The Harp of Prophecy

Description

The Psalms generated more biblical commentary from early Christians than any other book of the Hebrew and Christian canon. While advances have been made in our understanding of the early Christian preoccupation with this book and the traditions employed to interpret it, no study on the Psalms traditions exists that can serve as a solid academic point of entry into the field. This collection of essays by distinguished patristic and biblical scholars fills this lacuna. It not only introduces readers to the main primary sources but also addresses the unavoidable interpretive issues present in the secondary literature.

The essays in The Harp of Prophecy represent some of the very best scholarly approaches to the study of early Christian exegesis, bringing new interpretations to bear on the work of influential early Christian authorities such as Athanasius, Augustine, and Basil of Caesarea. Subjects that receive detailed study include the dynamics of early Christian political power, gender expressions, and the ancient conversation between Christian, Jewish, and Greek philosophical traditions. The essays and bibliographic materials enable readers to locate and read the early Christian sources for themselves and also serve to introduce the various interdisciplinary methods and perspectives that are currently brought to bear on early Christian psalm exegesis. Students and scholars of theology and biblical studies will be led in new directions of thought and interpretation by these innovative studies.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Biblical Studies
• Biblical Interpretation
• Biblical Criticism
• Hebrew
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian Church
• Basil of Caesarea
• General officer
• Theology
• Old Testament
• Hebrew language
• Athanasius of Alexandria
• Augustine of Hippo
• General
• Augustine
• History
• Athanase
• Hébreu

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 30 janvier 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268158316
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

T HE H ARP OF P ROPHECY
Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity Series
Gregory E. Sterling, Series Editor
Volume 20
The University of Notre Dame Press gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Jack and Joan Conroy of Naples, Florida, in the publication of titles in this series .
T HE H ARP OF P ROPHECY

Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms
EDITED BY
BRIAN E. DALEY, S.J .,
AND
PAUL R. KOLBET
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2015 by University of Notre Dame
Published in the United States of America
The Press gratefully acknowledges the support of the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame, in the publication of this book .
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014952960
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources .
ISBN 9780268158316
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail] .
FOR
Ralph and Rosa Kolbet
AND
John and Florence Daley ,
who taught us to bless the Lord.
For as the different strings of the harp or lyre, each of which gives forth a sound of its own seemingly unlike that of any other, are thought by the unmusical who do not understand the theory of harmony to be discordant because the sounds are dissimilar, so are they who have not ears to detect the harmony of God in the holy scriptures . But if a reader comes who has been instructed in God s music, one who is wise in word and deed, and for this reason may be called David-which is interpreted skillful player -he will produce the sound of God s music . For he knows that the whole scripture is the one, perfect, harmonious instrument of God, which blends the different sounds, for those who wish to learn, into one harmonious song of salvation.
-Origen of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew 2 in Philocalia 6.2
A psalm is the blessing of the people, the praise of God, the acclaim of the masses, the applause of all, the universal speech, the voice of the church, the melodious confession of faith, devotion full of authority, the joy of liberty, the cry of delight, and resounding happiness. A psalm soothes anger, banishes anxiety, and alleviates grief. It is protection at night, instruction by day, a shield in fear, a feast in holiness, the image of tranquillity, the guarantee of peace and harmony, which produces one song from various and sundry voices in the manner of a harp.
-Ambrose of Milan, Explanatio super Psalmos XII 1.9
CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM IN ANTIQUITY SERIES ( CJAS )
The Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity Program at the University of Notre Dame came into existence during the afterglow of the Second Vatican Council. The doctoral program combines the distinct academic disciplines of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism, the New Testament, and the Early Church in an effort to explore the religion of the ancient Hebrews, the diverse forms of Second Temple Judaism, and its offspring into religions of Rabbinic Judaism and the multiple incarnations of early Christianity. While the scope of the program thus extends from the late Bronze and Early Iron Ages to the late antique world, the fulcrum lies in the Second Temple and Early Christian periods. Each religion is explored in its own right, although the program cultivates a History-of-Religions approach that examines their reciprocally illuminating interrelationships and their place in the larger context of the ancient world. During the 1970s a monograph series was launched to reflect and promote the orientation of the program. Initially known as Studies in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity, the series was published under the auspices of the Center of the Study of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity. Six volumes appeared from 1975 to 1986. In 1988 the series name became Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity as the editorship passed to Charles Kannengiesser, who oversaw the release of nine volumes. Professor Kannengiesser s departure from Notre Dame necessitated the appointment of a new editor. At the same time, the historic connection between the series and the CJA doctoral program was strengthened by the appointment of all CJA faculty to the editorial board. Throughout these institutional permutations, the purpose of the series has continued to be the promotion of research into the origins of Judaism and Christianity with the hope that a better grasp of the common ancestry and relationship of the two world s religions will illuminate not only the ancient world but the modern world as well.
Gregory E. Sterling, Series Editor
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Paul R. Kolbet
ONE Finding the Right Key: The Aims and Strategies of Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms
Brian E. Daley, S.J .
TWO King David and the Psalms of Imprecation
Gary A. Anderson
THREE Restringing Origen s Broken Harp: Some Suggestions Concerning the Prologue to the Caesarean Commentary on the Psalms
Ronald E. Heine
FOUR Athanasius, the Psalms, and the Reformation of the Self
Paul R. Kolbet
FIVE Evagrius Ponticus: The Psalter as a Handbook for the Christian Contemplative
Luke Dysinger, O.S.B .
SIX Gender Allegories in Basil of Caesarea s Homily on Psalm 45
Nonna Verna Harrison
SEVEN The Virgin, the Bride, and the Church: Reading Psalm 45 in Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine
David G. Hunter
EIGHT A Sharp Pen versus Fragrant Myrrh: Comparing the Commentaries of Cyril of Alexandria and Theodore of Mopsuestia on Psalm 45
Ronald R. Cox
NINE Theodoret s Unique Contribution to the Antiochene Exegetical Tradition: Questioning Traditional Scholarly Categories
John J. O Keefe
TEN The Emergence of Totus Christus as Hermeneutical Center in Augustine s Enarrationes in Psalmos
Michael Cameron
ELEVEN An Ecclesiology of Groaning: Augustine, the Psalms, and the Making of Church
Michael C. McCarthy, S.J .
TWELVE A Psalm Unto the End : Eschatology and Anthropology in Maximus the Confessor s Commentary on Psalm 59
Paul M. Blowers
Aid to Numbering Psalms in Early Christian Sources
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Scripture Index
General Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book grew out of the spirited discussions that took place at the University of Notre Dame in October of 1998 when a number of scholars gathered to converse about early Christian interpretations of the psalms. Together we shared in the excitement that comes from discovering just how large a body of under-read early Christian sources this is and imagining the possibilities arising from the application to them of new historical tools and methods. The work continued as essays were revised and as additional scholars joined our ranks, and it finally came to fruition in this book. Even with the research presented here, early Christian psalmody promises to be a fruitful area of research for years to come, and there remains much more to learn from this central early Christian practice.
We thank the editors of Pro Ecclesia, Harvard Theological Review , and Theological Studies for permission to republish Gary A. Anderson, King David and the Psalms of Imprecation, Pro Ecclesia 15 (2007): 33-55; Paul R. Kolbet, Athanasius, the Psalms, and the Reformation of the Self, Harvard Theological Review 99 (2006): 85-101; Michael C. McCarthy, S.J., An Ecclesiology of Groaning: Augustine, the Psalms, and the Making of Church, Theological Studies 66 (2005): 23-48; and the Society of Biblical Literature for Brian Daley, S.J., Finding the Right Key: The Aims and Strategies of Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms, in Psalms in Community: Jewish and Christian Textual, Liturgical, and Artistic Traditions , edited by Harold W. Attridge and Margot E. Fassler, 189-205 (Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003); and Cambridge University Press for David Hunter, The Virgin, the Bride, and the Church: Reading Psalm 45 in Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine, Church History 69 (2000): 281-303.
We are also deeply grateful to the University of Notre Dame for sponsoring the original conference, the University of Notre Dame Press for its commitment to this volume, and all who labored over the years to bring it to completion. Joseph Amar, Michael Compton, Hubertus Drobner, Richard Layton, Marie-Jos phe Rondeau, Stephen Ryan, and Robert Wilken also presented papers at the original conference. Peter Martens read early drafts of many of the essays. Tyler Smith assisted in the creation of the indices. Susan Ashbrook Harvey provided valuable help with the ancient Syriac sources and bibliographic materials. Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe drew our attention to the Ambrosiaster psalm materials. Special thanks are also due to Amy Egloff and Chlo Kolbet for their continued support and unwavering encouragement.
Brian E. Daley, S.J., and Paul R. Kolbet
ABBREVIATIONS
G ENERAL AND S ERIES
ACW
Ancient Christian Writers (Westminster, MD: Paulist Press, 1948-)
ANF
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1885-)
ANRW
Aufstieg und Niedergang der r mischen Welt (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1972-)
AS
Analecta sacra spicilegio solesmensi parata , edited by J. B. Pitra (Paris: A. Jouby and Roger, 1876-91)
BA
Biblioth que augustinienne (Turnhout: Brepols, 1933-)
CCSL
Corpus Christianorum, series latina (Turnhout: Brepols, 1953-)
CCSG
Corpus Christianorum, series graeca (Turnhout: Brepols, 1977-)
CSCO
Corpus scriptorum Christianorum orientalium (Louvain: Peeters, 1903-)
CSEL
Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum (Vienna: Tempsky, 1865-)
FC
Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1947-)
GCS
Die griechische chri