Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church: An Historical Introduction to Patristic Exegesis
Overview
A comprehensive historical survey of patristic exegesis. Simonetti examines the changing understanding of the word of God in the early Church, and describes the individual authors and "schools" which were active in this development. First there is a study of the role of Scripture in the infant Church. Simonetti describes the use of Scripture in orthodox circles, drawing comparisons from the Gnostic world. There follows an examination of Eastern exegesis in the 4th and 5th centuries (Eusebius, the Antiochian School, the Cappadocians, and later developments in Alexandria), and an examination of Western exegesis in the same period (including detailed discussions of Jerome and Augustine). Simonetti concludes with a study of developments in the Eastern and Western Church in the later 5th and 6th centuries. A final section provides a theological perspective through a study of the theological interpretation of Scripture in the patristic era.
Top Highlights
“Christianity, like Judaism, is a religion of the Book.” (Page 1)
“They interpreted the Old Testament according to methods usual in Judaism of the period, in order to adapt it to their own needs. In doing this they did not limit themselves to merely embellishing their discourse with quotations from the Old Testament, either the actual text, or merely its gist, or even various combinations of the two; but they also adopted more complex procedures of the ‘midrash’ style in the sense that they presented new ideas, expressive of the new realities of nascent Christianity, by combining Old Testament passages reminiscent of one other: thus the ‘Magnificat’ (Lk. 1:46–55) represents an intertwining of Old Testament quotations and allusions combined to express a new reality.” (Page 8)
“Origen’s allegorical interpretation of Scripture based its theoretical presuppositions on a Platonic interpretation of all reality.” (Page 54)
“Even the pesher method of ‘actualising’ the Old Testament called is represented in the books of the New Testament.” (Page 8)
“Origen, by contrast, understands the study of Scripture to mean the study of the whole of Scripture.” (Page 39)
- Title: Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church: An Historical Introduction to Patristic Exegesis
- Author: Manlio Simonetti
- Publisher: Continuum
- Publication Date: 2002
- Pages: 168