Treasure Hidden in a Field: Early Christian Reception of the Gospel of Matthew

Description

This reception history of the Gospel of Matthew utilizes theoretical frameworks and literary sources from two typically distinct disciplines, patristic studies and Valentinian (a.k.a. “Gnostic”) studies. The author shows how in the second and third centuries, the Valentinians were important contributors to a shared culture of early Christian exegesis. By examining the use of the same Matthean pericopes by both Valentinian and patristic exegetes, the author demonstrates that certain Valentinian exegetical innovations were influential upon, and ultimately adopted by, patristic authors. Chief among Valentinian contributions include the allegorical interpretation of texts that would become part of the New Testament, a sophisticated theory of the historical and theological relationship between Christians and Jews, and indeed the very conceptualization of the Gospel of Matthew as sacred scripture. This study demonstrates that what would eventually emerge from this period as the ecclesiological and theological center cannot be adequately understood without attending to some groups and individuals that have often been depicted, both by subsequent ecclesiastical leaders and modern scholars, as marginal and heretical. Contents List of Tables XIV Abbreviations XV I Introduction 1 “Wicked Interpreters of Well-Said Words” 2 Valentinian Exegesis of Apostolic Texts 3 The Valentinian Corpus and Some Notes on Nomenclature 4 Biblical Studies and Reception History 5 Chapter Overview II Irenaeus, the Valentinians, and the Rhetoric of Interpretation 1 Introduction 2 Valentinus is the New Marcion 3 Irenaeus’ “Hypothesis” and “Rule of Truth” 4 Evidence of Irenaeus’ Rhetorical Training 4.1 External Evidence from Recent Research on Greco-Roman Paideia 4.2 Internal Evidence from Adversus Haereses 5 Influence of Rhetorical Education on Irenaean Exegesis 5.1 The Process of Inventio, or, Treasure Hidden in a Field 5.2 Irenaeus’ Description of the Valentinian “Method” 5.3 The Utility of the Parabole 5.4 The Clarity and Obscurity of Scripture 6 Conclusion III Soteriological and Paraenetic Interpretations of The Parable of the Lost Sheep 1 Introduction 2 The Parable of the Lost Sheep: Gospel Contexts 2.1 The Parable in the Gospel of Matthew 2.2 The Parable in the Gospel of Luke 2.3 Gospel Contexts: Conclusions 2.4 Excursus: The Lost Sheep in the Gospel of Thomas 3 Crossbreeding Passages, Parables, and Pictures 4 A Spectrum of Early Christian Interpretation 5 Irenaeus’ Interpretations of the Parable 5.1 The Salvation of Adam in Haer. 3.18–23 5.2 Salvation in the Eternal Present in Haer. 5.9–12 6 The Black Sheep: The Fallen Sophia of the Ptolemaeans in Haer. 1.1–8 6.1 Some Questions of Framing 6.2 The Lost Sheep as the Fallen Sophia 7 Counting Sheep: Marcosian Gematrical Speculations in Haer. 1.13–21 8 We Are the Ninety-Nine: Participatory Soteriology in the Gospel of Truth 8.1 Literary Dependence Upon the Gospel of Matthew 8.2 Interpretation 9 Conclusion IV Pure and Hybridized Strains of the Parable of the Sower 1 Introduction 2 The Parable of the Sower: Gospel Contexts 3 The Hearer As “The Good Soil”: Interpretations On Spiritual Reflection 3.1 Ptolemy’s Epistle to Flora 3.2 Clement’s Stromata 4 The Hearer as “The Good Seed”: Interpretations On Religious Diversity 4.1 The Parable of the Tares: Gospel Contexts 4.2 The Interpretation of Knowledge 4.3 Tertullian’s De Praescriptione Haereticorum 5 Conclusion V The Divisions of the Law in the Epistle to Flora and Haer. 4.12–15 1 Introduction 2 The Divine Law 3 The Law Added By Moses 3.1 Ptolemy’s Use of Matthew 19.8 3.2 The Divorce Sayings in their Gospel and Historical Contexts 3.3 Flora and the Woman of 2 Apology 2 3.4 The Divorce Controversy in Second-Century Cosmological Debate 4 The Tradition of the Elders 4.1 The Korban Pericope In Its Gospel and Historical Contexts 4.2 Ptolemy’s Citation of the Korban Pericope 4.3 Ptolemy’s Exegesis of the Korban Pericope 4.4 Irenaeus’ Citation and Exegesis of the Korban Pericope 5 Conclusion 6 Appendix VI Conclusion 1 Heretical and Orthodox Exegesis, According to Irenaeus 2 Valentinian and Patristic Exegesis, In Actuality 2.1 Parallel Deviations from the Synoptic Meaning of the Text 2.2 Multiple Traditions of Interpretation 2.3 A Heretic May Be the More Conservative Exegete 2.4 Tessera Rearrangement 2.5 Allegorical Interpretation of the New Testament 2.6 Valentinian Contributions to Christian Hermeneutics and Theology 3 Notes on the Valentinian Movement 3.1 Valentinian Ethics and Ecclesiology 3.2 Valentinian Cosmogony 3.3 The Decline of the Valentinian Movement 4 The Canonization History of the Gospel of Matthew 5 Closing Remarks Bibliography 1 Primary Sources 1.1 Editions and translations of Valentinian sources 1.2 Editions and translations of Irenaeus 1.3 Editions and translations of other early Christian and Jewish sources 1.4 Loeb Classical Library 2 Secondary Sources Index of Ancient Sources Index of Subjects