1	Patristic and Medieval Exegesis From Functional to Authoritative Hermeneutics
2	Functional Hermeneutics Biblical Interpretation was grounded in the church’s exposition, not in the theoretical analysis of the academy. Use in worship, in the Liturgy of the Word, for the construction of sermons necessitated interpretation. The Apostolic Fathers - disciples of the apostles - late 1st, and early to mid 2nd century.
3	Clement of Rome Used 166 OT quotations or allusions in his 1st epistle to the Corinthians Interpreted the OT Christologically But not for OT prophecies of the work of Christ Rather, Christ as the basis for moral obedience Generally, literalistic
4	Ignatius - 7 letters Rarely cites the OT Frequently quotes the NT, especially the Pauline epistles Almost appears to know 1 Corinthians by memory Freely paraphrases Saw the bishop as the source for correct interpretation of Scripture
5	The Challenge of Heresy and Hermeneutical Confusion The Church quickly became embroiled in conflict on two fronts: Judaism which resisted Christian use of the OT and Gnosticism and various forms of Greek thought which interpreted the NT in light of their divisive teachings
6	Hermeneutical Responses to Heresy Justin Martyr - typological exegesis of OT Both general and special revelation arise from the Logos Jesus is the Logos and Scripture is the written residue of the Logos Had little concern for the original context or meaning for original readers
7	Justin Martyr In all its parts the OT pointed to Jesus Mystery, announcement, sign, parable, symbol, and type were interchangeable terms referring to inner meaning of an act or person representative of a later act or person There are at least 40 examples of rabbinic methods of exegesis in Justin He especially delighted in types of the cross
8	The Shift to Authoritative Hermeneutics Irenaeus - his major extant work is Against Heresies He accused the heretics of failing to use the whole of Scripture and of “favorite” gospels Ebionites used Matthew, Marcion used Luke, Docetists used Mark, and Valentinians used John Irenaeus emphasized all four gospels
9	Irenaeus True interpretation came from those with apostolic succession and the charismatic gift of truth. “True ‘gnosis’ is the teaching of the apostles, and the ancient structure of the church throughout the world, and the form of the body of Christ in accordance with the succession of bishops to whom the apostles
10	"delivered the church which is..." delivered the church which is in each place; this teaching has come down to us, preserved without any use of forged writings, by being handled in its complete fullness, neither receiving addition nor suffering curtailment; and reading without falsification, and honest and steady exposition of the scriptures without either danger or blasphemy; and the special gift of love. . . . This came to be called the “rule of faith”
11	Tertullian His exegesis showed a mixture of good sense and occasional perverseness Sometimes literal; sometimes wildly fanciful Argued that heretics had no right to Scripture and its interpretation and that it was thus useless to argue interpretation with heretics
12	Typology to Allegory Typology - persons, events, or objects in OT are seen as foreshadowing some “corresponding” element in the NT Allegory - assumes the text to mean something different than it says - a meaning in code The line between typology and allegory was and is often blurred.
13	The Alexandrian School Probably because of the context, the church at Alexandria began to move more clearly to allegorical interpretation Alexandrians were Christians in a world of Hellenistic philosophy and Gnosticism. They turned to allegory as a way to make the Christian rule of faith more palatable to Hellenistic thinkers.
14	The Alexandrian School Leaders Clement (c. 150-215) Taught that the literal or historical meaning was the starting point for the masses Believed that every text had multiple levels of meaning that were accessible to the more spiritual (knowing) believer Used allegory as a way to achieve those deeper meanings
15	Clement of Alexandria Expanded the rule of faith by combining it with Platonic philosophy Taught that each text should be understood in the light of all of Scripture This led to the use of numerology, etymology, and other gyrations to pull theological truths known from other passages out of the passage under study
16	Clement of Alexandria Saw four aspects to the Mosaic Law: historical or descriptive ethical or legislative sacrificial or physical theological or visionary The ultimate goal of interpretation was “true gnosis” - true knowledge
17	The Alexandrian School Leader Origen (c. 185-254) - finest Bible scholar produced by the early and medieval church Extremely popular teacher, widely published Started with the literal, textual meaning. Evidence is seen in his intense interest in textual criticism as shown by his work on the Hexapla
18	Origen and Allegorical Exegesis Motivated by a desire to “protect” Scripture from charges of contradiction or nonsense Motivated by dislike for anthropomorphism and inappropriate anthropopassisms Believed that the New Testament (e.g., Gal. 4:21-31 and 1 Cor. 10:1-11) demanded allegorical interpretation Used allegory to preserve the unity of the Testaments
19	The School of Antioch: Theophilius Theophilus became bishop of Antioch c. 169 Very interested in literal and historical exegesis. Constructed a chronology from creation to his time
20	The School of Antioch: Diodore of Tarsus Diodore of Tarsus (became bishop in 378) Known from his commentary on the Psalms which he treats historically. Psalm 2 was prophetic but Psalm 22 was not for him
21	Diodore of Tarsus Argued strongly against the allegorical method as it was being practiced as a result of the Alexandrian influence Contended that allegorizers undermined history and made one thing mean another Supported theoria instead of allegory. This view argued that prophets saw the fuller meaning of Christ in addition to the historical meaning.
22	The School of Antioch: Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350-428) - primary work that is preserved is a commentary on the Minor Prophets. His view was that a prophecy was only messianic if the NT used it in such a way. Argued that the Song of Solomon was an erotic poem, not an allegory of Christ’s love for the church. He believed it (and Job) should be excluded from the canon.
23	Theodore of Mopsuestia Argued that John 1:51’s reference to angels ascending and descending referred to angelic ministry to Christ at the temptation, in Gethsemane, at the resurrection, and the ascension Argued that Paul used theoria not allegory in Galatians 4:21-31 Consistently viewed Scripture historically and, by means of theoria, theologically
24	The Antioch School: John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (c. 354-407) - Combined historical interpretation with gifts for doctrine and preaching. His extant works consist primarily of sermons Favored Aristotelian philosophy over Platonic Pursued a critical, literal, grammatical, and historical approach to Scripture
25	John Chrysostom Theology and hermeneutics were pastoral and practical rather than theoretical Believed the biblical message could lead to changes in people’s lives Very much aware of the human role of the authors of Scripture Understood there to be a dual authorship of Scripture - divine and human
26	The School of Antioch : Jerome C. 341-420, educated in Rome and Antioch, served in Bethlehem Began as an enthusiastic allegorist under the influence of Origen’s approach Through the study of Hebrew from Jewish rabbis he became more “historical” in approach Ended his ministry under the influence of the School of Antioch
27	Jerome Most famous as the translator of the new Latin version which came to be called the Vulgate Learned Hebrew in order to translate the OT from the Hebrew text rather than from the LXX Eclectic in methodology he was one of the finest bible scholars of the early church
28	Augustine of Hippo C. 354-430 -The most influential single person between the apostles and the reformers. Trained in rhetoric and philosophy Struggled with sins of the flesh until a dramatic conversion in 386. He was ordained as priest in 391 and made bishop of Hippo in 395
29	Augustine of Hippo He downplayed the differences between OT and NT, focusing rather on the two cities found in both testaments Began with literal/historical meaning and moved to spiritual/allegorical meaning Supported the LXX canon of the OT against Jerome’s recommendation of the Hebrew canon - with far reaching consequences
30	Augustine of Hippo Followed Tyconius’ view that exegesis has an ecclesiological goal, i.e., The Bible illustrates and interprets the life of the contemporary church The goal of interpretation was to increase one’s love for God and for neighbor Taught that one must interpret obscure passages in light of clear passages Stressed the spirit of the text rather than verbal accuracy
31	The Middle Ages Eventually the allegorical method held sway in the Western Church Three approaches were typical Traditional interpretation - passing on the church fathers with commentaries consisting of catena or chains of interpretation A continuing influence of the Antiochene School of literal and historical interpretation Expansion of allegorical interpretation
32	The Allegorical Method Expanded The Four-fold approach to interpretation Every text was thought to have four levels of meaning: literal or historical allegorical or doctrinal moral or tropological anagogical or eschatological
33	The Four-fold Interpretation of Jerusalem 1. Literal - Jerusalem = ancient Jewish city 2. Allegorical - Jerusalem = the Christian church 3. Moral – Jerusalem =the faithful soul 4 Anagogical – Jerusalem =the heavenly city
34	The Four-fold Interpretation The letter shows us what God and our fathers did. The allegory shows us where our faith is hid. The moral meaning gives us rules of daily life. The anagogy shows us where we end our strife.
35	Examples of Exegesis in the Middle Ages Bede - c. 672-735 - on 1 Samuel The two wives of Elkanah, Hannah and Peninnah, are the Church and the Synagogue. The capture of the ark by the Philistines represents the gospel being taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles.
36	Examples of Medieval Exegesis Abelard - 12th century - the days of Creation Day 1 - the confusion of the elements signifies the world before the law. Day 2 - the separation of the water alludes to those who escape the Flood Day 3 - the emerging land represents the giving of the law lifting people from earthly to spiritual values
37	Abelard on Days of Creation Day 4 - the creation of the light signifies the prophets who come after the law and look for the coming of Christ Day 5 - the production of living beings by the water anticipates the renewal of those who undergo Christian baptism Day 6 - man being placed in paradise looks forward to man restored to paradise after the cross
38	The Middle Ages Often stereo-typed as a “black hole” of biblical interpretation In reality many insightful interpreters advanced the church’s understanding of Scripture At a popular level allegorizers flourished The church was ready for and in need of a wide-spread turning to the Scripture