336 texts in Philo of Alexandria
That feeling isn't new. In fact, it's something that the ancient sages grappled with too. One particular verse that sparked a lot of discussion is from (Genesis 6:3): "My spirit sh...
It’s a question that’s puzzled thinkers for ages, and surprisingly, we find some intriguing early thoughts on it in the writings attributed to Philo of Alexandria, an important Jew...
These are the kinds of questions that the ancient interpreters of the Bible loved to wrestle with! And in a fascinating, though fragmented, text known as The Midrash of Philo, we f...
One such answer comes from a text attributed to Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt during the first century. While scholars debate whether he actually pen...
But wait a minute… God, anxious? God, regretting? It’s a pretty radical idea, isn’t it? We’re talking about (Genesis 6:6), that stark verse that says, "God considered anxiously bec...
One that theologians and philosophers have wrestled with for centuries. We find it even bubbling up in the ancient texts. Take, for example, the passage that talks about God "repen...
God’s not just upset with humanity. He says, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I...
But maybe there's a deeper reason. Maybe the Torah, in its infinite wisdom, is trying to teach us something profound about our relationship with the world around us. Philo, the 1st...
That’s the kind of divine regret we find hinted at in (Genesis 6:7), when God says, "I am indignant that I made them." Now, hold on. Does that sound. God, feeling indignant? Isn't ...
Take Noah, for example. The world’s about to be… well, let’s just say thoroughly cleansed. And yet, (Genesis 6:8) tells us, almost as an aside, that Noah "found grace in the sight ...
Jewish tradition explores that feeling in a fascinating way when it discusses Noah. The world was, to put it mildly, a mess. According to the Torah, humanity's wickedness had reach...
It’s a question that has puzzled rabbis and scholars for centuries, and it's precisely the kind of textual wrinkle that the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) loves to expl...
These are the kinds of questions that our sages wrestled with, poring over every word of the Torah for hidden meanings. Let's consider Noah. We all know the story: the flood, the a...
The Midrash of Philo delves into this very question, picking apart the scripture and searching for deeper meaning. One passage in particular focuses on a specific verse from Genesi...
Philo, in his exploration of the Torah, grapples with this very idea. He's looking at the verse in Genesis (6:12) that describes the corruption of the world before the flood: "all ...
It's like we're trying to soften the blow, to create a little distance between the person and the negative action. Well, it turns out this isn't just a quirk of human interaction; ...
That feeling, that nagging sense of injustice, it's not new. Not by a long shot. In fact, it’s a question that echoes all the way back to the very beginning, to the story of Noah a...
And in the Midrash of Philo, we find a fascinating take on fate, divine justice, and the reasons behind catastrophic events like, say, the Flood. Philo addresses those who argue ag...
to a fascinating interpretation found in The Midrash of Philo. Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, wasn't afraid to think outside the box. He ...
Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in Egypt during the Roman era, did just that. He delved deep into the Torah, seeking hidden wisdom and allegorical interpretatio...
Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the first century CE, offers a unique allegorical interpretation of the Torah. And in this particular midrash (rabbinic interpre...
The sheer scale of devastation... it's almost too much to comprehend. And that brings us to a fascinating little puzzle tucked away within the text of Genesis, a question that the ...
The ancient sages wrestled with this feeling too. And in a fascinating passage attributed to Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish philosopher who lived in the first century CE, we find a ...
The verse in question, from (Genesis 6:13), states that "all things which existed upon the earth shall be consumed." But why? The text grapples with this apparent injustice. One ex...
We're talking about Noah, of course. The righteous man in a world gone completely bonkers. And just before the floodgates open, God says something really interesting: "I will set u...
It's not about bloodlines or earthly possessions, according to Philo. It's something far more profound. Philo, in his Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), tackles this very ...
The Torah tells us plainly: "Enter thou and all thy house into the ark, because I have seen that thou art a just man before me in that generation" (Genesis 7:1). But why? What made...
It’s a question that sits at the heart of much Jewish thought, and one that the ancient sage Philo of Alexandria grapples with in his writings. Philo, a Jewish philosopher who live...
(Genesis 7:2) lays it out: seven pairs of every clean animal, but only one pair of unclean animals. Seems straightforward, but... why? That’s a question that’s been puzzling interp...
Philo, deeply influenced by both Greek philosophy and Jewish tradition, offers a unique perspective. He sees the number seven as "clean," a virgin number, untouched and complete. I...
The animals are all loaded, the family’s aboard… what’s the hold-up? Well, our sages pondered this very question, and, as they often do, came up with some beautiful and thought-pro...
Take the story of Noah and the Ark. We all know the basic plot: God sends a flood, Noah builds an ark, and saves his family and the animals. But what about the deeper meaning? What...
(Genesis 7:4) tells us that the rain fell for this specific duration, but why this particular number? Philo, in his Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), delves into this ver...
Take, for instance, the verse in (Genesis 7:4): "I will destroy every living substance that I have made from off the face of the earth." (Genesis 7:4) Doesn't that phrasing strike ...
The words that seem almost... unnecessary? Like when we read, "Noah did everything which the Lord commanded him" (Genesis 7:5). Seems straightforward. Noah was a righteous guy, God...
This particular midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), let's call it Midrash of Philo 5, offers what we might call a "noble panegyric" – high praise, really – for the just per...
(Genesis 7:11) isn’t messing around. Why that precise moment for the deluge to begin? It’s a question that’s kept commentators busy for centuries. Specifically, the Midrash of Phil...
Our tradition is rich with layers of meaning, isn't it? And sometimes, the smallest detail holds a hidden universe. Take the timing of the great flood. It wasn't just any time. The...
Take the flood narrative in Genesis, for example. We read that "the fountains of the deep were broken open and the floodgates of the sky were opened" (Genesis 7:11). Straightforwar...
Like when Noah is safely tucked away in the ark, the Torah tells us, "And the Lord shut him in, closing the doors of the ark" (Genesis 7:16). Okay, so God closed the door. Makes se...
It might sound a bit out there, but ancient wisdom suggests there's more truth to that feeling than you might think. Philo, the 1st-century Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, saw ...
The Torah tells us, in (Genesis 7:19), about the flood: “And the water overflowed fifteen cubits above all the highest mountains.” Simple enough on the surface. But if we dig a lit...
We often skim past the stark pronouncements in the Torah, like "And all flesh capable of motion perished" (Genesis 7:21), without truly grasping the implications. But what exactly ...
But what does it really mean? We find ourselves asking, what are we to make of the devastating phrase, "And everything which was on the dry land died?" (Genesis 7:22). Philo, the 1...
The ancient stories of the flood, like the one starring Noah, resonate so deeply because they speak to that very human experience. We all know the story: God saw wickedness and sen...
And that's precisely the question posed in The Midrash of Philo, a collection of interpretations and expansions on the Torah attributed to Philo of Alexandria, the great Jewish phi...
It's more than just annoying; some ancient wisdom traditions see it as a dangerous imbalance, a distortion of the very self. Philo, a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria in the...
And they weren't afraid to ask the tough questions. Take this one, for example, posed in The Midrash of Philo: Why does the Torah specifically mention that God remembered Noah, the...
