1 - PHILO'S DOCTRINE OF GOD

Summary

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.’