How would you use Logos to determine the word wisdom and its usage in Philo? I thought a word study would work but it did not.
Yep ... Philo isn't in the Bible. But the provided searches are convenient, especially using the greek in the Philo Interlinear.
But to pick up Philo and wisdom, you really need to be familiar with Hellenism's wisdom/sophia and how it's used. From Philo (Winston's translation;my emphasis):
“And God planted a pleasure ground eastward in Eden, and placed there the man whom he had fashioned” (Gen. 2:8). Through the employment of many terms Moses has disclosed that the lofty and heavenly wisdom is many-named; for he calls it “beginning”65 and “image” and “vision of God”; and now by the planting of the pleasure ground he presents earthly wisdom as the copy of this as of an archetype. Let not so great impiety take possession of man’s reason that it assume that God tills the ground and plants pleasure grounds, for we should immediately be at a loss to discover his motivation. Certainly not to provide himself with pleasant relaxation and pleasures. Let not such mythic inventions ever enter our mind.… God accordingly sows and plants terrestrial virtue for the race of mortals as a copy and representation of the heavenly. (LA 1.43, 45–46)
What sources would you suggest to study Hellenism's wisdom/sophia?
Wow. I'm the worst for Hellenism. I spend most of my analytics before Alexander. Yahud.
I'd do a basic search hellenism NEAR wisdom. Maybe a journal article. Or the web chatters. The forum has much better expertise here, than me. I do know, the semantics (as all philosophy) lives well beyond the word itself.
Interestingly, (useless info) if you look at the pattern of usage (BWS) Philo has the significant usage (sophia). You probably don't have Patrologia Graeca, but Origen doesn't shy away, either (morph-search, analysis view).
But each use has to be examined.
hellenism NEAR wisdom
I do know, the semantics (as all philosophy) lives well beyond the word itself.
I knew this as well. The ontology of semantics is very broad and especially in the ancient languages. I do not own the Patrologia Graeca but my local library had it in print. I went there and tried to read Origen. Very analytical and exhaustive in nature. Hopefully someone else in the forum will comment.
Wikipedia, a chatbot, and Sanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy all give you excellent starting points. Given Sophia's association with Gnosticism, and Wisdom's roots in the Pre-Socratic philosophers, and Michel Foucault's works you should be able to get lots of starting places without depending on the forums.
