Texts in Conversation
Philo follows a Jewish tradition that describes the Torah at Sinai as heavenly fire that became intelligible speech. Acts reflects the same tradition at Pentecost, where tongues like fire are heard as clear speech in many languages.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Philo, The Decalogue 1:46
Classical
45 The people stood nearby. They had kept themselves pure by avoiding sexual intercourse with women and abstaining from every pleasure except eating the food they needed. For three days they had purified themselves by bathing and washing, and they had washed their clothes. Now, all dressed in pure white robes, they stood on tiptoe and listened eagerly, following Moses' instructions to prepare for the solemn assembly. He knew it would take place when he alone was summoned up to deliver God's prophetic commands. 46 And a voice sounded from within the fire that had streamed down from heaven, a marvelous and awe-inspiring voice. The flame spoke clearly in a language familiar to its listeners, expressing its words so distinctly that the people seemed to see the voice rather than hear it. 47 And the law confirms this statement when it says, "And all the people saw the voice clearly." For the truth is that the voice of men is made to be heard, but the voice of God is truly meant to be seen. Why is this? Because what God says is not words but actions, which the eyes judge before the ears do.
Date: 1–50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Acts 2:3
New Testament
1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Completely baffled, they said, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In this regard, Philo’s first-century description of God’s appearance at Sinai may not be a haphazard parallel: God’s revelation came “from heaven” like a “flame”, which became “a dialect” and caused “amazement” (Decalogue 46, a parallel noted by several commentators; see some identical wording in Acts 2:3, 6-7). Philo’s rendering is not that far removed from the account in the book of Exodus, where “voices” is closely linked to “torches” of fire: “all the people saw the voices and the torches” (Exodus 20:18; “torches” of fire also describe a heavenly temple scene in Ezekiel 1:13). Later Judaism also preserves references saying that God’s voice in giving the law at Sinai was like fire ..."
G. K. Beale, Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 125.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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