Chapter One. Plato And The Bible. Ontology And Theology In Philo

Philo's context is made up of the discussion on principles carried out by the so-called Middle Platonic authors, who were interested in a return to the 'truth of the ancients'. Behind this lay a reinterpretation of Plato, in particular of Parmenides, Philebus, Timaeus and the doctrine of principles-the One/Monad and the undefined Dyad-but also the eyeglasses of Aristotelian theory, Stoicism and the pseudo-Pythagorean works. The questions at point consist in the relationships between one and many, intelligible and sensible, form and matter, God the creator, the demiurge, and noetic reality: between that which lies beyond all qualification and the qualified being. The Bible, repeatedly and insistently speaks of one single God who is utterly transcendent-not even His name can be known-and who, at the same time, acts in the real world.Keywords:Bible; Philo; Plato