Harvard Divinity School

Christians and Jews in First-Century Alexandria Author(s): Birger A. Pearson Source: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 79, No. 1/3, Christians among Jews and Gentiles: Essays in Honor of Krister Stendahl on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday (Jan. - Jul., 1986), pp. 206-216 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Harvard Divinity School Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1509413 Accessed: 11/01/2010 15:22
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HTR 79:1-3 (1986) 206-16

AND JEWS CHRISTIANS IN FIRST-CENTURY ALEXANDRIA A. Birger Pearson of University California SantaBarbara

Introduction

Krister Stendahl represents, to my mind, the very best of of "realisticinterpretation" the Bible, resolutely Scandinavian-style situationof the text and its faithfulin his exegesis to the historical in authorbut then marvelously insightful elicitingfromthe text a fresh issuesin churchand to andsometimessurprising address contemporary interestin relations Stendahl's As society.1 is well known,it is precisely betweenJews and Christians (Jewishand Gentile) that has made so and workso stimulating innovative.As it muchof his New Testament has geographically happens,though,his research tendedto concentrate and "from Jerusalem as far roundas on that largesweep of territory WhatI wantto do in this articlein his honoris to explore Illyricum."2 an area relatively untouchedby my teacher-Alexandria-inan effort therein the relations can to see if anything be saidof Jewish-Christian first century. In doing this I must perforceextend our investigation for sources. Even so the taskis formidable, the mainlyto noncanonical "about churchis, as Stendahl Alexandrian says, something first-century

1See esp. TheBibleand theRole of Women (trans.EmilieT. Sander;Facet Books, Biblical Series 15; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1966). He comments on "realisticinterpretation" of the Bible in Sweden on p. 10. The best statement of his position on the difference between exegesis and hermeneuticsis his now classicarticleon "BiblicalTheology," IDB and Guide(Philadelphia: 1. 418-32, now reprintedin Meanings:The Bible as Document Fortress, 1984) 11-44. 2 Rom 15:19. I am thinkingmainly of Stendahl'sincisive contributionsto scholarship on Matthewand Paul.

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whichwe knownothing."3 Whatfollowsis, therefore,largelya matter of inference,at least insofaras it bearsupon first-century Christianity that in Alexandria.Insofar it bearsuponfirst-century as Judaism, giant Philo Judaeus,will play a among Jewish exegetes and philosophers, substantial role.
Jews in Alexandria

of It need hardly statedthatthe firstpreaching the gospelof Mesbe was siah Jesus in Alexandria centeredin the Jewishcommunity there, Jewishsettlementin the entire Greekthe largestand most powerful misspeakingworld. What sort of receptiondid the early Christian sionariesexperiencethere? And how did the existingJudaismcolor and of the development Christian preaching teaching? In raisingthis in to issue it is necessary say somethingaboutJewishreligiosity Alexand as especially to how Jewsthereinterpreted lived the Torah, andria, to what extent messianicexpectations might have been partof their the beliefs, and how open they were to Gentiles, including extent to which they welcomedGentile proselytesinto the Jewish politeuma. bound up with political, Such questionsare, of course, ineluctably social, and economicfactors. While we cannotenter into these questo eventswhichpowertions here,4it is worthwhile recallthe following affected Jewish life in Alexandriaduring the period of our fully interest:the introduction CaesarAugustusof the laographia (pollby in the tax) in 24/23 BCE;the pogrom against JewsunderFlaccus 38 CE; the disturbances massacre Jews underPhilo'sapostate of and nephew, TiberiusJulius Alexander,in 66; the destructionof the Jerusalem in and Templein 70 and its aftermath; the JewishrevoltunderTrajan out. was in whichthe Jewishcommunity virtually wiped 115-17, has VictorA. Tcherikover stressedthe divisionsin the Alexandrian cultured Jewswho favoreda betweenthe educated, Jewishcommunity and betweenHellenismand Judaism, the lowerstrataof the synthesis whose ideology, more open to influencesfrom Palestine, population
3 See PaulAmongJewsand Gentiles Fortress, 1976) 70. (Philadelphia: 4 See, e.g., VictorA Tcherikover,"The Decline of the JewishDiasporain Egyptin the Roman Period," JJS 14 (1963) 1-32; Tcherikover's"Prolegomena"to the Corpus PapyHarvard rorum Judaicarum vols.; ed. Tcherikover,Alexander Fuks, et al.; Cambridge: (3 University Press, 1957-64) 1. 1-111; E. Mary Smallwood, TheJews underRomanRule: FromPompeyto Diocletian (Leiden:Brill, 1976) esp. 220-55; 364-68; 389-412; 516-19; articlesby M. Stern, S. Safrai,and S. Appelbaumin TheJewishPeoplein the FirstCentury (CompendiaRerum Iudaicarumad Novum Testamentum 1:1-2; Assen: Van Gorcum; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974-76).

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was stamped by messianism and a fighting spirit.5Philo belonged to the first group. From his writings alone one can get a good picture of the various attitudes towardthe Law exhibited by Jews in Alexandria: two groups of "literalist" interpreters,consisting of faithful primitivistson the one hand, and unfaithful scoffers on the other; and two groups of "allegorizers," consisting of those who, like Philo himself, interpreted the scripturesallegoricallybut observed the practicesof the Law, and, on the other hand, those whose spiritualinterpretationof the Law led them to abandon the practices altogether.6We also know from Philo that some Jews chose the path of complete apostasy from the Jewish community. We know from him, too, that a considerable number of Gentiles affiliatedwith the Jewish religious community as proselytes.7 In Tcherikover'sdiscussion of the ideology of the lower-classmessianist Jews he reminds us that there is little or no documentary or literaryevidence about them.8 But, as a matter of fact, Philo was himself not untouched by messianism. Though he never actuallyrefers to "the Messiah" (he would have said "the Christ") in any of his writings, he does, nevertheless, tell us a lot about AlexandrianJewish messianic expectations. The key treatise is De praemiis et poenis ("On Rewardsand Punishments"), recently analyzedby FerdinandDexinger in an importantarticle on post-HerodianJewish messianism.9Dexinger delineates the following "messianic scenario":10
Startingpoint: a) Enmity between man and beast (Praem 85, 87) b) Assault of enemies (Praem 94; cf. Psalm 2)

5Tcherikover,"Decline of the Jewish Diaspora,"esp. 22-27. 6 For discussion and references see Peder Borgen, "Philo of Alexandria:A Critical and SyntheticalSurvey of Researchsince WorldWar II," ANRWII:21.1(1983) 98-154, esp. 126-28. Migr. Abr. 89-93 is the most importantpassage dealing with the lastnamed category. Specificissues addressedinclude Sabbathand other festival observance, circumcision,and the sanctityof the Temple. 7 Apostates: Virt 182; Vit. Mos. 1.30-31; De spec. leg. 3.29. Proselytes: Virt.182; Quaest.in. Ex 2.2. In Virt.175-86 Philo discusses the processof conversion to Judaism. On this and other importanttexts and their relation to the early Christianmission to Gentiles see Peder Borgen, "The EarlyChurchand the HellenisticSynagogue," StTh37 (1983) 55-78. 8 "Decline of the JewishDiaspora,"24. 9 "Ein 'Messianisches Szenarium' als Gemeingut des Judentums in nachherodian"Philo's ischer Zeit," Kairos17 (1975) 249-78, esp. 250-55. See also Ray Barraclough, Politics," in ANRWII:21.1(1983) 417-553, esp. 480-81. 10"Ein 'Messianisches Szenarium,'" 254-55.

Pearson: First-CenturyAlexandria
Messianicoccurrences: a) b) c) d) e) f) Results: g) Peace in nature (Praem 89; cf. Isa 11:6) h) Peace among nations (Praem 95, 97) i) Rebuildingof cities (Praem 168) Exemplarystatus of Israel (Praem 114) Leadershipof a "man" (Praem 95, 97; cf. Num 24:7)1 Gatheringof Israel (Praem 165) Passage out of the wilderness (Praem 165) Divine manifestations (Praem 165) Arrivalat cities in ruins (Praem 168)

209

The importance of this "messianic scenario" in Philo's treatise is that it representscontemporaryAlexandriantradition. Philo's own religious tendency, likely shared by others in Alexandria, is to interiorize this vision, interpretingit finally in terms of the growth of virtue in the human soul (Praem 172). Even the "man" of Num 24:7 is so interiorized, for the reference in Praem 95 is most probably to the Logos. Philo's treatment of another messianic passage in the Old Tesin tament, Zech 6:12, makes this interpretation very likely, for a&varoMr Zech 6:12 (LXX, for Hebrew semah, "sprout" or "branch" [RSV]) is clearly interpretedby him as a reference to the Logos, "the eldest son whom the Father of all raised up."12 In other words, Philo was essentially a proponentof "realizedeschatology."13
Christians in Alexandria

The New Testament provides only tantalizinghints of the Christian mission to Egypt, mainly because the author of Acts was more interested in other areas of the Mediterraneanworld. He does tell us that Jews from Egypt were present at Peter's Pentecost speech (Acts 2:10). The disputants in the controversy with the "Hellenist" protomartyr, Stephen, included Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria (6:9). Indeed it is possible that Stephen himself, or one or more of the other seven Hellenist leaders, came from there (except Nicolaus, who was from Antioch, Acts 6:5). It is also likely that some of the Hellenists
I The LXX of Num 24:7a reads: "There shall come a man from his (Israel's) seed, and he shall rule over many nations" (my translation). 12 Corf 62-63. On these texts see J. de Savignac, "Le messianisme de Philon d'Alexandrie," NT4 (1959) 319-24, esp. 320. 13There are, to be sure, other traces of end-time expectation in Philo beside the aforementioned passages in Praem See, e.g., Virt 75; Vit. Mos. 2.44, 288; Op. mund 79-81.

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hounded out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1) went to Alexandria;in any case, traffic between Jerusalem and Alexandria was extensive at that time. "Luke" provides a hint of the existence of a Christiancommunity in Egypt in the forties of our era in Acts 18:24-25, where he refers to Apollos as a Jew from Alexandria, eloquent, and powerfullylearned in the scriptures. If the "Western" reading at Acts 18:25 is historically correct, we have a clear reference to the existence of a Christiancommunity in Alexandriaat that time, for accordingto that variant, Apollos "had been instructedin the word in his home country." Unfortunately we are not told who the originalmissionariesto Alexandriawere. According to the Egyptian Christian tradition it was Mark the Evangelist who was founder and first bishop of the church in Alexandria. Eusebius is our earliest extant source for this tradition,14but his telling of it can hardly be said to inspire much confidence, particularly when he goes on to use Philo's descriptionof the Jewish "Therapeutae" as a testimonial to Mark's Christianconverts!15Eusebius' instinct is correct, however, when he stresses that the "apostolicmen" in Alexandria during Philo's time were "of Hebrew origin, and thus still preserved most of the ancient customs in a strictly Jewish manner."16 In any case, there can hardly be any question that the earliest missionaries to Alexandriawere Jews coming from Jerusalem, and that the earliest Christianconverts in Alexandriawere Jews. Indeed it is doubtful that a clear separationbetween church and synagogue was effected there until the end of the first century or the beginningof the second. What sort of Christianity was represented in the Alexandrian church? Our only recourse in attemptingto answer this question is to engage in historical inference, for we have no first-centurysources at all, at least not any complete texts.17One still popularinference is that
14The letter fragment of Clement of Alexandria edited by Morton Smith refers to Mark's arrivalin Alexandriaafter Peter's death in Rome, but nothing is said of Mark's and a Secret role as founder or first bishop. See Morton Smith, Clementof Alexandria Gospelof Mark (Cambridge:HarvardUniversity Press, 1973) 448 (text), 446 (ET). I have analyzed the Mark legend in my article, "Earliest Christianityin Egypt: Some Observations,"in BirgerA. Pearsonand James E. Goehring, eds., TheRoots of Egyptian Fortress, 1986 [forthcoming]). Christianity (Philadelphia: 15Hist. eccl.2.16-17; cf. Philo Vit.cont 16 Hist. eccL 2.17.2. 17 Some noncanonicalgospels, of which only fragments remain, may belong to late the Alexandria: The Gospelof the Hebrews, Egerton papyrus,and the Secret first-century Gospelof Mark On the last two see now John Dominic Crossan, Four OtherGospels: Shadowson the Contours Canon (Minneapolis:Winston, 1985) 65-121. What is still of needed is study of all of the early gospels and gospel traditionsin Egypt. Such a study of there. would undoubtedlyshed importantlight on the character Christianity

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of WalterBauer,who positsthat the original most dominant and form of Christianity Alexandriauntil the time of Bishop Demetrius in In Gnostic.18 makingthis (189-231) was "heretical" and, specifically, Baueris essentially from the time of backwards judgment extrapolating whensuch Gnosticteachers Basilides, as and Hadrian, Valentinus, Carwereactive. Sucha procedure dubious,especially is whenit is pocrates recalledthat these men were highlyoriginal thinkers. WhileI thinkit is possiblethat Christian(and Jewish)19 Gnosticscould be found in it first-century Alexandria, is more likely, prima facie, to supposethat existed there, more other, more dominant,varietiesof Christianity reflectiveof the Jerusalem missionand of the originsof the Christian varieties Judaism Alexandria thattime.20 one must of in at If dominant from second-century sources to reconstruct extrapolatebackwards Alexandrian one aspectsof first-century Christianity, shouldat leastuse such sourcesas are clearlybearers oldertradition reflectan onof and schoolactivity. Two such documents the Epistle Barnabas are going of
and the Teachings Silvanus(Nag HammadiCodex VII,4). Barnabas of

the in is probably oldest completewritingfrom Alexandria existence, from the beginning the reignof Hadrian 117 CE).21Silof (ca. dating vanusis considerably later, closer to the end of the secondcentury,22 but it preserves some ancientmaterial.Recalling Bauer'stheory,it is worthpointing thatthe exegetical halakhic out and of is gnosis Barnabas at least implicitlyanti-Gnostic.23 with its attack against Silvanus,
18WalterBauer, Orthodoxy Heresyin Earliest and (ET Christianity ed. by Robert A. Kraft and GerhardKrodel;Phildelphia: Fortress, 1971) 44-60. 19See my article, "FriedlanderRevisited: AlexandrianJudaismand Gnostic Origins," 2 StudiaPhilonica (1973) 23-39. 20Helmut Koester, in his discussion of the in beginningsof Christianity Egypt, speaks plausiblyof "the simultaneousdevelopmentof several competingChristiangroups." See to his Introduction the New Testament, vol. 2: Historyand Literature Early Christianity of (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982) 219. 21See, e.g., L. W. Barnard,"St. Stephen and EarlyAlexandrianChristianity,"in Studies in the Apostolic Fathersand theirBackground (New York: Schocken, 1966) 57-72, esp. 63. An interestingcase for placingthe Epistle of Jude in Alexandriabetween 120 and 131 has recentlybeen made by J. J. Gunther, "The AlexandrianEpistle of Jude," NTS 30 (1984) 549-62. 22See now Yvonne Janssens, Les Lefons de Silvanos(NH VII,4) (Bibliotheque copte de Nag Hammadi,Section "Textes," 13; Quebec:UniversiteLaval, 1983) esp. 23. 23Bauer perversely attempts to put Barnabasin the Gnostic camp (Orthodoxy and has Heresy,47-48), but the gnosisof Barnabas virtuallynothing to do with the gnosisof the Gnostics. On gnosis in Barnabassee, e.g., Robert A. Kraft, Barnabasand Didache (The Apostolic Fathers:A New Translationand Commentary3; Toronto:Nelson, 1965) 22-27.

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"strangekinds of knowledge," is explicitly so.24 Stendahl, in his book, TheSchoolof St. Matthew,refers to the debate "whether or not the later schools of Alexandriaand other places can be considereda continuationof the school activities in the early church."25 Barnabasis an importantdocument to consider in this connection, for it is clearly a "'school' product," as has been well argued by Robert Kraft.26Moreover Barnabastells us as much about Jewish exegetical traditionsin Alexandriaas about Christianones. Indeed L. W. Barnard uses Barnabasas his most importantsource for discussing "Judaism in Egypt A.D. 70-135" and argues that the author was "a converted Rabbi who brought into Christianitythe exegetical and homiletical traditions of the Alexandriansynagogue."27 Among the traditionshe cites, with rabbinicparallels,are the ritual of the Day of Atonement together (Barn. 7.1-11), the shrub "Rachel" (7.8), the sacrifice of the red heifer (8.1-2), the gematria the 318 servants of Abraham (9.8), the on of interpretation Psalm 1 (10.10), Moses and Amalek (12.1-11), Jacob and Esau (13.1-7), the celebrationof the Sabbath(15.1-9), and other Barnard also stresses the exegetical methods used in Barsuch details.28 nabas: the division of the epistle into aggadic and halakhic sections, rabbinic-stylemidrash, the use of allegory, and the use of the pesher such as is characteristic the Qumranscrolls. of method of interpretation Barnard concludes from his analysisof Barnabasthat
in the crucialperiod A.D. 70-135 AlexandrianJudaism,while having affinities on one side with Philonic allegorism and other hellenistic modes of thought, was not unaffected by the pattern and requirements of Rabbinism which, no doubt, had been exerting pressureon DiasporaJudaism.29

To be sure, all of the Jewish traditionsreferred to are used in the interests of sectarianJewish Christianity,and eventually in the interests of a predominantlyGentile constituency. More specific for the type of Christianityreflected in Barnabasand its origins are the connections
24See VII 94,31-33. Cf. 116,5-9, a polemic againstthose who regardthe Creatorof the worldas an ignorantdeity, a typicalGnostic doctrine. 25KristerStendahl, TheSchoolof St. Matthew its Use of the Old Testament ed.; and (2d Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968) 17 n. 5. 26He refers in this connection to "evolved literature," and the reproducingand and reworkingof older materials. See Barnabas Didache,1-22. 27In Studiesin theApostolic 41 Fathers, - 55, esp. 47. 28Ibid. 29Ibid., 47-51.

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observed by Barnard between Barnabas and the speech of Stephen recorded in Acts 7. These connections include the attitude expressed to the Jerusalem temple and its cultus (Acts 7:42-43, 48-50; Barn. 16.1-2; 2.4-8), the interpretation of the Golden Calf episode in Israel's history (Acts 7:38-42a; Barn. 4.7-8), and christology, especially the use of the title, "the Righteous One," as a messianic title situates these items in appliedto Jesus (Acts 7:52; Barn.6.7).30 Barnard Barnabasin the second decade of the second century, that is, in the period of that document's final redaction, and suggests that Barnabas has used Acts.31 I would suggest that an alternative explanation for these parallelsis readily available: this type of Christianitywas introduced to Alexandriasoon after the death of Stephen and the scattering of the "Hellenists" from Jerusalem.32 The soil was well preparedfor such seeds among the Jews in Alexandria who tended to ignore the Temple and other ritual observations in favor of a spiritualinterpreta33 tion of their tradition. A distinctive characteristicof Barnabasis its eschatology34and its consciousness of living in the last, evil stages of "the present age" before the inbreakingof the "age to come" (Barn. 2.1; 4.1,3,9; etc.). The highly charged eschatological atmosphere of Barnabasmay have been characteristicof one branch of AlexandrianChristianityfrom the beginning, but whether or not that is the case, it is clear that the messianism of Barnabasdiffered from that of the non-Christianmessianist Jews there in terms of focus, though probablynot in terms of religious intensity: the Christians knew who the coming Messiah was and expected him to "judge the living and the dead," not to restore the land of Israel and the Temple (Barn. 4.12; 5.7; 7.2; 15.5; cf. 6.8-19; 16.1-10). Such a difference in focus probablycontributed to a clash between the two groups of messianists. By the time of the final redaction of Barnabas, relations between Christiansand Jews had come to the breakingpoint. This was largely the result of the aftermathof the destructionof the Temple in 70, the most important feature of which was the consolidation of Pharisaic
Barnard, "St. Stephen and Early Alexandrian Christianity,"63-69. As Barnard points out, the term is taken from Isa 3:10 (LXX). Cf. also Wis 2:12, an Alexandrian text. 31 Ibid., 71-72. 32 Barnardentertainsthis as a possibility,suggestingalso the possibilityof an Alexandrian origin for Stephen, but finallyprefersto "err on the side of caution" with the other solution. However, I cannot find any traceelsewhere in Barnabas the use of Acts. of 33Cf. Philo Migr.Abr.89-93, and n. 6, above. 34 On the eschatologyof Barnabas see Kraft, Didacheand Barnabas, 27-29.
30

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Judaism toward the end of the century and the dissemination, among Jews of the Diaspora as well as in Palestine itself, of the so-called which effectively excommunicated Christians from Birkath-ha-Minim, Barnabasnow refers to Christiansas "the new people the synagogues.35 of the Covenant," and the Jews as "the former people" (Barn. 5.7; 7.5; 13.1-6; etc.). In that respect the setting of Barnabasis analogous to that of the Gospel of Matthew described by Stendahl and others.36 The political situation in Alexandria reached a critical point when the messianist Jews there sparked the revolt against Rome under Trajan (115-17) that led to the virtual annihilation of the Jewish community.37Unfortunately we do not know what role Christians playedin that conflict. The Teachingsof Silvanus, like Barnabas, is a school product, but despite certain points of contact between them,38there are some very basic differences. The historicalsetting is different: there is no trace of any conflict between Christians and Jews. The only opponents identifiablein Silvanusare Gnostics.39 The eschatologicalfervor of Barnabasis completely absent from Silvanus. Among other differencesthat can be noted is the difference in christology: whereas there is little or no trace of a "Logos" or "Sophia" christology in BarnabaS?such a christologyis a majorfeature of Silvanus. Despite the late date of SilvanusI think it shows some very early traits. Its genre is that of the Wisdom of Solomon, a logos Indeed, very close connections have been observed protreptikos.41

35 Barnard,"Judaismin Egypt," 52-55. 36 Schoolof St. Matthew, xi-xiv; cf. also Barnard,"Judaismin Egypt," 52, 55. 37 On the messianist nature of that revolt see esp. Martin Hengel, "Messianische Hoffnung und politischer 'Radikalismus'in der judisch-hellenistischenDiaspora," in Worldand the Near East in David Hellholm, ed., Apocalypticism the Mediterranean (Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism, Uppsala, August 12-17, 1979;Tubingen:Mohr-Siebeck,1983) 655-86. 38 E.g., warningsagainst the devil, including the use of the term "the wicked one" (Silv.85,17; Barn.2.10; 21.3); the "Two Ways" tradition(Silv. 103,14-26; Barn.18-20); of interiorization the Temple (Silv. 106,9-14; 109,25-30; Barn. 16.7-10); impossibility of looking at the sun/God (Silv. 101,13-17; Barn 5.10); fearing God (Silv. 88,9-11; Barn.10.10-11). 39See above and n. 24. 40Perhapsa "Logos christology"is implicitin the references to Christ's role in creation (Barn 5.5,10; 6.12). 41Cf. David Winston'sdiscussionof the genre of Wisdom in his commentary, The Wisdomof Solomon (AB 43; GardenCity:Doubleday, 1979) 18-20.

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between Silvanusand Wisdom,42 between Silvanusand Philo.43The and christology of Silvanusis a case in point: "He (Christ) is Wisdom; he is also the Logos" (Silv. 106,22-24). As with the Logos of Philo, the Logos of Silvanus is "the Son as the image of the Father" (115,18-19).44 As the Sophia of Wis 7:25-26, Christ is
... a light from the power of God, and he is an emanationof the pure glory of the Almighty. He is the spotless mirrorof the workingof God, and he is the image of his goodness. For he is also the light of the EternalLight.45

I have commented elsewhere on the relationship between Silvanus and 1 Corinthians 1-4, and suggested that Silvanusretains, as part of its AlexandrianChristiantradition,a good deal of the "speculative wisdom" encountered by Paul in first-centuryCorinth.46 The Alexandrian teacher Apollos is the key figure in Paul's debate with his Corinthian people in 1 Corinthians 1-4 (3:5-4:6), and I would suggest that we can gain a good idea of at least one of the varieties of Christianityin first-centuryAlexandria from a judicious reading of 1 Corinthiansand Silvanus. It is a Christianitywhich breathes the spirit of the contemplative Philo, and, more importantly,moves in a trajectoryleading to the typically Alexandrian theology of such great figures as Clement,48 Origen, and Athanasius.

42WilliamR. Schoedel, "JewishWisdom and the Formationof the ChristianAscetic," in Robert L. Wilken, ed., Aspectsof Wisdomin Judaismand Early Christianity (Notre Dame: Universityof Notre Dame Press, 1975) 169-99. 43J. Zandee, "'Les Enseignementsde Silvanos' et Philon d'Alexandrie," in Melanges des d'histoire religions Puech(Paris:Presses Universitairesde France, at offerts Henri-Charles 1974) 337-45. 44Cf., e.g., Philo Conf 146-47. Philo can also refer to Sophiaas the "Mother" of the Logos (e.g., Fug. 108-9). This doctrine is muted in Silvanus,but cf. 91,14-16 and 115,5-8. 45 Silv. 112,37-113,7, Peel-Zandeetranslationin NHLE. Cf. Schoedel, "Jewish Wisdom," 191-92. 46BirgerA. Pearson, "Philo, Gnosis and the New Testament," in A. H. B. Logan and A. J. M. Wedderburn,eds., The New Testament Gnosis:Essays in honourof Robert and McL. Wilson T. (Edinburgh: & T. Clark, 1983) 73-89, esp. 81-83. 47Ibid., esp. 75-77, 83. Cf. my referenceto Apollos above. 48Cf. J. Zandee, "The Teachings Silvanus"and Clement Alexandria: New DocuA of of mentof Alexandrian (Leiden:Ex OrienteLux, 1977). Theology

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In this necessarily brief and incomplete look at Judaism and Christainity in ancient Alexandria,we have seen that variety is a characteristic of both Judaism and Christianity there. In the beginning, the varieties of Christianityin Alexandria were, in fact, varieties of that great city's Judaism. The figure of Philo is a towering presence in that amalgam. While we do not know what Philo thought of such Christian Jews as he might have encountered,49 I would like to think, with Stendahl,50that he engaged them in open dialogue. Ironically, Philo played virtually no role at all in the subsequent development of On Judaism.51 the other hand, his role, and that of like-mindedJews of his day, was incalculablyimportantin the development of Christianity. It is the Philo-like Christianityof Silvanus,rather than the primitive apocalypticismof Barnabas,or the acosmic radicalismof the Gnostics, that ultimatelycarriedthe day in the development of Christiantheology in the patristicage.

49Eusebius claims (Hist. ecct 2.17.2) that "he not only knew but welcomed, reverenced, and recognized the divine mission of the apostolic men of his day" (Kirsopp in Lake's translation the LCL ed.). 50 Stendahl remarksthat "the United States of today is the first place in the modern world since Philo's Alexandriawhere Jews and Christiansas people, as religious communities, and as learned communities, live together in a manner and in sufficient numbersto allow for open dialogue" (PaulAmongJewsand Gentiles, 37). 51 Cf. Tcherikover,"Decline of the JewishDiaspora,"31-32.