5.Describe some important characteristics of Hellenistic Judaism.
Hellenistic Judaism was basically a marriage between Greek Philosophy and Jewish Doctrine. It main contributor was Philo of Alexandria. The bible was seen as philosophy. He like other Hellenistic Jews believed in the allegorically interpretation of the Jewish Scripture. According to them, God did not play an active role in the lives of human. He created the world his Word, Logos, which represented the "agent who ordered the world according to the divine law, nomos". Hellenistic Judaism viewed the dietary laws allegorically so they were merely seen as aversion to unsavory moral characteristics associated with those unclean animals, not as a ban from eating them. Additionally, the concept of circumcision was seen as the excision of sexual passion instead of the literal cutting of the penis. However, in some instances, such as laws concerning the Temple, the Bible should be read literally.
The point to remember about Philo's allegorical interpretations is that they do NOT invalidate the actual observance of the law so interpreted. They coexist with it.
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