-followers, particularly Pauline ones. I contribute to at least four areas of <em>ekklēsia</em> research. First, my examination of almost 1900 inscriptional occurrences of the word <em>ekklēsia</em> indicates a lack of evidence for a non-civic association self-identifying collectively as an <em>ekklēsia</em>. Second, I develop the preliminary observation by Runesson, Binder, and Olsson (2008) that <em>ekklēsia</em> can refer either to a gathering of Jews or to the self-designation of a Jewish community, i.e., that <em>ekklēsia</em> is one among several terms that can be translated into English as “synagogue.” This problematizes, from an institutional perspective, suggestions common in scholarship that Paul was “parting ways” with Judaism(s), ‘Jewishness,’ or Jewish organizational forms. Third, given both that non-Jewish Christ-followers could not be designated using the ethno-religious term “Israel” and that <em>ekklēsia</em> is a Jewish synagogue term, Paul’s designation of his multi-ethnic communities as <em>ekklēsiai</em> allowed gentiles qua gentiles to share with Torah observant Jews qua Jews in God’s salvation history with Israel. <em>Ekklēsia</em>, thus, does not indicate an inherently supersessionist identity for communities designated by this term. Fourth, Paul’s adoption of a political identity (civic <em>ekklēsia</em>) for his communities need not imply his promotion of counter-imperial civic ideology. Greek literary (e.g., Plutarch) and inscriptional evidence suggests that if an Imperial period non-civic group (e.g., voluntary association) self-designated as an <em>ekklēsia</em>, it could have been perceived as a positive, rather than as an anti-Roman, participant in society.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Cette dissertation a pour objectif de fournir un éclairage nouveau sur la cosmologie philonienne à la lumière de la littérature apocalyptique judéo-chrétienne. Il s'agit reposer la question du lien entre Philon d’Alexandrie et la tradition apocalyptique judéo-chrétienne dans une optique qui se veut à la croisée de l’histoire des religions et de l’histoire de la philosophie. Après délimitation du corpus, on y aborde la question du rapport au mythe et à la théologie. La place est ensuite faite à la question des intermédiaires célestes (Anges, Logos, Esprit), ainsi qu’à la liturgie. Ce point nous mène à la figure du messie et aux raisons du silence de Philon à ce sujet. Cette étude entend ainsi porter un regard nouveau sur la pensée d’un auteur majeur de l’Antiquité qui accomplit la première grande synthèse entre le judaïsme et l’hellénisme, anticipant ainsi l’émergence des conditions métaphysiques du christianisme. / Doctorat en Philosophie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis is a context-sensitive study of key epistemological commitments and concerns presented in Philo’s two series of exegetical writings. The major conclusion advanced in this thesis is that two theological epistemologies, distinct yet related, can be detected among these writings. The first epistemology is specific to the Allegorical Commentary. The second epistemology is specific to the ‘Exposition of the Law.’ The epistemology of the Allegorical Commentary reflects a threefold conviction: the sovereignty of God, the creaturely contingency of the human mind and its inescapable limitations. In conversation with key epistemological notions of his day, Philo develops this threefold conviction in exegetical discourses that are grounded in Pentateuchal texts portraying the God of Moses as both possessing epistemic authority and aiding the aspiring mind to gain purification and perfection in the knowledge of God. Guided by this threefold conviction, Philo enlists key metaphors of his day – initiation into divine mysteries and divine inspiration, among others –in order to capture something of the essence of Moses’ twofold way of ascending to the divine, an approach which requires at times the enhancement of human reason and at other times the eviction of human reason. The epistemology of the ‘Exposition’ reflects Philo’s understanding of the Pentateuch as a perfect whole partitioned into three distinct yet inseverable parts. Philo’s knowledge discourses in the ‘creation’ part of the ‘Exposition’ reflect two primary movements of thought. The first is heavily invested with a Platonic reading of Genesis 1.27 while the second invests Genesis 2.7 with a mixture of Platonic and Stoic notions of human transformation and well-being. Philo’s discourses in the ‘patriarchs’ segment reflect an interest in portraying the three great patriarchs as exemplars of the virtues of instruction (Abraham), nature (Isaac), and practice (Jacob) which featured prominently in Greek models of education. In the ‘Moses’ segment of the ‘Exposition,’ many of Philo’s discourses on knowledge are marked by an interest in presenting Moses as the ideal king, lawgiver, prophet and priest who surpasses Plato’s paradigm of the philosopher-king. In keeping with this view, Philo insists that the written laws of Moses represent the perfect counterpart to the unwritten law of nature. The life and laws of Moses serve as the paradigm for Philo to understand his own experiences of noetic ascent and exhort readers to cultivate similar aspirational notions and practices.

[pt] Fílon de Alexandria, filósofo judeu do século I, surge como o primeiro pensador a tentar conciliar o conteúdo bíblico à tradição filosófica ocidental. Neste sentido, é mais conhecido por sua doutrina do Logos, sobre a qual ainda se encontram à espera de solução inúmeras controvérsias. Esta Dissertação assume a tarefa de investigar as acepções desse Logos na obra de Fílon, abordando suas relações com a tradição filosófica e com as fontes judaicas. Considera-se sua importância para teologia cristã posterior e o papel da tradição filosófica, sobretudo do platonismo e do estoicismo, na formulação da doutrina do Logos. No entanto, o pensamento filoniano ainda se mostra original e marcado por contribuições alheias à cultura helênica, a saber, judaicas. Esta combinação tem por resultado instigantes reflexões acerca de questões metafísicas, teológicas, éticas e epistemológicas da maior relevância, revelando Fílon como pensador de grande importância na História da Filosofia, pelo que a Dissertação pretende resgatar inúmeras questões que, ao que parece, ainda hoje não foram adequadamente respondidas. Também são questionados o próprio papel da filosofia na busca humana pela sabedoria e o da fé na obtenção da virtude. No que diz respeito especificamente ao Logos filoniano, ele é a ação de Deus no mundo, o instrumento da Criação, modelo do mundo e imagem de Deus, a Palavra reveladora e o único meio a partir do qual a alma humana adquire o conhecimento verdadeiro, que vem do conhecimento de Deus. Esta faculdade, porém, não pertence ao homem senão como dom divino, como graça. / [en] Philo of Alexandria, a first century Jewish philosopher, appears as the first thinker who tried to conciliate biblical contents and western philosophical tradition. In this way, he is better known by his Doctrine of the Logos, about which many controversies are still waiting to be solved. This Dissertation claims the task to examine the meanings of that Logos in Philos works, dealing with its connections to philosophical tradition and Jewish sources as well. We pay regard to its significance to Christian theology and to the role played by philosophical tradition, especially by Platonism as by Stoicism. Otherwise, the Philos thinking still shows itself original and marked by contributions external to the hellenistic culture: Jewish ones. This combination has, by result, provocative ideas on most important metaphysical, theological, ethical and epistemological questions, revealing Philo as a very weighty thinker in the History of Philosophy. For this, the Dissertation aims to restore many questions that we see not yet properly answered. Also questioned are the role played by philosophy in the human search for wisdom and the role played by faith in the attainment of virtue. More strictly concerning philonic Logos, it means Gods action in the world, an instrument for Creation, pattern and example for the world and Gods image, the revealing Word and the sole way by which human soul acquires true knowledge, that comes from the knowledge of God. This power does not belongs to man, but its a gift from God, a grace.

Interpretation of the Life of Moses according to Gregory of Nyssa and Its Inspiration by the Thought of Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC - c. 40 CE) and his allegorical interpretation of the Bible (especially the Pentateuch) had a strong influence on early Christian writers including Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 - c. 395 CE). It is obvious that Gregory was inspired by Philo judging from the fact that Gregory's treatise The Life of Moses (De vita Moysis) has the same name and a partly similar topic as one of Philo's writings. For Gregory, Moses is an ideal example of perfect virtue which consists in a continual progression toward the Good. The main topic of the thesis is Philo's influence on Gregory's interpretation of Moses. The work discusses the following issues in the thought of both authors: the treatise De vita Moysis, the person of Moses, exegetical principles, perfection that could be demonstrated on the life of a good person, the question of knowledge and unknowability of God and the mediation between God and men. Since Gregory's reception of Philo was influenced by Origen of Alexandria, Origen's biblical exegesis and exegetical theory are also briefly presented. In the centre of the thesis, there are those questions: In what way was Gregory's concept of perfect virtue inspired by the...

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of History, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 880-87).

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Cette nouvelle édition critique du De fuga saeculi d’Ambroise de Milan repose sur la collation de nouveaux témoins manuscrits et sur la révision de ceux utilisés par C. Schenkl, dont les valeurs respectives sont évaluées à l’aide d’un stemma absent de son édition de 1897. Le texte ainsi édité est assorti d’une traduction originale en langue française. Le De fuga saeculi, œuvre spirituelle et morale publiée par Ambroise avec trois autres textes au sujet proche, est replacé dans le contexte milanais de la fin du IVe siècle : mutations des modes de vie chrétiens, intérêt pour la vie monastique, concurrence avec les partisans du néoplatonisme et devoir pastoral de guider et former la communauté d’une capitale impériale. L’enquête sur les sources révèle que le De fuga saeculi est à la fois l’héritier des traditions philosophiques platoniciennes et stoïciennes relues au prisme de la pensée de Philon d’Alexandrie, et le promoteur d’une fuite du monde spécifiquement chrétienne inspirée d’épisodes et de préceptes de l’Ancien et du Nouveau Testament. Le commentaire éclaire les enchaînements d’une pensée kaléidoscopique, mettant en évidence les thèmes principaux, leurs reprises et leurs variations. Est ainsi soulignée l’originalité ambrosienne de la fuga saeculi sur un sujet d’actualité à la fin du IVe siècle et au début du Ve siècle : une fuite intra-mondaine qui est différente de celle encouragée par ses contemporains, Jérôme, Paulin de Nole et Augustin. / This new critical edition of De fuga saeculi by Ambrose of Milan is based on the collation of new witness manuscripts and the revision of those used by C. Schenkl (their respective worth was examined thanks to a missing stemma in the 1897 edition). The edition is accompanied by an original French translation. A spiritual and moral work published by Ambrose along with three other texts on a similar topic, De fuga saeculi is placed in its Milanese context of the end of the 4th century : transformations in Christian ways of living, an interest in monastic life, competition with advocates of Neo-Platonism and a pastoral duty to guide and train the community of an imperial capital. An enquiry into the sources reveals that De fuga saeculi both inherits the Neo-Platonician and Stoic philosophical traditions – reinterpreted through the thought of Philo of Alexandria –, and advocates a specifically Christian escape out of the world, inspired by events and precepts from the Old and New Testaments. The commentary displays the sequences of a kaleidoscopic thought and highlights its majors themes, re-uses and variations. Inner-wordly escape is a topical issue of the late 4th and early 5th centuries, but Ambrose’s conception expressed in De fuga saeculy is original given that it differs from those of contemporary writers such as Jerome, Paulinus of Nola and Augustine.