Saturday, November 6, 2021

αγαπη in Letter of Aristeas 223 and Philo, Questions and Answers on Exodus

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. "Faith, Hope, and Charity" as a Pre-Pauline Triadic Formula.


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)