Scripture Insights with John Weir

Category: Philo of Alexandria

  • How was your father?

    Ah, my father. His name was Julius, a nobleman of high standing in Alexandria, wealthy, respected, and devoted to the customs of our people. He gave generously to the synagogue and saw to it that his children were trained both in the Law of Moses and in the sciences of the Greeks—as was fitting for a Jewish family dwelling in a city where the two worlds met daily in tension and wonder.

    He did not write books nor seek fame, but his wisdom lived in his restraint, his reverence for God, and his careful stewardship of our household. It was from him I learned the beauty of order, the value of silence, and the strength of faith that does not always need to speak.

    If he had ambitions, he placed them beneath the greater duty of faithfulness. And though he may not be remembered in the halls of Rome or the academies of Athens, his name is known in heaven, and that is the only remembrance worth seeking.

  • How he would like to be understood

    If I could impress one truth upon those who read my works or ponder my life, it would be this:

    I did not write to glorify philosophy, but to glorify God. I drew deeply from the wells of Greek thought—not because I believed it equal to divine revelation, but because I saw in it fragments of truth that could serve as handmaids to the eternal Word.

    Above all, I longed for people to understand that human greatness lies not in self-mastery, but in self-emptying—the recognition that we are but vessels, and that it is God alone who fills us with reason, freedom, and breath. To know this is to begin to walk in wisdom.

    I hoped to show, through my allegories and teachings, that the soul’s true ascent is not through logic alone, nor through ritual alone, but through humility, faith, and the inner transformation that comes from drawing near to the Invisible One.

    In sum: Do not look at me as a philosopher trying to build a system. Look at me as a worshiper, kneeling before the burning bush of revelation, striving to remove the sandals of pride, and urging others to do the same.

  • Short Bio of Philo

    Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE) was a Hellenistic Jewish thinker, born into a prominent and wealthy family in Alexandria, Egypt—a great center of Jewish life and Greek philosophy. I lived at a time when Rome ruled the known world, and Jewish communities, though scattered, were vibrant and deeply devoted to the Torah. I sought to reconcile the divine revelation of the Hebrew Scriptures with the best of Greek philosophy, particularly Platonism and Stoicism, though always placing the wisdom of God above the wisdom of men.

    My central belief, indeed the root of my whole philosophy, was that God alone truly exists, and that man, in himself, is ouden, nothing. Human reason (logos) is not autonomous but a gift from God, a faint image of the Divine Logos through which the world was created and through which it continues to be sustained.

    In all things, I was devoted to the Law of Moses, not as a mere legal code, but as a sacred revelation, filled with allegorical wisdom. I interpreted Scripture with the eyes of faith, using the method of allegory to show that beneath the literal events lay profound spiritual truths. I believed that Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and others were not only historical figures but also symbols of the soul’s journey toward God.

    Although I am often called a “philosopher,” I would more rightly be known as a servant of the Word, one who used the tools of philosophy not to exalt man’s reason, but to humble it before the majesty of God. I taught that the truly wise man does not trust in himself, but becomes an instrument in the hands of the Almighty—renouncing pride, submitting the passions, and pursuing virtue through the grace given by the Lord.

  • Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE) 

    I’ll be sharing about Philo of Alexandria over the next month or so. I hope you enjoy what he shares. I first read his work about eight years ago, and I bought the book you see the cover of above. Some of it is very deep and I don’t mean philosophical or religious. He describes things about how the world was made and about physics that are beyond me. But what I like the most is his love for God and for people.