Philo of Alexandria's Exposition of the Tenth Commandment

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Dissertations Theses and Dissertations
2009
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Hans Svebakken
Loyola University Chicago
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Copyright © 2009 Hans Svebakken
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO

PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA'S EXPOSITION OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

PROGRAM IN THEOLOGY

BY
HANS RICHARD SVEBAKKEN

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
DECEMBER 2009
Copyright by Hans R. Svebakken, 2009
All rights reserved.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Work on this project began in earnest during my year as a Schmitt
Dissertation Fellow (2004 – 2005). I want to thank both the Arthur J. Schmitt
Foundation for its financial support and the Graduate School of Loyola University
Chicago for awarding the fellowship.
Many people have helped me through my years at Loyola. First, I want to
thank the faculties of Classical Studies and Theology for generously sharing their
expertise and equipping me to complete a doctoral dissertation. (Two Professors
no longer at Loyola, David E. Aune and John L. White, deserve thanks as well.)
In particular, I want to thank my two readers, Professors Robert Di Vito and
James Keenan, who taught me much in the course of my studies and
thoughtfully reviewed my work. Most of all, I want to thank Professor Thomas
Tobin, S.J., the director of my dissertation, whose Hellenistic Judaism seminar
sparked my interest in Philo. At every critical juncture of the process, his expert
guidance has invariably steered me toward a better outcome. I want to thank also
my graduate student colleagues, too many to name, whose friendship and
conversation have encouraged me professionally and personally. Finally, I want
to thank Catherine Wolf, Administrative Assistant for the Theology Department,
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for having a friendly answer to all of my questions, and the Interlibrary Loan staff
of Cudahy Library for greatly facilitating my research.
I have a large extended family, and each member—in his or her own
way—deserves a personal word of thanks. But for the sake of brevity I’ll mention
only my family of origin, who first welcomed me into the world. My brother, Pete,
and sister, Khris, my first and oldest friends, have never questioned my choice of
a meandering academic career, and I appreciate their confidence. My father,
Gene, has also been a great encouragement, and I will remember fondly the
extra time we spent together as a result of my education in the Chicago area. My
mother, Kay, gave me a gift of love that continues to shape my life. Sadly, she
did not live to see me complete this degree, but I can well imagine her happy
words and congratulations.
Two people inspire everything I do. My wife, Mary Jane, graciously
welcomed Philo into our lives and supported this project in every possible way. I
cannot begin to express the value of her unfailing encouragement. Our son,
Elias, arrived in the course of chapter four, and the extraordinary joy he brought
into our lives helped carry me over the finish line.
This has been a long journey, and I consider its completion a great
blessing. Unsure of how to express my deepest sense of gratitude, I’ll let Philo
have the last word, in honor of our many hours together: "It is for God to give
benefits and for mortals to give thanks, since they have nothing else to give in
return" (Plant. 130).
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Behold me daring, not only to read the sacred
messages of Moses, but also in my love of knowledge
to peer into each of them and unfold and reveal what
is not known to the multitude.

Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legibus 3.6
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
PHILO’S COMMENTARY ON MOSAIC LEGISLATION 2
PHILO'S EXPOSITION OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT 9
THE VALUE OF PHILO’S EXPOSITION 13
HISTORY OF RESEARCH 17
Harry A. Wolfson 18
Kathy L. Gaca 23
PLAN OF THE DISSERTATION 38

CHAPTER TWO: PHILO ON DESIRE (+A31K93!) 40
INTRODUCTION 40
PHILO’S MIDDLE-PLATONIC CONTEMPORARIES 41
"IRRATIONAL" AND "NON-RATIONAL" IN MORAL PSYCHOLOGY 44
PLATONIC FOUNDATIONS 45
BIPARTITION IN MIDDLE PLATONISM 48
Reason over against z+B42L:\" / 1L:`H 48
Reason over against Appetite (ÐD,>4H) 50
Reason over against Impulse (ÒD:Z) 53
Reason over against Emotion (BV2@H) 57
Summary 59
BIPARTITION IN PHILO’S WRITINGS 60
Reason over against z+B42L:\" / 1L:`H 60
Reason over against Appetite (ÐD,>4H) 62
Reason over against Impulse (ÒD:Z) 65
Reason over against Emotion (BV2@H) 69
Reason over against Sense-Perception ("ÇF20F4H) 72
Reason over against "Stoic" Non-Rational Soul 75
Summary 77
PROBLEMATIC MALFUNCTIONS OF DESIRE 79
Passionate Desire (–:,JD@H ¦B42L:\") 79
Tyrannical Desire (§DTH) 87
}+DTH as Advanced Grade of Desire 89
Negative Impact of }+DTH 93
CONCLUSION 98

CHAPTER THREE: PHILO ON SELF-CONTROL (+'5C!I+3!) AND PRACTICE
(!E5/G3G) 100
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INTRODUCTION 100
THE NATURE OF z+(6DVJ,4" 101
z+(6DVJ,4" -- Victory of Rational over Non-Rational 102
z+(6DVJ,4" -- Curtailing Excessive Impulse 111
z+(6DVJ,4" -- Predominance of Rational Motivation 118
Summary 123
THE ACQUISITION OF z+(6DVJ,4" 124
z+(6DVJ,4" through }!F60F4H 125
z+(6DVJ,4" through Ascetic Precepts 130
CONCLUSION 137

CHAPTER FOUR: PHILO’S EXPOSITION OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT:
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY 139
PHILO’S EXPOSITORY AGENDA 139
Traditional Interpretations of Clean and Unclean Animals 141
Contemporary Genres of Philosophical Literature 144
STRUCTURE OF PHILO’S EXPOSITION 151
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY 153
§78b: Introduction 153
§79: Problem: Every Passion 153
§79 Excursus: Parallel Material in Decal. 142-46 156
§§80 – 83: Overview of Tyrannical Desire 159
§§80 – 83 Excursus: Parallel Material in Decal. 146-50 164
§§84 – 91: Tyrannical Desire as "Source of All Ills" 169
§§84 – 91 Excursus: Parallel Material in Decal. 151-53 174
§§92 – 94: Location of z+B42:\" 175
§§95 – 97: Overview of Moses’ "Paradigmatic Instruction" 179
§§98 – 99: First Fruits 185
§§100 – 102: Introduction to Clean and Unclean Animals 187
§§103 – 109: Land Animals 196
§§110 – 112: Aquatic Animals 207
§§113 – 115: "Reptiles" 209
§§116 – 117: Birds 215
§118: Conclusion of Clean and Unclean Animals 217
§§119 – 121: Dead Animals 220
§§122 – 125: Blood and Fat 224
§§126 – 131: Concluding Moral Narrative 228

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 236
SUMMARY 236
LINES OF FURTHER RESEARCH 240

BIBLIOGRAPHY 244

VITA 281
vii
LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Variations of Bipartition in Middle Platonism 60

2. Variations of Bipartition in Philo’s Writings 77
viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations of primary sources are those of The SBL Handbook of Style (ed.
Patrick H. Alexander et al.; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1999), with the
following exceptions:

PRIMARY SOURCES

Colson English trans. of Spec. 4 by F. H. Colson in vol. 8 of Philo.
Translated by F. H. Colson et al. 12 vols. Loeb Classical Library.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1929-1962.

Didask. Didaskalikos by Alcinous. English trans. cited by ch. and sec. in
The Handbook of Platonism. Translated with intro. and comm. by
John Dillon. Oxford: Clarendon, 1993. Gk. text cited in brackets by
p. [ed. Hermann, 1853] and line in Enseignement des doctrines de
Platon. Edited with intro. and comm. by John Whittaker. Translated
by Pierre Louis. 2d ed. Paris: Belles Lettres, 2002 (e.g., Didask.
32.4 [186.14-18]).

DL Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Translated by R.
D. Hicks. 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1925.

Eclog. Eclogae Physicae et Ethicae by Ioannes Stobaeus. Cited by
p. and line in vol. 2 of Ioannes Stobaeus. Anthologii libri duo
priores. 2 vols. Edited by Curt Wachsmuth. Berlin: Weidmann,
1884.

ESE Epitome of Stoic Ethics by Arius Didymus. Cited by sec. in
Epitome of Stoic Ethics. Edited by Arthur J. Pomeroy. Texts and
Translations 44. Greco-Roman Series 14. Atlanta: Society of
Biblical Literature, 1999.

Heinemann German trans. of Spec. 4 by Isaak Heinemann in vol. 2 of Die
Werke Philos von Alexandria in Deutscher Übersetzung. Edited by
L. Cohn, I. Heinemann, et al. 7 vols. Breslau, Berlin 1909-1964.

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