scholarly journals Theodoret of Cyrus and His Exegetical Predecessors: A Study of His Biblical Commentary Prefaces

Open Theology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 445-460
Author(s):  
Miriam De Cock
Keyword(s):  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Biblical Commentary ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Theodoret Of Cyrus ◽  
Biblical Commentaries ◽  
Exegetical Tradition

Abstract In this article, I examine the biblical commentary prefaces of Theodoret of Cyrus (d. 458), particularly the exegete’s presentation of his self-image in relation to his predecessors in the Greek exegetical tradition. I contend that in addition to its introductory function, the biblical commentary preface provided the context in which the exegete could rhetorically style himself vis-à-vis the prior tradition, articulating his own skills, credentials, and distinctive interpretive approach. Of Theodoret’s nine biblical commentaries, I focus particularly on the prefaces of his Commentary on the Song of Songs, Commentary on Daniel, Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, Questions on the Octateuch, and Commentary on the Psalms, given that in these five, we find Theodoret remarking explicitly on the prior interpretive tradition. I demonstrate that at times Theodoret engages with the prior tradition with a critical tone, and at others, he shows respectful deference to his predecessors. In every case, however, his comments serve the rhetorical end of presenting himself as both an authoritative exegetical inheritor and curator of the prior interpretive tradition. The overarching argument of this article then is that Theodoret fashions his own identity as an exegete by making his relative late appearance on the exegetical scene work to his advantage, claiming that an authoritative interpreter of scripture is one who inherits and curates the exegetical legacy and traditions of the prior tradition. In other words, Theodoret overcomes the (rhetorical) problem that others have previously produced commentaries on the biblical book by claiming that the true authoritative interpreter is in fact one who knows both scripture and the prior tradition intimately, and that the exegete’s role at this stage in the tradition is to faithfully transmit the most fitting comments of others.

Allegory or Literal Historical Interpretation?: Andrew Fuller’s Critique of Robert Robinson’s View of the Canonicity of the Song of Songs

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-288
Author(s):  
Jeongmo Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Historical Interpretation ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Exegetical Tradition

This study deals with Andrew Fuller’s (1754–1815) critique of Robert Robinson of Cambridge (1735–1790) with a particular focus on Fuller’s critique of Robinson’s view of the canonicity of the Song of Songs. Fuller’s defence of the canonicity of the Song of Songs and his interpretation of it evidently follows the mainstream Protestant view of the Reformation and the Post-Reformation eras in continuity with the patristic and medieval exegetical tradition. In particular, standing firm with the predominant exegetical tradition of previous centuries, Fuller takes allegory as the main exegetical method to interpret the Song of Songs. Even though Fuller emphatically rejects the use of vain allegory as a human invention, his interpretation of the Song of Songs indicates that if allegory may be able to connect appropriate features in an Old Testament passage with a greater truth revealed in Christ, he allows for the use of allegory to expose the meaning of the text.

scholarly journals Przekład komentarza biblijnego jako ciąg decyzyjny tłumaczenia funkcjonalnego – studium przypadku

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (48) ◽  
pp. 43-66
Author(s):  
Aleksander Gomola
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Gospel Of Luke ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Scientific Texts ◽  
Biblical Commentary ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Commentaries ◽  
Biblical Translation ◽  
Selection Of

The Functional Translation of Biblical Commentaries as a Decision- Making Process – a Case Study The article is a case study exploring the translation of one biblical commentary representing a specific type of texts from the threefold perspective of a translator, translation theorist and translation trainer. The Author utilizes a concept of the functional translation by C. Nord, an idea of the translation as a decision-making process by J. Levý, and principles of the translation of scientific texts by Z. Kozłowska. Selected aspects of translating of a contemporary English commentary on the Gospel of Luke into Polish are investigated, including the following decision-making levels: selection of an appropriate Polish translation of the Bible, necessary adjustments of the chosen biblical translation, decisions related to intertextuality of the Bible, lexical choices. Problems concerning other functions of the source text, apart from its exegetical function, are also discussed as well as solutions concerning quotations, references and the paratext. Furthermore, information on bibliographic sources useful for translators of biblical and patristic texts was presented.

Martin Luther's Political Interpretation of the Song of Songs

2011 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-467
Author(s):  
Jarrett A. Carty
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
The Political ◽  
Conjugal Love ◽  
Biblical Commentary ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Gift ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Interpretation

AbstractMartin Luther argued that the Hebrew Bible's Song of Songs was “an encomium of the political order,” a praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of temporal government. Luther's political interpretation of this book was unique in his age, and remains so in the history of biblical commentary. This paper offers an account of Luther's peculiar interpretation, as well as its place in his interpretation of the Bible and in the history of biblical commentary, by arguing that it exhibits the foundational idea of his political thought that secular authority is a precious gift from God, and that the Song of Songs, as a praise of conjugal love, provides for political authority a fitting biblical encomium.

Biblical Readings and Literary Writings in Early Modern England, 1558-1625

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Brownlee
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern England ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Narratives ◽  
Biblical Commentaries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
Selection Of

This book provides an account of the how the Bible was read and applied in early modern England, and maps the connection between these readings and various forms of writing. The Bible had a profound impact on early modern culture, and Bible-reading shaped the period’s drama, poetry, and life writings, as well as sermons and biblical commentaries. This book argues that literary writings bear the hallmarks of the period’s dominant exegetical practices, and do interpretative work. Tracing the impact of biblical reading across a range of genres and writers, the discussion demonstrates that literary reimaginings of, and allusions to, the Bible were common, varied, and ideologically evocative. The book explores how a series of popularly interpreted biblical narratives were recapitulated in the work of a diverse selection of writers, some of whom remain relatively unknown. In early modern England, the figures of Solomon, Job, and Christ’s mother, Mary, and the books of Song of Songs and Revelation, are enmeshed in different ways with contemporary concerns, and their usage illustrates how the Bible’s narratives could be turned to a fascinating array of debates. Showing the multifarious contexts in which biblical narratives were deployed, this book argues that Protestant interpretative practices both contribute to, and problematize, literary constructions of a range of theological, political, and social debates.

Biblical Commentary

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren R. Niehoff
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Community ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Biblical Commentary ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
Biblical Commentaries ◽  
Allegorical Interpretation ◽  
Critical Methods

This chapter looks at Philo's biblical commentaries. Philo's commentary activity on the Jewish Scriptures must be appreciated in the context of Alexandria, where he became familiar with critical methods of scholarship and engaged in a lively dialogue with colleagues in the Jewish community. He developed an innovative approach, stressing the textual difficulties or “stumbling-blocks” in the Bible and using them as stepping stones for allegorical interpretation. Philo argued that the imperfection of the biblical text was intentional, as Moses thus wished to alert his readers to a higher spiritual meaning. Philo is moreover the first known interpreter who made extensive use of secondary and tertiary texts, innovatively adducing verses from the Prophets and Psalms in order to interpret Genesis. This intertextual approach enabled him to uncover a mystical meaning in the Pentateuch that hinted at the soul's ascent to God, often described in overtly sexual imagery.

The Lamentations Commentaries of Hrabanus Maurus and Paschasius Radbertus

Traditio ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 137-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ann Matter
Keyword(s):  
Ninth Century ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Critical Editions ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Biblical Commentaries ◽  
Exegetical Tradition ◽  
Primary Materials ◽  
Untapped Resource

In the study of Carolingian Christianity, biblical commentaries are a vast and largely untapped resource. Exegesis, whether for teaching or homiletical purposes, dominated the ninth-century school tradition; in this world, nearly all theologians were primarily expositors of the Bible. It is one of the ironies of historical inquiry that the non-exegetical treatises of such figures as Hrabanus Maurus and Paschasius Radbertus have been studied to the exclusion of their biblical commentaries. Although this situation is beginning to change, much remains to be done, beginning with the crucial work on the texts. Meanwhile, in the absence of critical editions of any of the major works of the Carolingian exegetical tradition, all scholarship in the field is a mere suggestion as to what might be discovered when the primary materials have been better presented. This study is no exception. The two treatises discussed here have received practically no attention from modern historians, and are printed only in the uncritical editions of the Patrologia Latina. It is my hope that this analysis will encourage further inquiry into Carolingian exegesis by showing some ways in which two commentaries, the first in the Latin tradition on the book of Lamentations, reveal the theological and pastoral concerns, and the exegetical methods, of two generations of ninth-century monastic authors.

Lilie unter Dornen

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-514
Author(s):  
Silvia Reuvekamp
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Song Of Songs ◽  
Vernacular Language ◽  
Literary Meaning ◽  
Exegetical Tradition

AbstractThe echoes of the Song of Songs in Hartmann’s ›Erec‹ culminate in the famous comparison of Enite with a lily among thorns. Against the background of the exegetical tradition, in which the lily stands for an exceptional love competence, it is shown that this comparison is much more important to an appropriate understanding of ›Erec‹ than has been commonly assumed. This example illustrates, moreover, how precisely vernacular-language authors make usage of sacred contents and how autonomously they create processes of literary meaning-making.

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