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Biblical Hermeneutics Part Third Chapter 4

The history of patristic exegesis from the beginning of the third century to medieval times may by typified by the two major schools of Alexandria and Antioch. These were not always two clearly defined hermeneutical camps at war with each other, but rather major concurrent streams in interpretation, which sometimes both found expression in writings of the same man. These streams have continued down to our day, but have now, thanks to the good labors of many of our fathers, become more discernibly distinct.

Alexandria was the chief center of learning in the ancient Roman world, to which scholars of many peoples resorted. Following in the line of Philo, the Christian expositors of this school majored on the allegorical and the mystical, usually at the expense of the plain sense of the text. The greatest of this large company was Origen, who is to be admired and revered for his untiring labors, steadfast faith and the breadth of his learning, rather than for his hermeneutical methods. His great work, the Hexapla, is the first notable attempt at textual criticism. Other men among this group of allegorical interpreters are Clement, Dionysius, Eusebius, Cyril, et al.

In Antioch there arose around the beginning of the fourth century a school that focused more on historico-critical exegesis, in opposition to the Alexandrian allegorists. Africanus ably disputed with Origen, and was a forerunner of this school. Lucian, a presbyter in Antioch founded the school, and acquired great fame as an expositor. Diodorus became quite influential in promoting the literal sense and opposing allegorical meanings, and became the teacher of John Chrysostom, who came to be regarded as the greatest of exegetes. While opposing mystical methods, Chrysostom sometimes erred in the opposite extreme, denying the inspiration of many portions of Scripture.

There were also in the fourth century those who did not clearly fall into either school, but who demonstrated the principles of one or the other, or both. Athanasius, the great defender of the faith against Arianism, generally employs good hermeneutical principles in his arguments, in spite of his Alexandrian training. Ambrose was an even more fanciful interpreter than Origen, giving no apparent regard to the historical sense. Jerome was the greatest biblical scholar of the age, having devoted himself to the study of the original tongues, and hence producing the Latin translation which has come to be known as the Vulgate. Nevertheless, he shows the influence of his times in that while he aims to give the literal sense, he frequently succumbs to allegory. Similarly Augustine, who enunciates very sensible rules for exposition, proceeds to break them in his own interpretation. All in all, while we may with profit look to the early fathers as models of faith in various kinds of trouble and controversy, we should not regard them as our models for exegesis.