HILARIUS VAN POITIERS ALS EXEGEET VAN MATTHEÜS: BIJ DE KRITISCHE UITGAVE

Abstract

Summary Professor Doignon of Besancon University, the well-known hilarian scholar, has given us the first critical edition of the In Mattheum of Hilary of Poitiers, accompanied by the very first translation of this baffling text in any modern language, important footnotes pointing to Hilary's classical and christian sources, a substantial introduction and several extremely useful indexes. This article points to the exceptional importance of this commentary in the history of latin biblical exegesis of both the Old and the New Testament. As professor Doignon had already established in his earlier work, Hilary ignores the greek exegetical tradition, although some elements may have seeped through the language barrier. Therefore it is not only the oldest latin Gospel commentary preserved, but more important, it marks the level latin exegesis had reached around 350. At first sight, the commentary presents a bewildering luxuriance of allegorizing,—a word deliberately avoided,—exegesis. A second look, however, re...