Exegetical Tradition Research Articles

Performative Exegesis in the Fleury Interfectio Puerorum

Performative Exegesis in the Interfectio Puerorum. A music drama in the twelfth-century Fleury Playbook representing the Massacre of the Innocents shows the influence of the exegetical and liturgical traditions associated with the story in the gospel of Matthew and with the feast of the Innocents. In the central Middle Ages, Innocents' Day was characterized by a juxtaposition of mourning and joy: liturgical commentaries emphasize the commemoration of Rachel's grief, while the feast was the occasion for one of the clerical celebrations of the Christmas octave. The play embodies this contrast, particularly in the lengthy dialogue between the lamenting Rachel and her consolers. Rachel's lament, which is based on a sequence by Notker Balbulus, also extends the exegetical tradition by reinforcing the Marian typology inherent in the sequence. Throughout the play, the intersection of liturgical chants with newly composed material creates a complex temporality that effectively dramatizes the multiple ...

Fathers of the World: Essays in Rabbinic and Patristic Literatures (review)

Book Reviews Book Reviews 95 Fathers of the World: Essays in Rabbinic and Patristic Literatures, by Burton L. Visotzky. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 80. Tiibingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1995. 205 pp. DM 138.00. Scholars have long been aware that some passages within the contemporaneous literatures of rabbinic Judaism and patristic Christianity show an awareness of the teachings and biblical interpretations of the rival religion. Such parallels are not surprising, since both communities expressed their claims ofbeing the "True Israel" and the sole recipient of full divine revelation through their exegeses of the Hebrew scriptures. Early researchers were particularly concerned to find evidence that specific patristic writers were aware of and made use of rabbinic aggadic midrash.I Recent investigations of rabbinic and patristic interpretations of the same biblical passages, figures, or events have found shared Jewish and Christian interests, detected possible exegetical contacts, and illuminated differences in hermeneutical agendas; scholars have also identified polemical statements that reflect the deep antagonism between a developing church and a rabbinic Judaism on the defensive. Indeed, the central debate between the Jews and Christians of late antiquity over which community possessed exclusive religious truth was bitterly contested in the exegetical writings ofeach group. While Christian texts "against the Jews" are usually obvious, distinguishing rabbinic attacks, satires, or rebuttals ofChristian claims can be more difficult. A number ofthese concerns unite in Burton L. Visotzky's Fathers ofthe World, a collection ofthe author's scholarly essays and book reviews. Concentrating primarily on apparent references to Christian teachings in midrashic texts, Visotzky brings a number ofsophisticated methodological concerns to his highly focused studies. Central to them is his acknowledgment ofthe difficulty ofdating rabbinic midrashim and their contents. While patristic texts were written by single individuals in known times and places, rabbinic midrash collections are redacted compilations of traditions ofvarying ages. Defmitive information as to when and where most of these documents reached their fmal form remains elusive, and there are equal methodological difficulties in accurately dating any oftheir component parts. Many scholars have connected specific rabbinic traditions embedded in redacted collections with the er~ of the sage to whom IPor a broad survey of the field, see Judith R. Baskin, "Rabbinic-Patristic Exegetical Contacts in Late Antiquity: A Bibliographical Reappraisal," in W. S. Green, ed., Approaches to Ancient Judaism 5: Studies in Judaism and its Greco-Roman Context (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985), pp. 53-80. 96 SHOFAR Winter 1998 Vol. 16, No.2 they are attributed, but Visotzky is rightfully cautious in accepting the accuracy of rabbinic attributions in most cases. Noting that chronology and the accurate dating of rabbinic exegetical traditions remains a methodological crux in general, he is, therefore, hesitant to assign any individual tradition a date prior to the fifth century, when he believes the Palestinian midrashim were redacted. Given these provisos, Visotzky is necessarily less interested in fmding exact parallels between a particular church father and a specific rabbinic text (which might have reached its fmal form considerably after that father wrote), than in utilizing apparent parallels to derive an impression of the general intellectual milieu which both Jews and Christians shared, even as they differed radically on issues ofbelief. He fmds that an exploration of the ways in which similar traditions are used and reshaped by rabbinic Judaism and Christian writers can teach a great deal about the distinctive tendencies and concerns of the exegetes and redactors of each community. Thus, Visotzky fmds a crucial commonality between the church fathers and rabbis in the influence of hellenism, which had an impact on the educational practices, rhetorical training, and exegetical methods of both Jews and Christians. He suggests that the common training imparted by a shared hellenistic heritage complicates the probabilities of discovering dependence or influence between rabbinic and patristic writers addressing the same Hebrew Scriptures. Yet, there are also significant divergences between these writings. Visotzky notes that patristic and rabbinic literatures differ radically in their literary genres, their languages (Greek and Latin, mostly, as opposed to Aramaic and Hebrew), and the nature of their authorship and redaction. Most important, the communities that generated these literatures had fundamental disagreements in belief. Given these profound differences in literary form...

Nearest in amity: Christians in the Qur'an and contemporary exegetical tradition

This essay seeks to argue the following points: first, tafsir is an important means of understanding not only the Qur'an but also the social situation of the Muslim community in our own time. Second, the Qur'an presents a clearly pluralistic view of religion and culture which allows for religious diversity within the framework of faith in God and the last day and the performance of righteous deeds. Third, the Qur'anic verses discussed in this article illustrate this view; yet Qur'an commentators considered in this essay generally reject this Qur'anic worldview in favour of a much more rigid approach to other religions.

Neoplatonic Exegeses of Plato's Cosmogony ( Timaeus 27C-28C)

Neoplatonic Exegeses of Plato's Cosmogony(Timaeus27C-28C) JOHN F. PHILLIPS AMONGTHE MANYCONTROVERSIESto which the long history of interpretation of Plato's Timaeus has given rise, that concerning the eternity of the cosmos is one of the most enduring and complex, and the source of almost continuous debate from the time of Xenocrates to the present. The importance to all Platonists of a doctrinally consistent answer to the question of whether or not the universe had a beginning in time is made amply clear in the statement attributed to Iamblichus by Proclus (In Tim. I 219, 90) that proper understanding of the creation of the world is crucial for the entire theory of Nature. Iamblichus here refers obliquely to the orthodox Platonist position that the universe is not a temporal being subject to decay and destruction. The principal problem for all of them, of course, was that, taken literally, Plato's account of the creation in the Timaeus, particularly the passage 27C-a8C, appears to be an unequivocal affirmation of a temporal beginning to the cosmos. Especially troublesome was Plato's use of the verb y~yovev in Timaeus 28b 7, which seems to be an explicit claim for an &QX1]in time. That this passage did indeed refer to a temporal beginning was a point that was made repeatedly and forcefully by the chief opponents of the Platonists on this issue, the Peripatetics , who, following Aristotle, read the Timaeus creation account literally.' To counter such opposition, and to enhance their respective positions in their own internecine struggles centered on this question, various Platonists took ever more subtle interpretive approaches, some of the most contentious involving explanations of how Plato's use of y~yovev in 28B 7 could be seen to be compatible with the orthodox position that the creation of the universe was nontemporal. Most notable in this regard is the list, compiled by the Middle Platonist Calvenus Taurus in the second century A.D., of all the possible ' For the argument of Alexander Aphrodisias, see SimpliciusIn De Caelo I ao, pp. ~96ff. Reimer. [173] 174 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 35:2 APRIL 1997 nontemporalist senses of the word 'created' (yewl~6v) which the best efforts of the Platonic exegetical tradition had produced. According to the Christian Neoplatonist John Philoponus, Taurus identified four such meanings2: M1) That which is not actually created, but is of the same genus as things that are created (zb ~d] yev61xevov Ix~v, ~v 6~ ~ cdJx~, 6v y~vet xo~gyev'q~o~g). M~) That which is conceptually composite, even if it has never in fact been combined (~6 ~mvo~q o~v0e~ov, xa~ et M1 ovwe0,fi). M3) That which is perpetually in the process of becoming (6e~ ~v t 0 y~veo0ctt). M4) That which has the cause of its existence in a higher source external to it (~b etvctt ct~ &D.ox60ev ~o'r~v • ~aQh ~o~ 0eo~). This list of meanings was for centuries the standard resource for Platonist exegeses of Timaeus 27C-28C, with the different schools arguing for one or more of them as the sense or senses in which Plato's use of the term was to be understood. Of these many and varied interpretations,s all of which were attempts to read a nontemporalist account into what is certainly on a prima facie reading a temporalist description of the creation of the universe, I wish to consider several which incorporate one or more of the meanings on Taurus' list, specifically M2, which holds that the universe is created in the sense of being a composite of matter and form; M 3, what Matthias Baltes4 terms the "physicalist" interpretation, according to which there was no moment when the cosmos came to be; it is rather perpetually becoming, or, to give it the common expression of antiquity, it has its being in its becoming; and M 4, the 2De Aet. Mundi VI 8, pp. 145, 13--147, 6 Rabe. Taurus' list was later expanded by Porphyry (ibid. VI 8, p. 148, 7ft.). These attempts to establish nontemporalist definitionsof yevrlx6vwere in part inspired by Aristotle'sown list of meanings in De Caelo 28ob15ff. Cf. Proclus In Tim...

Doctrine and Exegesis in Biblical Latin Poetry (review)

Reviewed by: Doctrine and Exegesis in Biblical Latin Poetry Robert D. Sider Daniel J. Nodes. Doctrine and Exegesis in Biblical Latin Poetry. ARCA Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs, 31. Leeds: The University of Leeds, Francis Cairns Ltd., 1993. Pp. x + 147. £20/$35.00. This fine book should serve to complement an earlier work published in the ARCA Library in 1985, Michael Roberts’ Biblical Epic and Rhetorical Paraphrase in Late Antiquity (reviewed in Patristics 18.2 [January 1990]: 89). Indeed, Nodes attempts to establish a locus for his work in relation to that of Roberts: where Roberts undertook to demonstrate how the structure of the biblical epics produced from the fourth to the sixth centuries could be explained by reference to the theory and practice of paraphrase in antiquity, Nodes seeks to show how the poets of the period shaped their poems to reflect answers to contemporary theological questions. Both scholars define their field carefully, and in such a way that the reader can enjoy complementary discussions of some of the same poems. Roberts chose to work on the Christian epic poems of the period—three paraphrasing the New Testament, three the Old: from the New, Juvencus’ Evangeliorum Libri IV, Sedulius’ Carmen Paschale, Arator’s De actibus apostolorum; from the Old, the Heptateuchos of the so-called Cyprianus Gallus, Claudius Marius Victorius’ Alethia, and the De spiritalis historiae gestis of Avitus, bishop of Vienne. Nodes, not confined by genre, analyzes Christian paraphrases of Genesis composed during virtually the same period, and he does so to illuminate the efforts of the “Genesis” poets to teach and to defend both the (now “orthodox”) doctrines of God and the Trinity, and also the Catholic tradition of cosmological reflection on Genesis 1–2. Thus, in addition to the poems of Cyprianus Gallus, Claudius Marius Victorius and Avitus, Nodes considers the Cento of Proba, the short Metrum in Genesim by pseudo-Hilarius, and Dracontius’ Laudes Dei. Nodes is highly systematic in his scholarship. Apart from an introduction, which sets perspective, and a brief conclusion, he divides his study into two parts: the first part (chapter two) looks for the doctrine of God in the poems, which are reviewed in the chronological order (as well as may be established) of their authors—Proba, Cyprianus, pseudo-Hilarius, Victorius, Dracontius and Avitus; chapter three considers the poets’ cosmological views in exactly the same order. Doctrines are extracted from the poems, then faithfully placed in a historical context through a brief discussion of the literary tradition, to show how far the theology of the poems accords with the tradition established by orthodox writers, and with whom and where it differs. Nodes wishes to place the doctrines in a tradition; only occasionally does he assert direct influence of a particular author upon our poets. In general Nodes finds that the poets affirm the transcendence and the benevolence of God and respect “Nicene” views on the doctrine of the Trinity. The relation of the second person of the Trinity to the Christ who appeared in history motivates perhaps the most interesting exegesis—both of the poets on Scripture and of Nodes on the poets: Nodes’ analysis reveals the poets as clearly [End Page 585] post-Nicene, having little connection to the earliest strata of Christological reflection. Thus in the poets the generation of the Son is disconnected from the work of creation, even though it is Christ who forms the man from the clay in creation; for these poets, too, the Christ who lived in our world was never “without the Father” in heaven. Among cosmological views, we are not surprised to find the poets defending the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo; they also generally follow the exegetical tradition in “understanding God’s creative act as the instantaneous production of the elements followed by a gradual appearance of individual species in a process of unfolding” (so Proba, 81). Nodes’ discussion of the poets’ cosmological views (chapter three) is perhaps more satisfying than his discussion of the doctrines of God and the Trinity (chapter two), largely because this chapter offers an analysis of entire poems or of clearly-outlined parts of a poem. Here the reader is invited not to...

The "Moveable Well" in 1 Cor 10:4: An Extrabiblical Tradition in an Apostolic Text

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the presence and implications of a Jewish exegetical tradition in Paul's appeal to the exodus/wilderness episode in 1 Cor 10:4. The goal is threefold: (1) to establish that 1 Cor 10:4 is in fact an example of a ubiquitous exegetical tradition that understood the rock in the desert (Exodus 17; Numbers 20–21) as being in some sense mobile: it "followed" the Israelites; (2) to explore briefly the exegetical process that gave rise to this tradition; and (3) to explore some of the implications raised by the presence of this tradition in Paul's letter, specifically concerning the nature of inspiration and scriptural authority, and to offer a time-honored suggestion toward a solution.

The "Moveable Well" in 1 Cor 10:4: An Extrabiblical Tradition in an Apostolic Text

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the presence and implications of a Jewish exegetical tradition in Paul's appeal to the exodus/wilderness episode in 1 Cor 10:4. The goal is threefold: (1) to establish that 1 Cor 10:4 is in fact an example of a ubiquitous exegetical tradition that understood the rock in the desert (Exodus 17; Numbers 20–21) as being in some sense mobile: it "followed" the Israelites; (2) to explore briefly the exegetical process that gave rise to this tradition; and (3) to explore some of the implications raised by the presence of this tradition in Paul's letter, specifically concerning the nature of inspiration and scriptural authority, and to offer a time-honored suggestion toward a solution.

The Medieval Commentary Tradition 1100-1500 on Metamorphoses 10

"The Medieval Commenrary Tradition 1100-1500 on Metamorphoses 10." Although medieval commentaries on Ovid's Metamorphoses have most often been examined with respect to the allegorical and exegetical traditions which predominate, close analysis of a range of commentaries spanning the twelfth through fifteenth centuries offers evidence that medieval commentators also took an interest in such literary elemenrs of Ovid's poem as narrative structure, transitional devices, and female characterization. In the commentaries or summaries of Arnulf of Orléans, John of Garland, and Pierre Bersuire, such elements receive limited attention owing to these commentators' orientation toward traditional allegoresis. Yet the thirteenth-century "Vulgate" commentary shows a marked interest in poetics and characterization, examining in depth Ovid's narrative strategies and depiction of female interiority. Thomas of Walsingham in the fourteenth centuty, and Raphael Regius in the fifteenth, also devote considerable attention to such matters. The "moralized Ovid" may have been the form in which many medieval readers confronted the Roman poet, but from as early as the thirteenth cenrury a modest but well-defined tradition of secular/literary commentary on the Metamorphoses can be documented.

The Focus of Mark 13:24–27: The Parousia, or the Destruction of the Temple?

Abstract Mark 13:24–27 is often interpreted as a prediction of the parousia at the consummation of history. In this article the author proposes that these verses, derived entirely from OT texts, metaphorically refer to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The first part of the article provides the narrative context by focusing on the genre and structure of Mark 13 along with the chapter's narrative proximity to Jesus' criticism of the Temple hierarchy in chapters 11–12. The second part of the article explores the function of cosmic portents, the coming of the Son of Man and the gathering of the elect as they appear in the OT and subsequent exegetical traditions. The temporal function of this language provides an important precedent for its function in Mark.

Prolegomena: Questions to Be Settled before the Study of an Author or a Text

Prolegomena deals with the introductory and hermeneutic sections of a wide range of commentaries and studies on philosophical, scientific, biblical and other ancient authors. Special attention is given to unclearness as a stimulus for interpretation. New light is shed on the Life of an author (e.g. Plotinus') as a preliminary to the study of his works, and on the part played by the idea that life and doctrine should agree with each other. The results obtained by the study of the practices as well as the avowed principles of ancient scholars and commentators among other things further the understanding of the interrelated philosophical, literary, medical and patristic exegetical traditions, of the book of Diogenes Laertius, of Galen's autobibliographies and of Thrasyllus' Before the Reading of the Dialogues of Plato.

物語の順序と初期の聖書注解

Muqdam (u) Meuhar is a technique of rabbinic interpretation, which suggests the reversal of the textual order as a solution to exegetical difficulties. The technique was first attested to as an exegetical principle in the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, and later, was used by medieval grammarians, such as Jonah Ibn Janah, Solomon Parchon, and David Kimhi, to resolve syntactical, lexical difficulties of the biblical text.A noteworthy development was, however, that the technique was originally perceived in the Mishnah of R. Eliezer as a solution to problems in the chronological order of biblical narratives. Furthermore, the term, Muqdam Meuhar, was not really attested in Tannaitic and Amoraic sources, despite the fact that the sages frequently discussed among themselves on problems in the order of text.To explain the uniqueness of this exegetical tradition, the present paper will compare the technique of Muqdam Meuhar with the practice of Hysteron Proteron- a similar rule of Roman literary critics-as found in Servius' commentary on Virgil's Aeneid, regarding that Muqdam Meuhar was the rabbinic calque of Hysteron Proteron. In particular, the paper will focus on controversial aspects of the technique as applied to chronological problems in the order of the biblical narratives.

Pagan and Judeo-Christian Time-Keeping Schemes in Gal 4.10 and Col 2.16

Exegetes often cite the list in Gal 4.10 (⋯μέρας κα⋯ μ⋯νας κα⋯ καιροὺς κα⋯ ⋯νιαυτούς days and months and seasons and years) as parallel in content and function to the list in Col 2.16 (⋯ορτ⋯ς ἤ νεομηνίας ἤ σαββάτων a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths). J. B. Lightfoot provides the most extensive explanation of the content and function of these lists, and he reaches two conclusions that permeate the exegetical tradition of these two verses. First, he concludes that the content of the list in Galatians describes a Jewish timekeeping scheme since the list in Colossians clearly does so. His rationale is strengthened by Paul's polemic against the Judaizers in Galatians. Second, he deduces that the Colossian list functions to describe the non-Christian practices of the opponents since the list in Galatians is clearly a non-Christian temporal scheme that should be rejected.

Tropological woman in Chaucer: Literary elaborations of an exegetical tradition

(1995). Tropological woman in Chaucer: Literary elaborations of an exegetical tradition. English Studies: Vol. 76, No. 3, pp. 209-214.

The Hiberno-Latin tradition of the evangelists and the Gospels of Mael Brigte

The paper draws attention to a short exegetical text on the four evangelists inserted in the twelfth-century gospels of Mael Brigte (London, British Library, Harley 1802) and its close parallels with Hiberno-Latin compilations of the eighth century. The text’s position within the exegetical tradition and its apparently arbitrary position within the manuscript are discussed. Harley’s preservation not only of earlier exegesis but of many features characteristic of early Insular gospel-books offers evidence of Irish monastic cultural traditions which were still alive and understood in the decades before the Norman invasion.

The Messianic Interpretation of Isa. 10:34 in the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2 Baruch and the Preaching of John the Baptist

Isa. 11:1-5 was probably the most popular text of Davidic messianism in earlyJudaism. Modern readers usually assume that this prophecy begins at Isa. 11:1 and do not connect the preceding verses with it.' Ancient Jewish exegesis, however, frequently sought the connexions between adjacent passages of Scripture. In this article we shall examine evidence that ajewish exegetical tradition which appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch not only connected Isa. 10:33-34 closely with the following verses, but also found a reference to the Messiah in Isa. 10:34. This tradition of messianic interpretation of Isa. 10:34 will then be shown to inform the preaching of John the Baptist, as it appears in the Gospels, with the implication that, contrary to mnany interpretations of John's message, he did expect the coming of the Davidic Messiah.

Scripture, Canon, and Commentary: A Comparison of Confucian and Western Exegesis

In this major contribution to the study of the Chinese classics and comparative religion, John Henderson uses the history of exegesis to illuminate mental patterns that have universal and perennial significance for intellectual history. Henderson relates the Confucian commentarial tradition to other primary exegetical traditions, particularly the Homeric tradition, Vedanta, rabbinic Judaism, ancient and medieval Christian biblical exegesis, and Qur'anic exegesis. In making such comparisons, he discusses some basic assumptions common to all these traditions--such as that the classics or scriptures are comprehensive or that they contain all significant knowledge or truth and analyzes the strategies deployed to support these presuppositions. As shown here, primary differences among commentarial or exegetical traditions arose from variations in their emphasis on one or another of these assumptions and strategies. Henderson demonstrates that exegetical modes of thought were far from arcane: they dominated the post- classical/premodern intellectual world. Some have persisted or re- emerged in modern times, particularly in ideologies such as Marxism. Written in an engaging and accessible style, Scripture, Canon, and Commentary is not only a challenging interpretation of comparative scriptural traditions but also an excellent introduction to the study of the Confucian classics.

If the Wages of Sin Are for Death: The Semantics and Pragmatics of a Statutory Ambiguity

OTTO JONES AND ERIK SMITH SOLD COCAINE and other drugs in the woods at the edge of a North Carolina town to men and women in automobiles. One night Kevan Hansen made a purchase from Smith; as Hansen was driving away, Smith noticed that Hansen had significantly short-changed him in an apparently deceitful manner. Smith told Jones that he had just received short money, whereupon Jones fired his gun at Hansen's fleeing car, wounding Hansen. Hansen drove on several miles and then died at the wheel.' The district attorney charged Jones with the capital crime of homicide for gain. That is, if the homicide could properly be viewed as having been gain, then that motive could be considered an AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE in the penalty hearing which in North Carolina follows conviction of first-degree murder in cases where the death penalty is an option. Each aggravating circumstance (weighed against any mitigating circumstances) increases the likelihood that the convicted felon will receive the death sentence rather than life in prison. To the layman, the district attorney's invoking of the pecuniary factor may well seem linguistically frivolous. Jones's attorneys, however, were forced to treat this question seriously indeed: Does the language of the North Carolina capital punishment statute with respect to felonies properly apply in this case? Assuming that these events took place as alleged, was Jones in the eyes of the law acting for although he sold nothing himself and, arguably, did not profit from the transaction? My conclusion, based upon the methodology of both linguistics and literary study, is that the phrase capital felony committed gain would be improperly applied in the case at hand. I offered three kinds of arguments toJones's attorneys: (1) arguments based upon the language of the court decisions which I have examined (what literary scholars call THE EXEGETICAL TRADITION), (2) arguments based upon apparent legislative intent with respect to the phrase capital felony committed gain (what linguists and literary scholars term AUTHORIAL INTENT), and (3)

Jacques Basnage and the History of the Jews: Anti-Catholic Polemic and Historical Allegory in the Republic of Letters

Since the first Christian communities sought to distance themselves from Judaism, Jews and their religion have haunted Christians. The medieval Christian exegetical tradition tried to exorcise the ghost of Judaism by appropriating the Hebrew Bible. Christians transformed it into a book that predicted the coming of Christ and God's rejection of the Jews. ' By thus neutralizing the internal validity of Judaism, Christians could take advantage of the rabbinical tradition as an aid in interpreting Christianized Scripture.2 For Christian exegetes of the Middle Ages from Andrew of St. Victor to Nicholas of Lyra, the rabbis and their commentaries increasingly became a repository of information that could assist in understanding the heavenly language of Moses. Their knowledge of Hebrew, however, did not generally deter Christian scholars from reading Christian sensibilities into the Hebrew Bible. Medieval exegetes were uniformly concerned that the Jews had corrupted the original Hebrew of the Old Testament either by ignorance or through self-conscious attempts to distort predictions about the Messiah.3 Humanist scholars of the Renaissance and Reformation continued to harp on the corrupted nature of the Hebrew text, but the advantages to be reaped from exploiting Jewish sources were too great

The Sweet Defender of New England

BELIEVING that all divinely sanctioned human activity must have a scriptural precedent, seventeenth-century Puritan meditative writers-particularly poets-continually cited David the psalmist as their model. The Reformation and post-Reformation exegetical tradition had cast David as the prototype of both meditative poets and the personae of their poetry, so by the time the New England Puritans began to formulate their own exegetical viewpoints and aesthetic standards, the psalmist was firmly entrenched as the model penitent, meditator, praiser, and singer of God's attributes. But as a biblical example of a man God helps through a difficult wilderness experience and chooses for subsequent election despite his faults, David became much more to the New Englanders than just a model for their meditations and verse. They saw in David's life an antitype of the spiritual drama in which they were participating. Most particularly, as it suited their purposes, they emphasized his Christologically interpreted role as the prototype of visible sainthood, the perfect church member eligible to receive the Lord's Supper. Such a view of David, based on the Psalms of assurance (e.g., 21 and 34), naturally attracted the New England Puritans.' For

La cité de la Sagesse

This article deals with several images of Christ portrayed as the Holy Wisdom entroned at the centre of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the domus of Pr. 9, 1 or the templum Domini, "jewel-case" of the domus interior, of Prudence's Psychomachia. This theme is rare, appearing only sporadically in the médieval iconographic tradition in connection with the christological and sapiential exegesis of the angel with the rose of Ap. 21, 15 (Primasius, Bede, Ambrose Autpert), of Pr. 9, 1, or finally of the construction of the temple in the Psychomachia. Its "erratic" presence in the moralized latin Bible, Vienne, Cod. 1179 and in the wall paintings at Civate would seem to indicate that these two illustrations are related to a common iconographical source — an illustrated apocalyptical cycle of Italian origin in which figurative elements inspired by an exegetic tradition had already been integrated into the literal illustration. Moreover, a certain discordance between the text and the illustration in the figurative tradition of the Psychomachia seems to reveal that the latter was corrupted by illustrations of the Apocalypse or, at least, by the symbolic exegesis of this text.