Creation and Literary Re-Creation

Ambrose’s Use of Philo in the Hexaemeral Letters

One of the distinctive characteristics of the writings of Ambrose of Milan is his frequent and lengthy borrowings from the works of Philo of Alexandria. He treated the 1st-century Jewish philosopher as an authoritative predecessor and made use of his works to a far greater extent than any other Church Father did. This study seeks to fill a lacuna in the current scholarship by investigating Ambrose’s use of Philo in his collection of letters, focusing on a set of three letters concerning the topic of the Genesis creation account (Ep. 29, 31, & 34 [PL#43, 44, & 45]). In all three cases, Ambrose fielded questions on the Six Days of Creation (Hexaemeron) by drawing upon Philo’s treatise De opificio mundi. Each of these letters is undeniably Philonic and yet uniquely Ambrosian. This study seeks to clarify why Ambrose found Philo to be particularly valuable in spite of his Jewishness and also to investigate how Ambrose interpreted, adapted, and ultimately re-created his source.

Be the first to review this product

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

Availability: In stock

SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-4087-5

Formats *

Publication Status: In Print

Series: Gorgias Studies in Early Christianity and Patristics72

Publication Date: Oct 17,2019

Interior Color: Black

Trim Size: 6 x 9

Page Count: 244

Languages: English

ISBN: 978-1-4632-4087-5

Price: $146.00

Your price: $87.60

Qty:

Ship to

Shipping Method

Name

Estimated Delivery

Price

No shipping options

One of the distinctive characteristics of the writings of Ambrose of Milan is his frequent and lengthy borrowings from the works of Philo of Alexandria. He treated the 1st-century Jewish philosopher as an authoritative predecessor and made use of his works to a far greater extent than any other Church Father did. This study seeks to fill a lacuna in the current scholarship by investigating Ambrose’s use of Philo in his collection of letters, focusing on a set of three letters concerning the topic of the Genesis creation account (Ep. 29, 31, & 34 [PL#43, 44, & 45]). In all three cases, Ambrose fielded questions on the Six Days of Creation (Hexaemeron) by drawing upon Philo’s treatise De opificio mundi. Each of these letters is undeniably Philonic and yet uniquely Ambrosian. This study seeks to clarify why Ambrose found Philo to be particularly valuable in spite of his Jewishness and also to investigate how Ambrose interpreted, adapted, and ultimately re-created his source.

REVIEWS

"Elliott concludes his study with the valuable observation that Ambrose was a faithful transmitter of the tradition, who, incidentally, put his personal stamp on it as well. In this, I completely agree with Elliott. His study is of great scholarly importance, a real Fundgrube. It is very insightful and indispensable to further research on Ambrose."

- Marius A. van Willigen, Augustiniana 2022.

"I recommend this study to anyone interested in the theology of Ambrose, early Christian use of Philo, and hexaemeral literature. It is a fine introduction to this locus of early Christian literature and offers insight into the collocation of dependence and originality."

- Alexander H. Pierce, North American Lutheran Seminary, Trinity School for Ministry, RBL 08/2023

Overview
Reviews
Contact Us
About the Author

One of the distinctive characteristics of the writings of Ambrose of Milan is his frequent and lengthy borrowings from the works of Philo of Alexandria. He treated the 1st-century Jewish philosopher as an authoritative predecessor and made use of his works to a far greater extent than any other Church Father did. This study seeks to fill a lacuna in the current scholarship by investigating Ambrose’s use of Philo in his collection of letters, focusing on a set of three letters concerning the topic of the Genesis creation account (Ep. 29, 31, & 34 [PL#43, 44, & 45]). In all three cases, Ambrose fielded questions on the Six Days of Creation (Hexaemeron) by drawing upon Philo’s treatise De opificio mundi. Each of these letters is undeniably Philonic and yet uniquely Ambrosian. This study seeks to clarify why Ambrose found Philo to be particularly valuable in spite of his Jewishness and also to investigate how Ambrose interpreted, adapted, and ultimately re-created his source.

REVIEWS

- Marius A. van Willigen, Augustiniana 2022.

- Alexander H. Pierce, North American Lutheran Seminary, Trinity School for Ministry, RBL 08/2023

Your name *

Your email *

Subject: *

Enquiry *

	Contributor	Biography
	PaulElliott	Paul M. C. Elliott is Assistant Professor of Theology at Concordia University Irvine. He holds a PhD from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and an MDiv from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. His research interests include the Hebrew Bible, especially Genesis and the Minor Prophets, and its history of interpretation, making use of both early Jewish and Christian traditions.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Syriac-English New Testament

After the success of the Antioch Bible, this publication is a new, historic edition of the Syriac-English New Testament in a single volume. The English translations of the New Testament Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text were carried out by an international team of scholars. NOTE: If you meant to order the beautiful gold gilded edition of this book, rather than the standard format, please see the link in the Overview text below.

From $30.00

Peshitta English New Testament

After the success of the Antioch Bible, this publication is a new translation of the Peshitta English New Testament in a single volume. The English translations of the New Testament Syriac Peshitta were carried out by an international team of scholars. The volume is also available in a beautiful gilded leather edition (ISBN 978-1-4632-4217-6).

From $25.00

"And from his side came blood and milk"

This book examines the function and development of the cult of saints in Coptic Egypt, focusing primarily on the material provided by the texts forming the Coptic hagiographical tradition of the early Christian martyr Philotheus of Antioch, and more specifically, the Martyrdom of St Philotheus of Antioch (Pierpont Morgan M583). This Martyrdom is a reflection of a once flourishing cult which is attested in Egypt by rich textual and material evidence. This text enjoyed great popularity not only in Egypt, but also in other countries of the Christian East, since his dossier includes texts in Coptic, Georgian, Ethiopic, and Arabic.

$114.95 $68.97

Ambrose of Milan's On the Holy Spirit

Despite being the first extended defense of the divinity of the Holy Spirit written in Latin and influencing the Trinitarian theology of Augustine of Hippo, Ambrose of Milan’s On the Holy Spirit (De Spiritu Sancto) has received little scholarly attention. This book seeks to change this perspective by claiming that Ambrose defines the Holy Spirit in a way consistent with pro-Nicene theology using classical Ciceronian rhetoric to interpret Scripture in a quasi-judicial situation.

$158.00 $94.80