Table of Contents
Philo of Alexandria: On the Creation of the Cosmos according to Moses
Contents
General Introduction to the Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series by Gregory E. Sterling, General Editor
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The place of the treatise in the Philonic corpus
2. The genre of the treatise
3. Analysis of the treatise's contents
4. The use of the Bible and the role of exegesis and exegetical traditions
(a) Philo's references to the biblical text
(b) Philo's method of exegesis in Opif.
(c) traditions of exegesis
(d) Philo's text of the Pentateuch
5. The main themes of the treatise
6. Special theme: number symbolism and the arithmological tradition
7. The intellectual Sitz im Leben
(a) Judaism
(b) Hellenism
8. The Nachleben of the treatise
9. The text of the treatise
10. Status quaestionis: previous scholarship on the treatise
(a) scholarly literature specifically focused on Opif.
(b) general studies
11. Some notes on the method used in the translation
12. Some notes on the method used in the commentary
Translation: Philo of Alexandria, On the creation of the cosmos according to Moses
[Chapter 1] Introduction
[Chapter 2] A preliminary comment on God and the cosmos
[Chapter 3] The scheme of six days
[Chapter 4] Day one: creation of the intelligible cosmos
[Chapter 5] "In the beginning" does not mean creation in time
[Chapter 6] The chief contents of the intelligible cosmos
[Chapter 7] Second day: creation of the firmament
[Chapter 8] Third day: creation of the earth
[Chapter 9] Fourth day: a puzzle and the significance of its number
[Chapter 10] Fourth day: creation of the heavenly bodies
[Chapter 11] Fifth day: creation of the animal world
[Chapter 12] Why is the human being created after God's image?
[Chapter 13] Why was the human being not created by God alone?
[Chapter 14] Why was the human being created last of all?
[Chapter 15] The seventh day: excursus on the hebdomad
[Chapter 16] A summarizing reflection
[Chapter 17] The separation of the fresh from the salt water
[Chapter 18] Creation of the first human bang from the earth
[Chapter 19] The excellence of the first human being
[Chapter 20] The giving of names
[Chapter 21] Woman appears on the scene
[Chapter 22] Events in the garden of delights and their interpretation
[Chapter 23] Interpretation of the snake
[Chapter 24] The consequences of wickedness
[Chapter 25] Moses teaches five vital lessons
Notes to the text and translation
Commentary
Title of the Work
1: Introduction (§§1-6)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS 1: Law, cosmos and nature
EXCURSUS 2: An alternative interpretation of the seal image (§6)
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
2: A preliminary comment on God and the cosmos (§§7-12)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS: Recent interpretations of Philo's argument
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
3: The scheme of six days (§§13-15a)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
4: Day one: creation of the intelligible cosmos (§§15b-25)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS 1: Philo and the doctrine of the ideas as God's thoughts
EXCURSUS 2: Philo on the origin of matter
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
5: In the beginning does not mean creation in time (§§26-28)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
6: The chief contents of the intelligible cosmos (§§29-35)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS: Wolfson's and Winston's interpretation of §29
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
7: Second day: creation of the firmament (§§36-37)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegeses
Nachleben
8: Third day: creation of the earth (§§38-44)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
9: Fourth day: a puzzle and the significance of its number (§§45-52)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
10: Fourth day: creation of the heavenly bodies (§§53-61)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS: The Hellenistic cosmic religion
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
11: Fifth day: creation of the animal world (§§62-68)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben.
12: Why is the human being created "after God's image"? (§§69-71)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
13: Why was the human being not created by God alone? (§§72-76)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
14: Why was the human being created last of all? (§§77-88)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
15: The seventh day: excursus on the Hebdomad (§§89-128)
Analysis/General comments
Structure and contents
Sources of and parallels for Philo's material
The hebdomad and Judaism
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS 1: On John Lydus and the interpretation of §100
EXCURSUS 2: Further discussion on Philo's use of sources
EXCURSUS 3: A transladon of Anatolius' chapter on the Hebdomad
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
16: A summarizing reflection (§§129-130)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
17: The separation of the fresh from the salt water (§§131-133)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
18: Creation of the first human being from the earth (§§134-135)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
19: The excellence of the first human being (§§136-147)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
20: The giving of names (§§148-150)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
21: Woman appears on the scene (§§151-152)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
EXCURSUS: Philo's attitude towards women and sexuality
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
22: Events in the garden of delights and their interpretation (§§153-156)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
23: Interpretation of the snake (§§157-166)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed, comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
24: The consequences of wickedness (§§167-170a)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Parallel exegesis
Nachleben
25: Moses teaches five vital lessons (§§170b-172)
Analysis/General comments
Detailed comments
Exegetical parallels
Nachleben
Bibliography
1. Philo of Alexandria
2. Other ancient texts
3. Modern scholarly literature
Indices
1. Index of biblical passages cited
2. Index of Philonic texts cited
3. Index of ancient texts cited
4. Index of subjects and names
5. Index of Greek terms
