In the Letter of Aristeas (3rd-1st c. BC), we read the following:
(The king) spoke kindly to him and then asked the next: "What is it that resembles beauty in value?" And he said: "Piety, for it is the pre-eminent form of beauty, and its power lies in love, which is the gift of God. This you have already acquired and with it all the blessings of life." (Letter of
Aristeas 229, The Pseudepigrapha (English), Translated by Craig E. Evans)
The phrase in bold translates the Greek τὸ δὲ δυνατὸν αὐτῆς ἐστιν ἀγάπη· αὕτη γὰρ θεοῦ δόσις ἐστιν.
Philo
of Alexandria also evidenced a high understanding of αγαπη:
*21. (Ex. 23:27a) Why does He say, “Fear will I
send to go before thee”?
The literal meaning is clear, for a strong force
to terrify the enemy is fear, by which more (easily) the force of adversaries
is taken and conquered. But as for the deeper meaning, there are two reasons
why men honour the Deity, (namely) love (αγαπη) and fear, and love is
later, being in the elder ones (Gk.: ὀψίγονον; per the translator,
"Presumably meaning “in mature persons,” cf. Procopius <ἐν> τοῖς
τελείοις. The Catenae read more briefly τὸ μὲν ἀγαπᾶν ἐστιν ὀψίγονον (v.l. ὀψέως)"),
while fear comes earlier, so that not ineptly is it said that fear is the
leader, for love, which comes after, is also acquired later. And may it not be
that one who fears does so rightly and properly? For just as imprudence is
younger than prudence, so is fear (younger) than love, since fear is born in a
worthless man, while love (is born) in a virtuous one. (Philo, Questions and
Answers on Exodus 2:21 in Questions and Answers on Genesis and Exodus
[trans. Ralph Marcus; The Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1953], 60–61)
Here, as with the Letter to Aristeas, we see an understanding of αγαπη similar to 1 Cor 13:4-8, providing further support that Paul’s discussion of love/charity (αγαπη) was not something completely novel to him (cf.
Love
being self-giving (or being considered 'charity' if you will) is not a Pauline
novelity. Note the following from Leviticus:
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against
the children of thy people, but thou shalt love (אהב;
αγαπω) thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord . . .But the stranger that
dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, an thou shalt love (אהב; αγαπω) him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Lev 19:18, 34)
As
we read in TDOT:
The call for actions that reflect genuine
love has also motivated the prophets, and understandably so. To be sure, they
did not use the term ʾahabh(ah)
explicitly in this connection, but continually called for a benevolent attitude
toward personae miserae (widows,
orphans, and strangers) as such. Here again ʾahabh
is used with a certain mode of action as its object. One must love good, hate
evil, and establish justice in the gate (Am. 5:15). Accordingly, the prophets
characterized unjust actions as love of evil (Hos. 12:8[7]; Mic. 3:2 [qere]). One must not take false oaths
because Yahweh hates these things (Zec. 8:17), while love of truth, kindness,
and peace is to be preferred to engaging in religious rites (8:19; Isa.
58:6f.). Thus, even if it cannot be said that the prophets were literally
advocates of love for one’s fellow man, still they were all opposed to egotism
and selfishness, and aggressively defended the cause of the poor and oppressed.
But above all, their oracles make it quite clear that helping the poor is fundamental
to an enduring relationship between God and his people and between the people
and their God, a relationship that compels one to action. (Jan Bergman, A. O. Haldar, and Gerhard Wallis, “אָהַב,”
in G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren,eds., Theological
Dictionary of the Old Testament,
15 vols. [trans. John T. Willis; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977], 1:112)
Katharine
Doob Sakenfeld
when discussing “love” in the Old Testament, noted:
b.
Love of Neighbor and Stranger. Two important passages command the love of
neighbor (Lev 19:18) and of stranger (Lev 19:34; Deut 10:19). Lev 19:34 seeks
to bring “stranger” into the realm of “neighbor” by insisting that strangers be
treated as native Israelites. Jesus cites the Leviticus 19 command to love the
neighbor along with the Deuteronomy 6 command to love God in response to the
question about the first or great commandment (Mark 12:29–31 [= Matt 22:37–39;
Luke 10:27]). Despite the rarity of OT reference to love of neighbor, Israel’s
tradition strongly emphasized practical assistance as the right way of relating
to others, especially the weak and underprivileged. As Rücker (1981: 14–15)
suggests, this emphasis on practical action rather than on personal feeling may
account for the rarity of formal reference to love of neighbor. (Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, “Love: Old
Testament,” in David Noel Freedman, ed., The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, 6
vols. [New York: Doubleday, 1992], 4:376-77)
