Book contents
- Divination and Revelation in Later Antiquity
- Divination and Revelation in Later Antiquity
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Philosophical Perspectives on Divination, Revelation, and Prophecy
- Chapter 1 Theories of Prophecy in Philo of Alexandria
- Chapter 2 The Neoplatonic Background of a Text on Prophecy Attributed to John Chrysostom
- Chapter 3 ‘Revelation’ for Christians and Pagans and Its Philosophical Allegoresis
- Chapter 4 Divination and Dialogue in Porphyry and Iamblichus
- Part II Status, Role, and Functions of Human Intermediaries
- Part III Divine Transcendence and Pragmatic Purposes
- Index
- References
Chapter 1 - Theories of Prophecy in Philo of Alexandria
from Part I - Philosophical Perspectives on Divination, Revelation, and Prophecy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2023
Book contents
- Divination and Revelation in Later Antiquity
- Divination and Revelation in Later Antiquity
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I Philosophical Perspectives on Divination, Revelation, and Prophecy
- Chapter 1 Theories of Prophecy in Philo of Alexandria
- Chapter 2 The Neoplatonic Background of a Text on Prophecy Attributed to John Chrysostom
- Chapter 3 ‘Revelation’ for Christians and Pagans and Its Philosophical Allegoresis
- Chapter 4 Divination and Dialogue in Porphyry and Iamblichus
- Part II Status, Role, and Functions of Human Intermediaries
- Part III Divine Transcendence and Pragmatic Purposes
- Index
- References
Summary
While scholarship has always underlined Philo’s debt to the preceding philosophical tradition, this chapter instead intends to shed light on his critical attitude towards some key traditional aspects of prophecy and divination endorsed by Graeco-Roman thinkers. This contribution thus explores which kinds of prophecy, inside and outside the Scriptures, are dangerous and impious according to Philo, and why. Special focus is laid on: the conceptual categories of ‘truth’, ‘authority’, and ‘appropriate time’ – crucial and widespread notions in the debates on prophecy at the turn of the millennium – and on the complex relation between contingency and transcendence in Philo’s thought.
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- Information
- Divination and Revelation in Later Antiquity , pp. 17 - 31Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
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