Harvard Divinity School

Christians and Jews in First-Century Alexandria

Author(s): Birger A. Pearson
Source: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 79, No. 1/3, Christians among Jews and
Gentiles: Essays in Honor of Krister Stendahl on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday (Jan. - Jul., 1986),
pp. 206-216
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Harvard Divinity School
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HTR 79:1-3 (1986) 206-16

AND JEWS
CHRISTIANS
IN FIRST-CENTURYALEXANDRIA

BirgerA. Pearson
Universityof California
SantaBarbara

Introduction
Krister Stendahl represents, to my mind, the very best of
Scandinavian-style "realisticinterpretation"of the Bible, resolutely
faithfulin his exegesis to the historicalsituationof the text and its
authorbut then marvelouslyinsightfulin elicitingfromthe text a fresh
andsometimessurprisingaddressto contemporary issuesin churchand
society.1As is well known,it is preciselyStendahl'sinterestin relations
betweenJews and Christians(Jewishand Gentile) that has made so
muchof his New Testamentworkso stimulatingandinnovative.As it
happens,though,his researchhas tendedto concentrategeographically
on that largesweep of territory"from Jerusalemand as far roundas
Illyricum."2WhatI wantto do in this articlein his honoris to explore
an area relativelyuntouchedby my teacher-Alexandria-inan effort
to see if anythingcan be saidof Jewish-Christian relationstherein the
first century. In doing this I must perforceextend our investigation
mainlyto noncanonical sources. Even so the taskis formidable,for the
first-centuryAlexandrian churchis, as Stendahlsays, something"about

1See esp. TheBibleand theRole of Women(trans.EmilieT. Sander;Facet Books, Bibl-

ical Series 15; Philadelphia:Fortress, 1966). He comments on "realisticinterpretation"
of the Bible in Sweden on p. 10. The best statement of his position on the difference
between exegesis and hermeneuticsis his now classicarticleon "BiblicalTheology," IDB
1. 418-32, now reprintedin Meanings:The Bible as Documentand Guide(Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1984) 11-44.
2 Rom 15:19. I am thinkingmainly of Stendahl'sincisive contributionsto scholarship
on Matthewand Paul.
 Alexandria
Pearson:First-Century 207

whichwe knownothing."3Whatfollowsis, therefore,largelya matter

of inference,at least insofaras it bearsupon first-century
Christianity
in Alexandria.Insofaras it bearsuponfirst-century Judaism,thatgiant
among Jewish exegetes and philosophers,Philo Judaeus,will play a
substantialrole.
Jews in Alexandria
It need hardlybe statedthatthe firstpreachingof the gospelof Mes-
siah Jesus in Alexandriawas centeredin the Jewishcommunitythere,
the largestand most powerfulJewishsettlementin the entire Greek-
speakingworld. What sort of receptiondid the early Christianmis-
sionariesexperiencethere? And how did the existingJudaismcolor
the developmentof Christianpreachingand teaching? In raisingthis
issue it is necessaryto say somethingaboutJewishreligiosityin Alex-
andria,especiallyas to how Jewsthereinterpreted andlived the Torah,
to what extent messianicexpectationsmight have been partof their
beliefs, and how open they were to Gentiles, includingthe extent to
which they welcomedGentile proselytesinto the Jewish politeuma.
Such questionsare, of course, ineluctablybound up with political,
social, and economicfactors. While we cannotenter into these ques-
tions here,4it is worthwhileto recallthe followingeventswhichpower-
fully affected Jewish life in Alexandriaduring the period of our
interest:the introductionby CaesarAugustusof the laographia (poll-
tax) in 24/23 BCE;the pogromagainstthe JewsunderFlaccusin 38 CE;
the disturbances and massacreof Jews underPhilo'sapostatenephew,
TiberiusJulius Alexander,in 66; the destructionof the Jerusalem
Templein 70 and its aftermath;and the JewishrevoltunderTrajanin
115-17, in whichthe Jewishcommunitywasvirtuallywipedout.
VictorA. Tcherikoverhas stressedthe divisionsin the Alexandrian
Jewishcommunitybetweenthe educated,culturedJewswho favoreda
synthesisbetweenHellenismand Judaism,and the lowerstrataof the
populationwhose ideology, more open to influencesfrom Palestine,

3 See PaulAmongJewsand Gentiles(Philadelphia:Fortress, 1976) 70.

4 See, e.g., VictorA Tcherikover,"The Decline of the JewishDiasporain Egyptin the
Roman Period," JJS 14 (1963) 1-32; Tcherikover's"Prolegomena"to the CorpusPapy-
rorumJudaicarum(3 vols.; ed. Tcherikover,Alexander Fuks, et al.; Cambridge:Harvard
University Press, 1957-64) 1. 1-111; E. Mary Smallwood, TheJews underRomanRule:
FromPompeyto Diocletian(Leiden:Brill, 1976) esp. 220-55; 364-68; 389-412; 516-19;
articlesby M. Stern, S. Safrai,and S. Appelbaumin TheJewishPeoplein the FirstCentury
(CompendiaRerum Iudaicarumad Novum Testamentum 1:1-2; Assen: Van Gorcum;
Philadelphia:Fortress, 1974-76).
208 Essays in Honor of KristerStendahl

was stamped by messianism and a fighting spirit.5Philo belonged to the

first group. From his writings alone one can get a good picture of the
various attitudes towardthe Law exhibited by Jews in Alexandria: two
groups of "literalist" interpreters,consisting of faithful primitivistson
the one hand, and unfaithful scoffers on the other; and two groups of
"allegorizers," consisting of those who, like Philo himself, interpreted
the scripturesallegoricallybut observed the practicesof the Law, and,
on the other hand, those whose spiritualinterpretationof the Law led
them to abandon the practices altogether.6We also know from Philo
that some Jews chose the path of complete apostasy from the Jewish
community. We know from him, too, that a considerable number of
Gentiles affiliatedwith the Jewish religious community as proselytes.7
In Tcherikover'sdiscussion of the ideology of the lower-classmessi-
anist Jews he reminds us that there is little or no documentary or
literaryevidence about them.8 But, as a matter of fact, Philo was him-
self not untouched by messianism. Though he never actuallyrefers to
"the Messiah" (he would have said "the Christ") in any of his writ-
ings, he does, nevertheless, tell us a lot about AlexandrianJewish mes-
sianic expectations. The key treatise is De praemiis et poenis ("On
Rewardsand Punishments"), recently analyzedby FerdinandDexinger
in an importantarticle on post-HerodianJewish messianism.9Dexinger
delineates the following "messianic scenario":10
Startingpoint:
a) Enmity between man and beast (Praem 85, 87)
b) Assault of enemies (Praem 94; cf. Psalm 2)

5Tcherikover,"Decline of the Jewish Diaspora,"esp. 22-27.

6 For discussion and references see Peder Borgen, "Philo of Alexandria:A Critical
and SyntheticalSurvey of Researchsince WorldWar II," ANRWII:21.1(1983) 98-154,
esp. 126-28. Migr. Abr. 89-93 is the most importantpassage dealing with the last-
named category. Specificissues addressedinclude Sabbathand other festival observance,
circumcision,and the sanctityof the Temple.
7 Apostates: Virt 182; Vit. Mos. 1.30-31; De spec. leg. 3.29. Proselytes: Virt.182;
Quaest.in. Ex 2.2. In Virt.175-86 Philo discusses the processof conversion to Judaism.
On this and other importanttexts and their relation to the early Christianmission to
Gentiles see Peder Borgen, "The EarlyChurchand the HellenisticSynagogue," StTh37
(1983) 55-78.
8 "Decline of the JewishDiaspora,"24.
9 "Ein 'Messianisches Szenarium' als Gemeingut des Judentums in nachherodian-
ischer Zeit," Kairos17 (1975) 249-78, esp. 250-55. See also Ray Barraclough,"Philo's
Politics," in ANRWII:21.1(1983) 417-553, esp. 480-81.
10"Ein 'MessianischesSzenarium,'" 254-55.
 Pearson: First-CenturyAlexandria 209

Messianicoccurrences:
a) Exemplarystatus of Israel (Praem 114)
b) Leadershipof a "man" (Praem 95, 97; cf. Num 24:7)1
c) Gatheringof Israel (Praem 165)
d) Passage out of the wilderness (Praem 165)
e) Divine manifestations (Praem 165)
f) Arrivalat cities in ruins (Praem 168)
Results:
g) Peace in nature (Praem 89; cf. Isa 11:6)
h) Peace among nations (Praem 95, 97)
i) Rebuildingof cities (Praem 168)
The importance of this "messianic scenario" in Philo's treatise is
that it representscontemporaryAlexandriantradition. Philo's own reli-
gious tendency, likely shared by others in Alexandria, is to interiorize
this vision, interpretingit finally in terms of the growth of virtue in the
human soul (Praem 172). Even the "man" of Num 24:7 is so
interiorized, for the reference in Praem 95 is most probably to the
Logos. Philo's treatment of another messianic passage in the Old Tes-
tament, Zech 6:12, makes this interpretationvery likely, for a&varoMr in
Zech 6:12 (LXX, for Hebrew semah, "sprout" or "branch" [RSV]) is
clearly interpretedby him as a reference to the Logos, "the eldest son
whom the Father of all raised up."12 In other words, Philo was essen-
tially a proponentof "realizedeschatology."13
Christians in Alexandria
The New Testament provides only tantalizinghints of the Christian
mission to Egypt, mainly because the author of Acts was more
interested in other areas of the Mediterraneanworld. He does tell us
that Jews from Egypt were present at Peter's Pentecost speech (Acts
2:10). The disputants in the controversy with the "Hellenist" pro-
tomartyr, Stephen, included Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria (6:9).
Indeed it is possible that Stephen himself, or one or more of the other
seven Hellenist leaders, came from there (except Nicolaus, who was
from Antioch, Acts 6:5). It is also likely that some of the Hellenists

I The LXX of Num 24:7a reads: "There shall come a man from his (Israel's) seed,
and he shall rule over many nations" (my translation).
12 Corf 62-63. On these texts see J. de
Savignac, "Le messianisme de Philon
d'Alexandrie," NT4 (1959) 319-24, esp. 320.
13There are, to be sure, other traces of end-time expectation in Philo beside the
aforementioned passages in Praem See, e.g., Virt 75; Vit. Mos. 2.44, 288; Op. mund
79-81.
210 Essays in Honor of KristerStendahl

hounded out of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1) went to Alexandria;in any case,

traffic between Jerusalem and Alexandria was extensive at that time.
"Luke" provides a hint of the existence of a Christiancommunity in
Egypt in the forties of our era in Acts 18:24-25, where he refers to
Apollos as a Jew from Alexandria, eloquent, and powerfullylearned in
the scriptures. If the "Western" reading at Acts 18:25 is historically
correct, we have a clear reference to the existence of a Christiancom-
munity in Alexandriaat that time, for accordingto that variant, Apollos
"had been instructedin the word in his home country." Unfortunately
we are not told who the originalmissionariesto Alexandriawere.
According to the Egyptian Christian tradition it was Mark the
Evangelist who was founder and first bishop of the church in Alexan-
dria. Eusebius is our earliest extant source for this tradition,14but his
telling of it can hardly be said to inspire much confidence, particularly
when he goes on to use Philo's descriptionof the Jewish "Therapeu-
tae" as a testimonial to Mark's Christianconverts!15Eusebius' instinct
is correct, however, when he stresses that the "apostolicmen" in Alex-
andria during Philo's time were "of Hebrew origin, and thus still
preserved most of the ancient customs in a strictly Jewish manner."16
In any case, there can hardly be any question that the earliest mis-
sionaries to Alexandriawere Jews coming from Jerusalem, and that the
earliest Christianconverts in Alexandriawere Jews. Indeed it is doubt-
ful that a clear separationbetween church and synagogue was effected
there until the end of the first century or the beginningof the second.
What sort of Christianity was represented in the Alexandrian
church? Our only recourse in attemptingto answer this question is to
engage in historical inference, for we have no first-centurysources at
all, at least not any complete texts.17One still popularinference is that

14The letter fragment of Clement of Alexandria edited by Morton Smith refers to

Mark's arrivalin Alexandriaafter Peter's death in Rome, but nothing is said of Mark's
role as founder or first bishop. See Morton Smith, Clementof Alexandriaand a Secret
Gospelof Mark (Cambridge:HarvardUniversity Press, 1973) 448 (text), 446 (ET). I
have analyzed the Mark legend in my article, "Earliest Christianityin Egypt: Some
Observations,"in BirgerA. Pearsonand James E. Goehring, eds., TheRoots of Egyptian
Christianity(Philadelphia:Fortress, 1986 [forthcoming]).
15Hist. eccl.2.16-17; cf. Philo Vit.cont
16 Hist. eccL2.17.2.
17 Some noncanonicalgospels, of which only fragments remain, may belong to late
first-centuryAlexandria: The Gospelof the Hebrews,the Egerton papyrus,and the Secret
Gospelof Mark On the last two see now John Dominic Crossan, Four OtherGospels:
Shadowson the Contoursof Canon (Minneapolis:Winston, 1985) 65-121. What is still
needed is study of all of the early gospels and gospel traditionsin Egypt. Such a study
would undoubtedlyshed importantlight on the characterof Christianitythere.
 Pearson:First-Century
Alexandria 211

of WalterBauer,who positsthat the originaland most dominantform

of Christianityin Alexandriauntil the time of Bishop Demetrius
(189-231) was "heretical"and, specifically,Gnostic.18In makingthis
judgmentBaueris essentiallyextrapolating backwards from the time of
Hadrian,whensuch Gnosticteachersas Basilides,Valentinus,andCar-
pocrateswereactive. Sucha procedureis dubious,especiallywhenit is
recalledthat these men were highlyoriginalthinkers. WhileI thinkit
is possiblethat Christian(and Jewish)19Gnosticscould be found in
first-centuryAlexandria,it is more likely, primafacie, to supposethat
other, more dominant,varietiesof Christianityexisted there, more
reflectiveof the Jerusalemoriginsof the Christianmissionand of the
dominantvarietiesof Judaismin Alexandriaat thattime.20If one must
extrapolatebackwardsfrom second-centurysources to reconstruct
aspectsof first-century
Alexandrian Christianity,one shouldat leastuse
such sourcesas are clearlybearersof oldertraditionand reflectan on-
going schoolactivity. Two such documentsare the Epistleof Barnabas
and the Teachingsof Silvanus(Nag HammadiCodex VII,4). Barnabas
is probablythe oldest completewritingfrom Alexandriain existence,
datingfrom the beginningof the reignof Hadrian(ca. 117 CE).21Sil-
vanusis considerablylater, closer to the end of the secondcentury,22
but it preservessome ancientmaterial.RecallingBauer'stheory,it is
worthpointingout thatthe exegeticalandhalakhicgnosisof Barnabas is
at least implicitlyanti-Gnostic.23Silvanus,with its attack against

18WalterBauer, Orthodoxy and Heresyin EarliestChristianity

(ET ed. by Robert A. Kraft
and GerhardKrodel;Phildelphia:Fortress, 1971) 44-60.
19See my article, "FriedlanderRevisited: AlexandrianJudaismand Gnostic
Origins,"
StudiaPhilonica2 (1973) 23-39.
20Helmut Koester, in his discussion of the
beginningsof Christianityin Egypt, speaks
plausiblyof "the simultaneousdevelopmentof several competingChristiangroups." See
his Introductionto the New Testament,vol. 2: Historyand Literatureof Early Christianity
(Philadelphia:Fortress, 1982) 219.
21See, e.g., L. W. Barnard,"St. Stephen and EarlyAlexandrianChristianity,"in Stud-
ies in the ApostolicFathersand theirBackground(New York: Schocken, 1966) 57-72, esp.
63. An interestingcase for placingthe Epistle of Jude in Alexandriabetween 120 and
131 has recentlybeen made by J. J. Gunther, "The AlexandrianEpistle of Jude," NTS
30 (1984) 549-62.
22See now Yvonne Janssens, Les Lefons de Silvanos(NH VII,4) (Bibliothequecopte de
Nag Hammadi,Section "Textes," 13; Quebec:UniversiteLaval, 1983) esp. 23.
23Bauer perversely attempts to put Barnabasin the Gnostic camp (Orthodoxyand
Heresy,47-48), but the gnosisof Barnabashas virtuallynothing to do with the gnosisof
the Gnostics. On gnosis in Barnabassee, e.g., Robert A. Kraft, Barnabasand Didache
(The Apostolic Fathers:A New Translationand Commentary3; Toronto:Nelson, 1965)
22-27.
212 Essays in Honor of KristerStendahl

"strangekinds of knowledge," is explicitly so.24

Stendahl, in his book, TheSchoolof St. Matthew,refers to the debate
"whether or not the later schools of Alexandriaand other places can be
considereda continuationof the school activities in the early church."25
Barnabasis an importantdocument to consider in this connection, for
it is clearly a "'school' product," as has been well argued by Robert
Kraft.26Moreover Barnabastells us as much about Jewish exegetical
traditionsin Alexandriaas about Christianones. Indeed L. W. Barnard
uses Barnabasas his most importantsource for discussing "Judaism in
Egypt A.D. 70-135" and argues that the author was "a converted
Rabbi who brought into Christianitythe exegetical and homiletical tra-
ditions of the Alexandriansynagogue."27Among the traditionshe cites,
together with rabbinicparallels,are the ritual of the Day of Atonement
(Barn. 7.1-11), the shrub "Rachel" (7.8), the sacrifice of the red
heifer (8.1-2), the gematriaon the 318 servants of Abraham (9.8), the
interpretationof Psalm 1 (10.10), Moses and Amalek (12.1-11), Jacob
and Esau (13.1-7), the celebrationof the Sabbath(15.1-9), and other
such details.28Barnardalso stresses the exegetical methods used in Bar-
nabas: the division of the epistle into aggadic and halakhic sections,
rabbinic-stylemidrash, the use of allegory, and the use of the pesher
method of interpretationsuch as is characteristicof the Qumranscrolls.
Barnardconcludes from his analysisof Barnabasthat
in the crucialperiod A.D. 70-135 AlexandrianJudaism,while hav-
ing affinities on one side with Philonic allegorism and other hel-
lenistic modes of thought, was not unaffected by the pattern and
requirements of Rabbinism which, no doubt, had been exerting
pressureon DiasporaJudaism.29

To be sure, all of the Jewish traditionsreferred to are used in the

interests of sectarianJewish Christianity,and eventually in the interests
of a predominantlyGentile constituency. More specific for the type of
Christianityreflected in Barnabasand its origins are the connections

24See VII 94,31-33. Cf. 116,5-9, a polemic againstthose who regardthe Creatorof
the worldas an ignorantdeity, a typicalGnostic doctrine.
25KristerStendahl, TheSchoolof St. Matthewand its Use of the Old Testament(2d ed.;
Philadelphia:Fortress, 1968) 17 n. 5.
26He refers in this connection to "evolved literature," and the reproducingand
reworkingof older materials. See BarnabasandDidache,1-22.
27In Studiesin theApostolicFathers,41 - 55, esp. 47.
28Ibid.
29Ibid., 47-51.
 Pearson: First-CenturyAlexandria 213

observed by Barnard between Barnabas and the speech of Stephen

recorded in Acts 7. These connections include the attitude expressed
to the Jerusalem temple and its cultus (Acts 7:42-43, 48-50; Barn.
16.1-2; 2.4-8), the interpretation of the Golden Calf episode in
Israel's history (Acts 7:38-42a; Barn. 4.7-8), and christology, espe-
cially the use of the title, "the Righteous One," as a messianic title
appliedto Jesus (Acts 7:52; Barn.6.7).30 Barnardsituates these items in
Barnabasin the second decade of the second century, that is, in the
period of that document's final redaction, and suggests that Barnabas
has used Acts.31 I would suggest that an alternative explanation for
these parallelsis readily available: this type of Christianitywas intro-
duced to Alexandriasoon after the death of Stephen and the scattering
of the "Hellenists" from Jerusalem.32The soil was well preparedfor
such seeds among the Jews in Alexandria who tended to ignore the
Temple and other ritual observations in favor of a spiritualinterpreta-
tion of their tradition.33
A distinctive characteristicof Barnabasis its eschatology34and its
consciousness of living in the last, evil stages of "the present age"
before the inbreakingof the "age to come" (Barn. 2.1; 4.1,3,9; etc.).
The highly charged eschatological atmosphere of Barnabasmay have
been characteristicof one branch of AlexandrianChristianityfrom the
beginning, but whether or not that is the case, it is clear that the messi-
anism of Barnabasdiffered from that of the non-Christianmessianist
Jews there in terms of focus, though probablynot in terms of religious
intensity: the Christians knew who the coming Messiah was and
expected him to "judge the living and the dead," not to restore the
land of Israel and the Temple (Barn. 4.12; 5.7; 7.2; 15.5; cf. 6.8-19;
16.1-10). Such a difference in focus probablycontributed to a clash
between the two groups of messianists.
By the time of the final redaction of Barnabas, relations between
Christiansand Jews had come to the breakingpoint. This was largely
the result of the aftermathof the destructionof the Temple in 70, the
most important feature of which was the consolidation of Pharisaic

30
Barnard, "St. Stephen and Early Alexandrian Christianity,"63-69. As Barnard
points out, the term is taken from Isa 3:10 (LXX). Cf. also Wis 2:12, an Alexandrian
text.
31
Ibid., 71-72.
32 Barnardentertainsthis as a
possibility,suggestingalso the possibilityof an Alexan-
drian origin for Stephen, but finallyprefersto "err on the side of caution" with the other
solution. However, I cannot find any traceelsewhere in Barnabasof the use of Acts.
33Cf. Philo Migr.Abr.89-93, and n. 6, above.
34 On the eschatologyof Barnabassee Kraft, Didacheand Barnabas,27-29.
214 Essays in Honor of KristerStendahl

Judaism toward the end of the century and the dissemination, among
Jews of the Diaspora as well as in Palestine itself, of the so-called
Birkath-ha-Minim,which effectively excommunicated Christians from
the synagogues.35Barnabasnow refers to Christiansas "the new people
of the Covenant," and the Jews as "the former people" (Barn. 5.7;
7.5; 13.1-6; etc.). In that respect the setting of Barnabasis analogous
to that of the Gospel of Matthew described by Stendahl and others.36
The political situation in Alexandria reached a critical point when the
messianist Jews there sparked the revolt against Rome under Trajan
(115-17) that led to the virtual annihilation of the Jewish
community.37Unfortunately we do not know what role Christians
playedin that conflict.
The Teachingsof Silvanus, like Barnabas, is a school product, but
despite certain points of contact between them,38there are some very
basic differences. The historicalsetting is different: there is no trace of
any conflict between Christians and Jews. The only opponents
identifiablein Silvanusare Gnostics.39 The eschatologicalfervor of Bar-
nabasis completely absent from Silvanus. Among other differencesthat
can be noted is the difference in christology: whereas there is little or
no trace of a "Logos" or "Sophia" christology in BarnabaS?such a
christologyis a majorfeature of Silvanus.
Despite the late date of SilvanusI think it shows some very early
traits. Its genre is that of the Wisdom of Solomon, a logos
protreptikos.41Indeed, very close connections have been observed

35 Barnard,"Judaismin Egypt," 52-55.

36 Schoolof St. Matthew,xi-xiv; cf. also Barnard,"Judaismin Egypt," 52, 55.
37 On the messianist nature of that revolt see esp. Martin Hengel, "Messianische
Hoffnung und politischer 'Radikalismus'in der judisch-hellenistischenDiaspora," in
David Hellholm, ed., Apocalypticismin the MediterraneanWorldand the Near East
(Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism, Uppsala, August
12-17, 1979;Tubingen:Mohr-Siebeck,1983) 655-86.
38 E.g., warningsagainst the devil, including the use of the term "the wicked one"
(Silv.85,17; Barn.2.10; 21.3); the "Two Ways" tradition(Silv. 103,14-26; Barn.18-20);
interiorizationof the Temple (Silv. 106,9-14; 109,25-30; Barn. 16.7-10); impossibility
of looking at the sun/God (Silv. 101,13-17; Barn 5.10); fearing God (Silv. 88,9-11;
Barn.10.10-11).
39See above and n. 24.
40Perhapsa "Logos christology"is implicitin the references to Christ's role in crea-
tion (Barn 5.5,10; 6.12).
41Cf. David Winston'sdiscussionof the genre of Wisdom in his commentary, The Wis-
domof Solomon(AB 43; GardenCity:Doubleday, 1979) 18-20.
 Pearson: First-CenturyAlexandria 215

between Silvanusand Wisdom,42 and between Silvanusand Philo.43The

christology of Silvanusis a case in point: "He (Christ) is Wisdom; he
is also the Logos" (Silv. 106,22-24). As with the Logos of Philo, the
Logos of Silvanus is "the Son as the image of the Father"
(115,18-19).44 As the Sophia of Wis 7:25-26, Christ is
... a light from the power of God,
and he is an emanationof the pure glory of the Almighty.
He is the spotless mirrorof the workingof God,
and he is the image of his goodness.
For he is also the light of the EternalLight.45
I have commented elsewhere on the relationship between Silvanus
and 1 Corinthians 1-4, and suggested that Silvanusretains, as part of
its AlexandrianChristiantradition,a good deal of the "speculative wis-
dom" encountered by Paul in first-centuryCorinth.46The Alexandrian
teacher Apollos is the key figure in Paul's debate with his Corinthian
people in 1 Corinthians 1-4 (3:5-4:6), and I would suggest that we
can gain a good idea of at least one of the varieties of Christianityin
first-centuryAlexandria from a judicious reading of 1 Corinthiansand
Silvanus. It is a Christianitywhich breathes the spirit of the contem-
plative Philo, and, more importantly,moves in a trajectoryleading to
the typically Alexandrian theology of such great figures as Clement,48
Origen, and Athanasius.

42WilliamR. Schoedel, "JewishWisdom and the Formationof the ChristianAscetic,"

in Robert L. Wilken, ed., Aspectsof Wisdomin Judaismand Early Christianity(Notre
Dame: Universityof Notre Dame Press, 1975) 169-99.
43J. Zandee, "'Les Enseignementsde Silvanos' et Philon d'Alexandrie," in Melanges
d'histoiredes religionsoffertsatHenri-Charles
Puech(Paris:Presses Universitairesde France,
1974) 337-45.
44Cf., e.g., Philo Conf 146-47. Philo can also refer to Sophiaas the "Mother" of the
Logos (e.g., Fug. 108-9). This doctrine is muted in Silvanus,but cf. 91,14-16 and
115,5-8.
45 Silv. 112,37-113,7, Peel-Zandeetranslationin NHLE. Cf. Schoedel, "Jewish Wis-
dom," 191-92.
46BirgerA. Pearson, "Philo, Gnosis and the New Testament," in A. H. B. Logan and
A. J. M. Wedderburn,eds., The New Testamentand Gnosis:Essays in honourof Robert
McL. Wilson(Edinburgh:T. & T. Clark, 1983) 73-89, esp. 81-83.
47Ibid., esp. 75-77, 83. Cf. my referenceto Apollos above.
48Cf. J. Zandee, "The Teachingsof Silvanus"and Clementof Alexandria:A New Docu-
mentof AlexandrianTheology(Leiden:Ex OrienteLux, 1977).
216 Essays in Honor of KristerStendahl

Conclusion
In this necessarily brief and incomplete look at Judaism and Chris-
tainity in ancient Alexandria,we have seen that variety is a characteris-
tic of both Judaism and Christianity there. In the beginning, the
varieties of Christianityin Alexandria were, in fact, varieties of that
great city's Judaism. The figure of Philo is a towering presence in that
amalgam. While we do not know what Philo thought of such Christian
Jews as he might have encountered,49 I would like to think, with
Stendahl,50that he engaged them in open dialogue. Ironically, Philo
played virtually no role at all in the subsequent development of
Judaism.51On the other hand, his role, and that of like-mindedJews of
his day, was incalculablyimportantin the development of Christianity.
It is the Philo-like Christianityof Silvanus,rather than the primitive
apocalypticismof Barnabas,or the acosmic radicalismof the Gnostics,
that ultimatelycarriedthe day in the development of Christiantheology
in the patristicage.

49Eusebius claims (Hist. ecct 2.17.2) that "he not only knew but welcomed, rever-
enced, and recognized the divine mission of the apostolic men of his day" (Kirsopp
Lake's translationin the LCL ed.).
50 Stendahl remarksthat "the United States of today is the first place in the modern
world since Philo's Alexandriawhere Jews and Christiansas people, as religious com-
munities, and as learned communities, live together in a manner and in sufficient
numbersto allow for open dialogue" (PaulAmongJewsand Gentiles,37).
51 Cf. Tcherikover,"Decline of the JewishDiaspora,"31-32.