The Woman at the Well and the Limits of Biblical Scholarship: Maximus the Confessor’s Scholion on Thal. 41
In 2018 Maximus the Confessor’s premier work on biblical hermeneutics, the Responses to Thalassius, finally appeared in English translation. Following its original publication in the early 630 s, Maximus reissued the Responses in a second edition, to which he appended a dedicated prologue and his so...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2020]
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 71, Issue: 1, Pages: 258-280 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Johannesevangelium 4,1-42
/ Maximus, Confessor, Heiliger 580-662, Quaestiones ad Thalassium
/ Scholia
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In 2018 Maximus the Confessor’s premier work on biblical hermeneutics, the Responses to Thalassius, finally appeared in English translation. Following its original publication in the early 630 s, Maximus reissued the Responses in a second edition, to which he appended a dedicated prologue and his so-called scholia, an extensive set of annotations or footnoted clarifications. In both Maximus’s prologue and in the reception history of the Responses, these scholia were regarded as intrinsic to the integrity of the whole work. This article focuses on scholion 1 to Thal. 41, in which Maximus comments on the number of husbands belonging to the Woman at the Well in John 4, and why Jesus’ conversation with her took place when and where it did. It treats the scholion as a test case to see whether, how, and to what extent it further enlightens the reader as to the meaning of Maximus’s initial commentary, as he says it should. It argues that the scholion crucially qualifies several insights raised by Maximus in his original response, touching on his anagogical reading of Scripture, the progressive character of human history towards a culminating salvific goal, the limits of learning and discursive reason, and the role of faith and grace in receiving deifying wisdom. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flaa004 |