A Brief Note on the Similarities Between the Writings of Philo and Marqe

I have stopped blogging about the Samaritan preservation of the writings of Mark (Marqe ben Tite). Our last post discovered was over a month ago and at that time I should that the man who redefined Samaritanism forever was familiar with the LXX or the Samaritikon and - ultimately - an Alexandrian provenance for Marqe.

Whilst we cannot say much about Marqe as a man we do know a fair amount about what he thought. And I am certainly not the first to either notice of point out the striking similarities between the teachings of Marqe and the written observations of Philo of Alexandria.

The writer Alexander Brodie in particular goes into the similarities in great detail. In his book ‘A Samaritan Philosophy: A Study of the Hellenistic Cultural Ethos’, Brodie points out that Marqe, who we might think of as being a distinctly Galilean individual, had a very Hellenistic (Greek) approach to his writing and his ideas. Brodie suggests that Marqe’s style bears a striking resemblance to that of Philo of Alexandria. As I pointed out earlier some historians have placed Marqe in the fourth century but for very tenuous and unlikely reasons. Broadie repeatedly points out the surprising affinity between Marqe’s philosophical ideas and those of Philo. He says that Marqe and Philo are almost identical in one especially surprising way. Both deal in essentially Greek philosophical arguments but will only do so if they can prove to their own satisfaction that these arguments are paralleled in scripture. Broadie suggests: “Neither Marqe nor Philo could accept a philosophical doctrine which they believed to be inconsistent with the Bible.”

Broadie also points out that both writers also found similar philosophical meanings in Jewish writings that appeared to have no overtly philosophical intention. He says: “the allegorical method in the hands of Philo or Marqah involves treating philosophy as if it were present in the Pentateuch (The first five Books of the Old Testament) as the hidden meaning of the verses, and revealing the hidden meaning.” He adds: “On numerous philosophical matters the ideas of the two thinkers coincide, and even their modes of expression bear, despite language differences, an undeniable similarity.” 

Just to make clear - I think Marqe is the man remembered as St. Mark in the Christian tradition. I think he was capable of expressing the same idea in different ways to different people at the same time.

Needless to say I think Mark (Marqe) was a genius. Christian's rob him of this distinction when they attribute all of his subtlety to God and the 'Holy Spirit.' Then again, they don't understand his work so what do you expect anyway?