Philo of Alexandria on the Nomos Empsychos Idea

Tussay, Ákos (2025) Philo of Alexandria on the Nomos Empsychos Idea. In: Ancient Jewish Texts and Greek Culture. Peeters Publishers, Leuven, pp. 121-136. ISBN 9789042956742

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Abstract

This chapter offers a presentation of Philo of Alexandria’s peculiar understanding of the nomos empsychos idea, a Jewish re-elaboration of a classic Greek concept. I argue that there were at least two distinct formulations of nomos empsychos by Philo’s lifetime, the more prevalent of which depending on the Tarantine Pythagorean, Archytas. It is this Archytean sense, originating from On Law and Justice, which comes to be employed by Philo, but with considerable alterations. By lending a theological implication to his nomos empsychos kai logikos, Philo labours to relate his readers to the patriarchs of the Old Testament whose lives and deeds constituted laws even before its promulgation at Mount Sinai.

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