This first volume in the section on North Africa of the series Handbooks on the Bible and its Reception consists of fourteen essays on scriptural materials and their use in North African Christian literature. Tertullian and Augustine are the subject of multiple essays. Attention is also devoted to Cyprian and his anonymous contemporaries in the third century, to Optatus of Milevis and Tyconius, and to the apologists Arnobius and Lactantius. Parmenian of Carthage, one hopes, will be discussed, at least indirectly, in the next subsequent volume.
Foundational to the entire collection is an extended account by H. A. G. Houghton of the sources and translations of the biblical texts developed or used in Africa. Most of the essays on individual writers begin by situating them and their contributions to the process of translating and interpreting the Scriptures. Houghton argues that a full Latin text is reflected in the writings of Cyprian and the treatises that were attributed to him. Variations appeared through the gradual development of a distinctly Christian Latin language (claritas became gloria, agape was replaced by caritas or dilectio). A Latin version originating in Spain or Northern Italy appears in the usage of Tyconius and Augustine. Chapter titles were introduced in the third century and greatly developed by the Donatists to highlight passages that supported aspects of their cause.
David Riggs adds to Houghton's work by demonstrating the peculiarly Christian adaptation of Roman language of patronage relationships (gratia) and the sharing in divine power (uirtus) and glory (claritas) by both women and men. Geoffrey Dunn also amplifies Houghton's analysis of Tertullian's use of Scripture, concluding that he used both Greek and Latin versions of the text, including his own translations. He also preferred figurative or literal exegesis according to the needs of the arguments against Christian heretics. Carly Daniel-Hughes makes similar observations about Tertullian's moral and ascetical writings.
Edwina Murphy supports Houghton's judgement that Cyprian consistently used an existing Latin translation. She explores his exegetical techniques, distinguishing the instances in which he allowed the direct application of a text to a situation from those in which he required that its original context be respected. Laetitia Ciccolini shows that analysis of the scriptural texts cited – especially rare variants – provides evidence of the dates and locations of the composition of treatises attributed to Cyprian.
Mark Edwards accounts for Arnobius’ neglect of the Old Testament by his apologetic argument for Christianity as innovative rather than traditional. In contrast, Lactantius used the Wisdom literature and fulfilled prophecies to establish the divinity of Christ in book iv of the Institutes. His discussion of the end time, in the seventh book, is guided by the Revelation of John but cites pagan sources that would be credited by a Roman audience.
Alden Bass, in an essay on Optatus of Milevis, provides a contrast of Donatist and Caecilianist uses of Scripture in the fourth century. Optatus moved beyond the Latin text that the Donatist inherited from Cyprian; he opposed their turning sentences ripped from context into prophetic declamations. His exegesis was guided by a concern for the universal Church and the role of the Roman bishop that the Donatists rejected. Thus, his interpretation of the dotes of the Church was significantly different from the description of church furnishing intended by Parmenian. Jesse Hoover shows that although Tyconius often departed from the biblical text and interpretations used by Cyprian and his fellow Donatist, he was no proto-Catholic. His commentary on the Apocalypse assigns a broader role for the African Church in the coming fulfilment. In this sense, his perspective is like that of Optatus.
Five essays are dedicated to use of Scripture in the early works of Augustine. Those of Gerald Boersma, Volker Drecoll and Jason BeDuhn deal with his response to the Manichees and the use of the Pauline writings. Boersma is generally concerned with the relation between the Old and New Testaments. He describes the general purpose of Scripture as divine teaching and the adaptation of God's pedagogy to human limitations. His section on The Usefulness of Belief traces Augustine's explanations and justification of the modes of scriptural interpretation.
Volker Drecoll's essay complements that of Jason BeDuhn in examining African Manicheism's role in shaping Augustine's reading of the Pauline epistles. It then follows his early writings on the Pauline texts dealing with the role of law and grace in dealing with the internal human conflict. The analysis moves quickly and clearly through the works explicitly attributed to Paul, suggesting significant modifications to established interpretations. Unfortunately, Drecoll's attention focuses on the developing doctrine rather than the exegetical methods employed to justify such original, disputed and subsequently misunderstood conclusions. Most Christian exegetes declined to follow the literal, even grammatical techniques that Augustine found himself required to apply to Romans ix.11 and 16 to find gratuitous predestination.
Jason BeDuhn takes up the tension between the two Testaments by studying Augustine's figurative interpretation in his first commentary on the creation and fall narratives in Genesis. Turning to the Pauline commentaries, he reprises his own earlier work on the influence of Fortunatus over Augustine's own development and offers a slightly different perspective on ad Simplicianum.
Tarmo Toom and Annemaré Kotzé take different approaches to De doctrina christiana and Confessiones. Toom distinguishes between macro and micro usages to organise the many citations of Scripture in this work; the former served as guiding principles; the latter established particular points. Kotzé describes and illustrates Augustine's ‘indirect allusive use’ of Scripture, particularly the Psalms, to establish and maintain the prayerful tone of address to God.
The editors merit gratitude for recruiting excellent contributors and providing an initial essay that offered coherence to the collected essays. May the writers in the next volume emulate Kotzé's creative analysis of his techniques rather than reprising earlier, still disputed work on the development of Augustine's thought.
