⁶ Philo revered Plato and endeavored to explain Judaism in terms of Greek philosophy. “By creating a unique synthesis of Platonic philosophy and biblical tradition,” says the book Heaven—A History, “Philo paved the way for later Christian [as well as Jewish] thinkers.”

“Probably on account of the influence of Platonism,” says the Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, “[rabbis] believed in the pre-existence of souls.”