The Language and Logic of the Bible The Earlier Middle Ages [Paperback]

This study looks at the assumptions within which students of the Bible in the West approached their reading, from Augustine to the end of the twelfth century, when new skills in grammar and logic made it possible to develop more refined critical methods and to apply fresh tools to the task.Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; List of ancient and mediaeval sources; Biographical notes; Introduction; Part I. The Background: 1. The monastic way; 2. Bible study in the schools; 3. A standard commentary: the Glossa Ordinaria; Part II. Lectio: Surface and Depths: 4. Words and things and numbers; 5. The historical sense and history; 6. Exegesis and the theory of signification; 7. Transference of meaning; Part III. Disputatio: 8. Questions; 9. Contradictory authorities; 10. A new approach to resolving contradictions; Conclusion; Notes; Select bibliography; Index. The presuppositions, methods and habits of Latin writers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries learnedly examined and lucidly expounded, with a glance back to Augustine and Gregory...The interplay of philosophy and tradition with sacred text makes fascinating reading. Society for Old Testament Study Booklist