Interpreting the Bible in the Early Church: First Four Centuries

This course will examine the methods of biblical interpretation used in the Church from NT times through the 4th century. Areas covered will include the Jewish forms of exegesis found in the NT, the ellegorical method, the schools of Antioch and Alexandria, as well as interpreters such as Origen, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and St. Augustine. Course will consist of lectures, the reading of some introductory secondary works, and selected readings from Patristic commentaries. There will be two short essays and one longer final essay.