Introduction
This article—based extensively on the research by Rabbi Dovid Campbell—examines the often-overlooked intellectual legacy and deep influence of Philo Judaeus of Alexandria (20 BCE-50 CE) on later Jewish thought. Philo, a leader of “the largest Jewish community of the first century,” may have been “one of history’s most influential Jews”. He laid solid foundations for “the entire stream of Western philosophy, including its religious and distinctively Jewish branches” (Campbell 2024:42). Essentially, Philo was an early, if not the first, thinker to understand the Torah as speaking the language of philosophy behind the plain meaning of its text. For Philo, Torah was philosophy. At this stage in Jewish history, Torah meant Tanach or Bible, because the rabbinic or Talmudic period was just beginning. Philo introduced numerous philosophical ideas into Judaism that changed its shape forever, but the man behind these contributions was lost to Jewish history. Today, we only know about Philo because other religious traditions preserved his work. In fact, many of his forgotten contributions have unknowingly become part of the very fabric of contemporary Orthodox Judaism, to the extent that those who disregard them would—to this day—almost certainly be considered as espousing heretical views. Campbell’s groundbreaking research expounds on this peculiar irony.
