ARISTOBULUS OF ALEXANDRIA. - Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, who lived, it seems, in Alexandria at the time of Ptolemy IV Philometor (181-145 B.C.), to whom he dedicated his work, which is an extensive commentary on the Pentateuch.
From the few surviving fragments and from what the ancients say, especially Clement of Alexandria, it emerges that A. anticipated Philo, inaugurating a wholly allegorical interpretation of the Bible, which he skillfully employed, at times forcing the biblical text, in order to bring out a perfect homogeneity of teaching with Greek philosophy. A. shared with Philo the idea, also held by certain Christian apologists, of the derivation of Greek thought from Hebrew wisdom. He asserted that, before the Septuagint, there existed a Greek translation of the Bible, used by the most eminent Greek poets (Orpheus, Homer, Linus, Hesiod) and philosophers (Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato); and he cited for this purpose verses or passages, largely spurious and fictitious, of those ancient writers. The identification, which Clement of Alexandria makes (Stromata, V, 14, 97), of this A. with the one of 1 Macc., 1, 10, is problematic.
Bibliography2 worksA. Elter, De A. Iudaeo, Bonn 1894-95; W. von Christ, Geschichte der griechischen Literatur, 6th ed. (edited by O. Stählin and W. Schmid), II
BIBL.: A. Elter, De A. Iudaeo, Bonn 1894-95; W. von Christ, Geschichte der griechischen Literatur, 6th ed. (edited by O. Stählin and W. Schmid), II, 1, Munich 1920, p. 605 ff.
Penna, Angelo. “Aristobulo di Alessandria.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, col. 1910. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948. https://azioneromana.com/article/aristobulo-di-alessandria.
MLA
Penna, Angelo. “Aristobulo di Alessandria.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1948, col. 1910. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/aristobulo-di-alessandria.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec1_aristobulo_di_alessandria,
author = {Penna, Angelo},
title = {Aristobulo di Alessandria},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {I},
pages = {1910},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1948},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/aristobulo-di-alessandria}
}
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