Robert Kraft GH 035 (Religious Studies 409) Philo Judaeus: Crossroads of Jewish, Greek and Christian Worlds Philo of Alexandria was a contemporary of Jesus and Paul whose voluminous writings provide us with a glimpse into the world of a very learned Greek-speaking Jew in antiquity. Philo attempts to present Judaism as a sophisticated, intellectually and culturally viable option within the Greco- Roman confluence of philosophies and religions -- in much the same way as some modern Jewish thinkers have done for today. As classical Judaism developed in the period of late antiquity, it left Philo and other Greek sources behind; emerging classical Christianity, on the other hand, viewed Philo as an ally, and preserved his writings. The course will attempt to address the question of Philo's relationship to these various worlds. Robert Kraft earned his BA (Philosophy) and MA (Biblical Literature: New Testament) from Wheaton College in Illinois, and his PhD (Christian Origins) from Harvard (1961). He taught briefly at the University of Manchester (England) before coming to Penn in 1963. The primary focus of his scholarly career has been on the interfaces between early Christianity and its Jewish ancestry, in the framework of the study of religion more generally. He is also deeply involved in the use of computers for scholarly research in the humanities. Course Readings: Background (see also Nickelsburg-Stone, Kraft-Nickelsburg) R. Kraft, "Judaism on the World Scene" (revised) R. Kraft, "Multiform Jewish Heritage..." (revised) Philo as Object of Study (see Annotated Bibliog) S. Sandmel, Philo of Alexandria and article in ANRW E. R. Goodenough, Intro to Philo Judaeus Philo as Author/Thinker N. Glatzer (ed), The Essential Philo Abraham - Migration of Abraham Virtuous & Contemplative Creation - Cherubim & Allegorical Laws 1 Moses (samples) - QuGen(excerpts) Loeb editions for selections