Clement’s Biblical Exegesis: Proceedings of the Second Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria (Olomouc, May 29–31, 2014)

399 Pages·2016·1.9 MB·English

by  Veronika Černušková

Clement’s Biblical Exegesis
Supplements
to
Vigiliae Christianae
Texts and Studies of Early Christian Life and Language
Editorial Board
J. den Boeft
B.D. Ehrmann
K. Greschat
J. Lössl
J. van Oort
D.T. Runia
C. Scholten
VOLUME 139
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/vcs
Clement’s Biblical Exegesis
Proceedings of the Second Colloquium on Clement of
Alexandria (Olomouc, May 29–31, 2014)
Edited by
Veronika Černušková, Judith L. Kovacs,
and Jana Plátová
in cooperation with
Vít Hušek
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Colloquium on Clement of Alexandria (2014 : Olomouc, Czech Republic) |
 Cernuskova, Veronika, editor.
Title: Clement’s biblical exegesis : proceedings of the Second Colloquium on
 Clement Of Alexandria (Olomouc, May 29–31, 2014) / edited by Veronika
 Cernuskova, Judith L. Kovacs, and Jana Platova, in cooperation with Vit
 Husek.
Description: Leiden : Boston : Brill, 2017. | Series: Supplements to Vigiliae
 Christianae, 0920-623X ; Volume 139 | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016036877 | ISBN 9789004331235 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Clement, of Alexandria, Saint, approximately
 150-approximately 215—Congresses. | Bible—Hermeneutics—Congresses.
Classification: LCC BR65.C66 C65 2014 | DDC 220.6092—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036877
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 0920-623x
isbn 978-90-04-33123-5 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-33124-2 (e-book)
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Contents
Preface vii
List of Participants xi
List of Abbreviations xii
Introduction. Clement as Scriptural Exegete: Overview and History of
Research 1
Judith L. Kovacs
Comprehensive Bibliography on Clement’s Scriptural Interpretation 38
Jana Plátová 
Part 1
Clement’s Exegetical Methods
L’interprétation de la Bible et le « genre symbolique » selon Clément
d’Alexandrie 55
Alain Le Boulluec
The Mysteries of Scripture: Allegorical Exegesis and the Heritage of
Stoicism, Philo, and Pantaenus 80
Ilaria L.E. Ramelli
The Bible in Alexandria: Clement between Philo and Origen 111
Marco Rizzi
Part 2
Clement between Philosophy and Biblical Theology
Negative Theology and Dialectics in Clement of Alexandria’s
Understanding of the Status and Function of Scripture 129
Johannes A. Steenbuch
vi contents
Schesis and Trinitarian Thought in Clement of Alexandria: From
Philosophy to Scriptural Interpretation 147
Ilaria Vigorelli
Clement’s Exegetical Interests in Stromateis VIII 162
Matyáš Havrda
Part 3
Clement’s Exegesis of Particular Biblical Texts
Clement of Alexandria and the Book of Proverbs 181
Annewies van den Hoek
Four Desires: Clement of Alexandria and the Sermon on the Mount 217
Veronika Černušková
Clement of Alexandria’s Reception of the Gospel of John: Context, Creative
Exegesis and Purpose 259
Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski
The Philosophical Problem of “Place” in Clement’s Exegesis of the Prologue
to the Gospel of John 277
Miklós Gyurkovics
Clement’s Exegesis of 1 John in the Adumbrationes 292
Davide Dainese
Reading the “Divinely Inspired” Paul: Clement of Alexandria in
Conversation with “Heterodox” Christians, Simple Believers, and Greek
Philosophers 325
Judith L. Kovacs
Index of Modern Authors 345
Index of Ancient Sources 349
Index of Subjects and Names 377
Preface
In May 2014 the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, Palacky
University Olomouc, in the Czech Republic hosted an international collo-
quium that was one of a very few meetings devoted entirely to the works of
Clement of Alexandria. This conference continued the work of Colloquium
Clementinum I held in Olomouc in October 2010, which had focused on the
last book of Clement’s most important extant work, the Stromateis. This sev-
enth book constitutes the culmination of the discussions of various ethical
questions in Stromateis I–VI. Drawing together some of the most important
topics covered in the earlier books, Stromateis VII presents an impressive, opti-
mistic picture of the Christian religion, as lived by the true Gnostic. The theme
chosen for Colloquium Clementinum II was a broader one, for which all of
Clement’s works are relevant, his use and interpretation of the Christian Bible.
Although research on Clement has tended to emphasize his use of pagan
sources, especially teachings of Platonic and Stoic philosophy, Clement was
important not only as a Christian philosopher, but also as a pioneer Christian
exegete. He was one of the very first to make use of almost all the books that
would be included in the Christian Bible. His works are replete with quota-
tions from, and allusions to, the Scriptures, and they constitute a crucial link
in the tradition of Alexandrian exegesis that runs from Philo the Jew to Origen,
the most influential interpreter of the Bible in the patristic period. Clement’s
interpretation of books of the Old Testament was directly influenced by that
of Philo, especially in the allegorical interpretation of the Books of Moses,
and many features of his interpretation of both testaments anticipate that
of Origen. On the other hand, many of Clement’s comments on biblical texts
are original and unique. But his biblical exegesis, despite its importance, has
received much less attention than the interpretations of Philo or Origen.
Colloquium Clementinum II was organized to contribute to filling this gap in
our understanding of Clement and his historical significance and to encourage
further research in this area.
The twelve essays contained in this volume of Proceedings, drafts of which
were prepared for the colloquium and, with one exception, read and discussed
in Olomouc, explore different facets of Clement’s hermeneutical theory and
his exegetical practice. To provide context for these essays, the volume begins
with an extended Introduction that presents an overview of how Scripture fig-
ures in Clement’s extant works and surveys earlier research on various aspects
of his exegesis. This is followed by a comprehensive Bibliography of works on
the topic.
viii preface
The articles that follow this Introduction and Bibliography are presented
in three parts, each of which considers Clement’s scriptural exegesis from a
different point of view. The first part explores how Clement’s methods of inter-
preting sacred texts compare with those of his predecessors and successors.
Alain Le Boulluec considers the “symbolical style,” a phrase Clement uses
to describe the style of Scripture as well as his own program of teaching in the
Stromateis, in comparison with ideas of Clement’s pagan contemporaries such
as Plutarch and Cornutus. He shows how Clement applies to the interpretation
of the Christian Scriptures two notions that were used in interpreting pagan
religious rites and classical texts such as Homer: comparative mythology and a
theory of symbolism which presumes a deeper meaning behind sacred words
and actions. Le Boulluec asks if for Clement the event of Christ’s incarnation is
also a subject for allegorical interpretation, or whether it is instead the key to
“the symbolical style” as Clement understands this. Ilaria Ramelli investi-
gates Clement’s allegoresis (her term for a philosophically motivated allegori-
cal interpretation), beginning with an examination of terminology (enigma,
type, allegory and especially mystery). She then considers the close connec-
tion, for both Clement and his predecessors, between philosophical or theo-
logical doctrines and the exegesis of sacred texts. Her consideration of the
influence of earlier traditions of allegoresis includes Philo and Stoic allegorists
and concludes with a detailed reconstruction of what we know about the
exegesis of Clement’s Christian teacher Pantainos. Marco Rizzi compares
Clement’s allegorical exegesis with that of Philo and Origen, first noting simi-
larities related to their common experience of the religious and cultural milieu
of Alexandria and the fact that they all read the Bible in the Greek translation
of the Septuagint. Then by comparing their views on the nature of biblical rev-
elation, its intended audience, and how it functions to bring about knowledge
of God, Rizzi articulates Clement’s unique vision of the Bible as a supreme
guide to all reality, intended for all humanity.
The papers in the second part of the book examine the reciprocal relation-
ship between features of Clement’s theology, which he calls “the true philoso-
phy,” and his reading of Scripture. They consider how the questions raised by
ancient philosophy influence the way Clement reads the Bible, and conversely,
how his reading of the Bible leads him to alter certain inherited philosophi-
cal ideas. Johannes A. Steenbuch discusses Clement’s view of Scripture
as an indirect medium of the “voice of the Lord.” He argues that this distinc-
tion between Scripture and the “voice of the Lord” follows from Clement’s
negative theology and his view of the symbolic nature of language. Ilaria
Vigorelli’s paper deals with the word schesis (“disposition” or “relation-
ship”), which Clement uses together with the biblical concept of agape to
describe the mutual relationship between God the Father and the Logos. She
preface ix
analyses every occurrence of the term schesis in Clement’s works and shows
how Clement modifies a philosophical idea in light of his reading of Scripture.
Matyáš Havrda’s article asks why Clement begins Stromateis book eight, a
philosophical work whose primary focus is on questions of logic, with a quota-
tion of Matt 7:7 (Seek and you shall find). Havrda argues that in the first pages
of this work Clement defines Christian philosophical inquiry as a process of
reflection in which difficult biblical passages are interpreted in the light of the
whole of Scripture. He seeks to explain why the rest of the Stromateis VIII con-
tains purely philosophical material that does not seem to correspond to the
intention stated in the first part of the book.
The essays in the third part of the Proceedings consider Clement’s interpre-
tation of particular sections of the Bible that figure prominently in his works.
Focusing especially on the books of Proverbs, the gospels of Matthew and John,
and the Pauline epistles, they explore how, why, and in what contexts he cites
them. Annewies van den Hoek observes that Clement refers to Proverbs
far more often than does any earlier or contemporary Christian author (with
the exception of Origen). She considers Clement’s selection of verses, how he
combines verses from different passages in Proverbs, and the various topics for
which he finds the wisdom of Proverbs particularly relevant (e.g., eating, edu-
cation, discipline, and women). Observing the much greater frequency of cita-
tions from Proverbs in Clement’s early works (the Protreptikos and Paidagogos,
van den Hoek discusses possible reasons why his use of Proverbs is radically
reduced in his later works. The next paper, by Veronika Černušková,
examines Clement’s interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, noting which
verses Clement cites or alludes to most often and also which verses are never
referenced. The principle of selection, the paper argues, is relevance to the top-
ics of human desires, the will of God, and the divine and human perspectives
on the problem of evil. On the basis of this analysis, the essay seeks to answer
the more general theological question of what Clement means when he says
that all human desires should be abandoned. Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski
studies Clement’s references to the Gospel of John against the background of
the use of the Gospel by various orthodox and heterodox groups in the second
century. He shows how Clement’s reading of this gospel integrates philosophi-
cal traditions of Middle Platonism, Philo’s exegesis, and the Christian kerygma.
Miklós Gyurkovics analyzes a little noticed aspect of Clement’s Logos
theology, how he uses the philosophical concept of “place” in interpreting the
Prologue to the Gospel of John. The meaning of “place” is a recurrent problem
in ancient philosophy, as seen for example in Plato and Philo of Alexandria.
Gyurkovics argues that these philosophical discussions inform Clement’s
reflections on John 1, in which he presents the divine Logos as guarantor of
both place and existence. In the following contribution, Davide Dainese
x preface
discusses the Adumbrationes, the Latin translation of parts of Clement’s com-
mentary on four catholic epistles (1 Peter, Jude and 1–2 John), which is tra-
ditionally regarded as the longest extant fragment of Clement’s lost biblical
commentary, the Hypotyposes. Dainese questions this common assumption
about the provenance of the work, using as a test case Clement’s interpreta-
tion of 1 John 2:7 and 5:16. Comparing the content of these comments with
several passages in the Stromateis in which Clement promises to treat certain
themes in a future work called On First Principles—a work we do not possess,
Dainese suggests that the Adumbrationes may in fact be fragments of that
work. The final paper by Judith L. Kovacs points out that the apostle whom
Clement calls the “divinely inspired Paul” is by far the most frequently quoted
author in Clement’s works. She shows how Clement reads the large corpus
of letters attributed to Paul in the patristic period in conversation with three
real or imagined dialogue partners: “heterodox” Christians (including radi-
cal ascetics, antinomians, and followers of Valentinus), simple believers (who
had enlisted Paul’s authority in support of their opposition to Christian use of
Greek philosophy), and Greek philosophers who were critical of the fledgling
Christian faith.
The Colloquium Clementinum II was organized by the Czech Patristic
Society and the Centre of Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Texts, attached
to Sts. Cyril and Methodius Theological Faculty at Palacky University
Olomouc.* The editors of this volume would like to express their gratitude to
all who accepted their invitation to take part and for the friendly and fruitful
discussions during the Colloquium and subsequent to it. We are grateful also
to the founder of the Centre and the president of the Czech Patristic Society,
Lenka Karfíková, whose encouragement and advice enabled Clementine stud-
ies in the Czech Republic. We would also like to thank Matyáš Havrda, the pri-
mary editor of the book of Proceedings of the first Colloquium Clementinum
in Olomouc in 2010, for his counsel. Last but not least, we are most grateful to
representatives of Palacky University for their support, especially the rector of
the university, Jaroslav Miler, and the dean of the Theological Faculty, Gabriela
Vlková.
Veronika Černušková, Judith Kovacs, Jana Plátová
* This book is a result of the research funded by the Czech Science Foundation as the project
GA ČR P401/12/G168 “History and interpretaion of the Bible.”