But I'm not interested in every reference to 'Good' -- I'm only interested in all the circumstantial evidence which might support Philo's point. I'm not even insisting my understanding of the passage is correct, the only interpretation. There's alot more material to process, anyhoo.References to ἀγαθοῦ are distinct.
Philo has built a little argument here, deploys rhetoric, for a reason. To write/speak this way, his (literate/cosmopolitan) audience must have known who he was talking about, these alternatives. SO I think his 'formula' given presupposes the existence of three other known sectarian tendencies AND the 'Therapeut' four-fold construct to subsume those other 3 ('lesser') theosophies. One of which is a 'Good Concept,' which may or may not refer to a distinct 'Cult of the Good' actually operating in the Jewish milieu.
And here we are, 14-15 pages later, discussing the possibility of an older "Cult of the Good" around the (later) Jewish messiah.
When I read the expression "Jesus the Good," I immediately think of the Good Shepherd. And so, back to the original Branch Davidian, Isaiah 44:28: "When I say of Koresh, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”
And how can any American adult interested in religion forget? In 1993, a Texas whacko* took that 'Servant' and 'Shepherd of God' business too far.
* David Koresh claimed God spoke to him in Israel, on a 'Bible' trip back in 1985. He describes the experience in an audiotape while interpreting Isaiah 44 (Instruction audiotapes, 1987). The experience gave him "a sudden and complete insight into the full role of this Koreshian messiah figure, also called the 'Servant' and 'Shepherd' of God (Isa. 44:26-28)" see James D. Tabor, Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America [1995], p.61.
Recently, the discovery of this little "Good Shepherd" ring (c. 250 AD) in a shipwreck off the coast of Israel generated lots of media interest. Note the horns: that is NOT a lamb carried. But why assume the ring is "Christian"?
We must ask: since it is a cult image, when did the 'Cult of the Good Shepherd' appear? In fact, cultic evidence of ram-bearing Kriophoroi can be dated back to 650 BC at least. Ergo, the so-called "Apollo-Christ" (from the Catacomb of Priscilla) appears less like "Jesus" and more like a late derivative Hermes Kriophoros; in this example, Hermes w/ his lyre plainly visible at his side.
The oldest archaeological evidence for the "Good Shepherd" predates an Historical or Mythic Jesus by about 700 years, at least!
Statistics: Posted by billd89 — Sun Feb 04, 2024 6:48 am