Overview

Scriptural interpretation was an important form of scholarship for Christians in late antiquity. For no one does this claim ring more true than Origen of Alexandria (185-254), one of the most prolific scholars of Scripture in early Christianity. This book examines his approach to the Bible through a biographical lens: the focus is on his account of the scriptural interpreter, the animating centre of the exegetical enterprise. In pursuing this largely neglected line of inquiry, Peter W. Martens discloses the contours of Origen's sweeping vision of scriptural exegesis as a way of life. For Origen, ideal interpreters were far more than philologists steeped in the skills conveyed by Greco-Roman education. Their profile also included a commitment to Christianity from which they gathered a spectrum of loyalties, guidelines, dispositions, relationships and doctrines that tangibly shaped how they practiced and thought about their biblical scholarship. The study explores the many ways in which Origen thought ideal scriptural interpreters (himself included) embarked upon a way of life, indeed a way of salvation, culminating in the everlasting contemplation of God. This new and integrative thesis takes seriously how the discipline of scriptural interpretation was envisioned by one of its pioneering and most influential practitioners.

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter W. Martens (Assistant Professor of Theological Studies, Assistant Professor of Theological Studies, St. Louis University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.30cm , Height: 3.10cm , Length: 24.00cm
Weight:   0.620kg
ISBN:  

9780199639557

ISBN 10:   0199639558
Pages:   294
Publication Date:   05 January 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Preface Introduction I: The Philologist 1: Mandate: The Interpreter's Education 2: Specialization: The Elements of Philology II: The Philologist and Christianity 3: Scholarship: Divine Provenance 4: Conversion: Sanctified Study 5: Boundaries (Part I): Interpretation Among the Heterodox 6: Boundaries (Part II): Interpretation in the New Israel 7: Conduct: Moral Inquiry 8: Message: Saving Knowledge 9: Horizons: The Beginning and End of the Drama of Salvation Epilogue Introduction PART 1: THE PHILOLOGIST 1: Mandate: The Interpreter's Education 2: Specialization: The Elements of Philology PART 2: THE PHILOLOGIST AND CHRISTIANITY 3: Scholarship: Divine Provenance 4: Conversion: Sanctified Study 5: Boundaries (Part I): Interpretation Among the Heterodox 6: Boundaries (Part II): Interpretation in the New Israel 7: Conduct: Moral Inquiry 8: Message: Saving Knowledge 9: Horizons: The Beginning and End of the Drama of Salvation Epilogue

Reviews

<br> The books is extensively researched and carefully executed. Martens's wide scope and fresh approach suggest that, aside from being an important contribution in its own right, this volume is not a scholarly cul-de-sac but invites future work as well. --Religious Studies Review<p><br>

Author Information

Peter W. Martens is Assistant Professor for Theological Studies at Saint Louis University. Prior to arriving in St. Louis he taught at the University of Notre Dame and Yale Divinity School. He specializes in Origen and his legacy, and has wide-ranging interests in the history of biblical interpretation.

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