[French version] | |||
Moses and the Thaumaturges : Philo’s 'De Vita Mosis' as a Rescue Operation |  |
Harold E. Remus
Volume 52, numéro 3 (octobre 1996) (p. 665-680)
Philo’s extended treatment of Balaam in the De Vita Mosis, denigrating him as a mercenary technician, stands in sharp contrast to his portrait of Moses, the true prophet as well as philosopher-god-king, priest, thaumaturge, and mystagogue - the answer to the longing of Philo’s contemporaries for just such a figure. The writing thus serves to rescue Moses from possible misunderstandings of Moses as a mere thaumaturge or as a magician, a reputation attested in a variety of sources. Rather, Moses’ command over nature derives from the revelation, received on the mountain, of the noetic reality - knowledge he employs for the benefaction of others. The De Vita Mosis thus sets the great leader apart from Balaam-like thaumaturges and magicians in Philo’s Egypt, a land noted for such figures. The article situates the writing in a long tradition of rhetoric and biography employed as vehicles both of polemic and praise.
| Keyword(s): | Foi et raison |
| Moses | |
| Philo of Alexandria | |
| Thaumaturges | |
Top of Page | Home | Contact Us
To Subscribe | To Order Back Issues | Credits
Last update: 1/21/2010 - 2:18:02 PM