We were delighted to have Dr. Miriam de Cock and Dr. Elizabeth Klein on our blog to discuss their book Exploring the Literary Contexts of Patristic Biblical Exegesis. Miriam de Cock is assistant professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Dublin City University. Elizabeth Klein is assistant professor of theology at the Augustine Institute Graduate School.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the connection between literature and scripture for the authors whose work is being discussed in this volume, and what drew the two of you to that intersection as an idea for this edited volume?
A: We both studied with Peter Widdicombe at McMaster University in Hamilton, and something he always emphasized was that early Christians have a very different understanding of how one ought to interpret Scripture. Our modern expectations of what a “scripture commentary” is often sets us up for failure in encountering these ancient texts on their own terms. So we hoped that this collection of essays would help to show some of the unexpected places and ways we find Scripture being interpreted in an effort to help broaden the horizon of what counts as exegesis.
Q: The descriptive copy for the book talks about how this volume can be helpful to “the modern person.” Can you expound upon that statement and how you see this volume fitting into contemporary discussions of biblical exegesis?
A: In addition to what we said in response to the previous question, one way we hope the volume can help “the modern person” is that it showcases just how rigorous and sophisticated all of these ancient authors were in their interpretation of scripture. After the historical-critical turn in biblical studies, there has been a tendency for scholars and lay people alike to write-off these late antique authors due to their use of non-literal modes of interpretation. We hope that our essays demonstrate that despite their use of allegory or the like these authors did not treat scripture in an arbitrary manner, reading into the text whatever they saw fit, but rather, they worked within well-established paradigms inherited by their training in the pagan Greco-Roman schoolrooms of grammar and rhetoric. These ancient Christian authors were also those who worked with scripture carefully as they articulated some of the most foundational teachings of the Christian tradition, such as the relationship between the Father and the Son or the two natures of Christ.
Q: What was the biggest surprise you found in editing this volume, either in the research or in particular contributor’s essays?
Elizabeth: One thing that surprised me was the deep and serious engagement with Scripture you find in so many different contexts – even in popular homilies. Perhaps we tend to think of ancient audiences as less intellectually inclined, but this can’t have been the case!
Miriam: I was struck by the number of our contributors, ourselves included, who found the work of Frances Young from 1998 (Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture) inspirational in some way. At the rate that scholarship is produced today, I found it remarkable that her suggestive comments from the late 90s on the theological nature of ancient Christian exegesis, or, conversely, the exegetical nature of ancient Christian theology are still being unpacked today. This volume has taken up the task of exploring this insight in some way, but there is still so much to be done within this line of inquiry.
Q: What drew both of you to this particular area of biblical studies as an area to research, write about, and specialize in?
Elizabeth: Until college, I had never really encountered serious academic or theological study of the Bible. I didn’t realize it was something people researched! I was drawn especially to Early Christian authors because their writings were so unexpected to me, and I generally found them engaging and compelling.
Miriam: I began my academic work in biblical studies proper, studying the New Testament, and working particularly on the Gospel of Matthew. I first encountered patristic exegesis in a serious way during my MA, when I took a course on Augustine’s Expositions of the Psalms with Peter Widdicombe. I was immediately struck by the creativity of his interpretation, but also the complexity, or rather, the learned and subtle engagement with prior Christian and philosophical traditions. I could also sense very early on that there was simply more room to breathe in the study of Christian literature beyond the New Testament; there were so many texts that had not yet been studied carefully or where little work had yet been done. I found this incredibly liberating.
For more information on Miriam de Cock and Elizabeth Klein and their book, Exploring the Literary Contexts of Patristic Biblical Exegesis, click here