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.

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Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

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

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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

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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

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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

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	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.

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