Torah Quotations Common to Philo, Hebrews, Clemens Romanus and Justin Martyr: What is the Common Denominator?

Abstract

Certain Torah quotations are common to Philo, to the unknown author of Hebrews and to some of the early Church Fathers. These quotations represent a similar reading in the different groups of literature, which in some instances jointly differ from the reading in the Septuagint (lxx). One is thus confronted with the question: What is the common denominator? The possibilities explored in the chapter include (a) the common Hellenistic milieu; (b) literary interdependence upon each other; (c) independent use of a testimony book; (d) sharing the same oral tradition; (e) independent use of a common Vorlage in the literary tradition; (f ) the role of a Christian editorial hand; and (g) geographical proximity of the authors. Clement of Rome and Justin Martyr all wrote later from Rome and, being familiar with the work of Hebrews, made use of Philo's Torah tradition in turn. Keywords: Christian tradition; Clemens Romanus; Justin Martyr; Philo; Septuagint (lxx); Torah Quotations