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“Scripture as 'One Book': Origen, Jerome, and Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 29:11"

Crawford, Matthew

“Scripture as 'One Book': Origen, Jerome, and Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 29:11" Thumbnail


Authors

Matthew Crawford



Abstract

As a result of the research of F. M. Abel and Alexander Kerrigan, parallels between the exegetical works of Cyril of Alexandria and Jerome have long been known. In this article I highlight a previously unnoticed parallel which is perhaps the most striking instance yet discovered, since it demonstrates Cyril following almost exactly the wording of his predecessor. In exegeting Isaiah 29:11 both Jerome and Cyril interpret the 'sealed book' mentioned in the passage as Scripture which is 'spoken by one Holy Spirit' and so 'is called one book'. Based on the cross-references cited by Jerome, I further argue that Jerome's exegesis is indebted to Origen's argument, found in book 5 of his Commentary on the Gospel of John, that the numerous individual books of Scripture are 'one book' in the divine Word who unites them. Thus, Origen's exegetical labours continued to have influence beyond the outbreak of the Origenist controversy, even among those authors who otherwise took issue with his legacy. This instance highlights one way the patristic exegetical tradition developed, as later authors mined and redeployed the exegesis of their predecessors to meet new challenges in their own day.

Citation

Crawford, M. (2013). “Scripture as 'One Book': Origen, Jerome, and Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 29:11". The Journal of Theological Studies, 64(1), 137-153. https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/fls175

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 1, 2013
Deposit Date Oct 17, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Theological Studies
Print ISSN 0022-5185
Electronic ISSN 1477-4607
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 64
Issue 1
Pages 137-153
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/fls175

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Copyright Statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Theological Studies following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Crawford, Matthew. (2013) 'Scripture as 'one book' : Origen, Jerome, and Cyril of Alexandria on Isaiah 29:11.', Journal of theological studies, 64 (1). pp. 137-153. is available online at: http://jts.oxfordjournals.org/content/64/1/137




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