On Non-Literal Interpretations of Scripture:
A brief explanation and analysis.
"All sacred Scripture can be divided into flesh and spirit as if it were a spiritual
man. For the literal sense of Scripture is flesh and its inner meaning is soul or spirit.
Clearly someone wise abandons what is corruptible and unites his whole being to what is
incorruptible" (St. Maximus the Confessor, First Century of Theology, 91). St.
Maximus the Confessor wrote upon the different ways of interpreting Scripture, and in
doing so, has represented the way which many within Alexandria and Byzantium have viewed
Scriptural Exegetics. Instead of merely seeking for the external, fleshy interpretation of
Scripture-- the literal level, one must seek beyond what is first apparent, and find out
what is buried deep within Scripture itself. The literal sense is often mistaken as the
most important, and can lead one to many contradictory beliefs, into many theological
errors. For within the literal level of Scripture, one finds within it, a view of God
which is much less than His great dignity: it treats the divine essence as having human
parts (hands, fingers, etc.), human emotions and passions (anger, wrath), with human needs
(rest), and with human failings (ignor- ance). All of these examples, which can be found
within the literal reading of Scripture, are examples of the "flesh" of
Scripture, the corruptible aspects of Scripture, which one should abandon. Instead the
Christian should seek beyond this level of interpretation, and seek to go into the realm
of allegory, typology, and in this, with the Spirit. "When a man sticks to the mere
letter of Scripture, his nature is governed by the senses alone, in this way proving his
soul's attachment to the flesh. For if the letter is not understood in a spiritual way,
its significance is restricted to the level of the senses, which do not allow its full
meaning to pass over into the intellect" (St. Maximus the Confessor, Fourth Century
of Various Texts, 76).
Within the New Testament there are many examples of non- literal exegetics, which have
been taken by the Fathers as key verses giving examples to value and need to take
Scripture beyond its most literal level. For example, Jesus in John 8:17-18, showed that
the brazen serpent lifted up by Moses was an example and prophecy of His own crucifixion.
St. Paul, in I Cor 5:6-8 discusses the need to take out the "old leaven" at
Passover, as an indication of having to remove the passions and sin in our life. Also, In
I Cor, St. Paul took the crossing of the Red Sea as an allegory of Christian Baptism.
While allegorical (and other non-literal) interpretations of Scripture are considered much
more important than the mere literal level of Scripture, this does not dismiss that there
are relevant points to be found within the literal level, but one must not be contained by
them, if the interpretation brings about something which is contrary to the faith.
Interestingly enough, this is one of the major reasons why the allegorical method of
interpretation flourished: the early Fathers were protecting the Scripture from unjust
use. For example, several heretical sects saw God in the Old Testament to be wicked, and
it was through their strict literal interpretation that they would go on to tell
Christians that they should reject the Old Testament. However, St. Irenaeus, St. Clement
of Alexandria, St. Augustine, and Origen all saw that the error did not come from God, but
an over-literal understanding of the Old Testament. Thus, God's wrath, was only taken as
wrath-- what humans could understand of divine chas- tisement. The order of God to the
Jews of extermination of many gentiles was considered, not to be an order on the literal
level, but one of spiritual warfare, where we are to put to death our unjust desires. It
is through this kind of apologetics, which was heavily needed in the early centuries of
the Church, which was forgotten during the time where such criticisms where not found. Now
that we are once again facing this kind of criticism of Scripture in a non-Christian age,
it is once again time that Christians understand the spiritual meaning of Scripture, so as
to provide explanations for otherwise hard to understand passages in Scripture which would
seem quite embarrassing to the Christian faith.
Having established that there is a need to examine the Scriptures, and use more than just
the literal level, we need to examine the methods of Scriptural interpretation which are
provided by Sts. Clement of Alexand- ria, Maximus the Confessor, and those who share their
method of exegetics (which include, to one degree or another, Origen, St Gregory of Nyssa,
St John of Damascus, St Augustine, and many others). Both St. Clement of Alexandria, and
his pupil and Biblical Scholar, Origen, provide within their writings several statements
on how to interpret Scripture. St.Clement, also stated that he had learned and gained a
great amount of insight on the Old Testament from the first century Jewish theologian,
Philo. St. Maximus, who wrote upon the need to go to the spiritual level of Scripture, did
not write a full exposition upon the how as much as the what, because it was already well
founded within the tradition he was raised in. Thus, he applied himself (as did many
others) with the exegetical principle without dictating fully the exact method to follow.
Nonetheless, while St. Maximus does not write upon the issue, he is in general agreement
in prac- tice with the Alexandrian method. Thus, in examining the method, texts from St.
Clement of Alexandria and Origen will be the highlighted examples upon the method. It will
not be an all-encompassing examination of the allegorical method (it would be too
difficult to provide a good study within a short essay), but it will provide many of the
key-points and insights needed to keep within a good exegetical parameters.
Scriptural Exegetics: What one needs to know and do to take things beyond the literal
level of Scripture:
1) Christ is the Center of all Scripture. The Law and the Prophets speak of Him, but we
must often seek Him out, hidden within them. At the most literal level, we can totally
leave out the hidden references to Christ, and the Kingdom of Heaven which are revealed
from them. When examining a passage, one should try to bring out the hidden references to
Christ found within all of Scripture, giving to all a more thorough awareness of the work
of Christ throughout all the ages. Indeed, Christ is the central figure of human history,
and all history, as all Scriptures, points out to Him. But, if one neglects the spiritual
and prophetic utterances in the Old Testament about Christ, one is able to start losing
sight of what preparations God had for the work and ministry of Christ. Indeed, the
problem of those Jews who rejected Christ, was they had a lack of understanding about the
Old Testament, and of the Law and the Propehts. If they understood, they would have
believed Jesus. To the Apostles, after the Resurrection, our Lord showed them what had
pertained to Himself-- He had revealed that which was previously covered in the dark cover
of mystery. "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all
the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27).For those who still try
to take the Law and the Prophets too literal, without giving in to believe that which is
covered in the externals of the law, this cloak of mystery still remains. All the
Scriptures speak of Him, and thus one of the major tasks of exegetics is revealing this to
others by demonstration. The Gospel is able to be found in the Old Testament, but the task
is up to the exegete to bring this out in the open.
2) Scripture must be interpreted, not outside of the Apostolic Tradition, but within the
confines of the faith. While it might sound limiting, there is nonetheless a great expanse
of understanding that one can gain, by keeping within the established and revealed norm of
the faith. It is also much less limiting than the narrow ways of extreme literalism (which
is the way of those who misunderstand and misapply Scripture). Thus, Origen wrote on this
matter as one of the primary elements of the Christian faith, that the truth is found
within the boundary of the Apostolic Tradition of the Church, "...that alone is to be
accepted as truth which differs in no re- spect from the ecclesiastical and apostolic
tradition." (Origen, On First Principles Preamble). Indeed, while the Apostolic
Tradition is the boundary, it is really more like a gate which opens up the Scriptures,
leading to an expanse field which is waiting to be picked. This is truly what St. Paul and
St. Peter would have people do, when trying to understand Scripture. St. Paul wrote that
one needs to follow the Apostolic teachings, both those which were written down in letter,
and also those which were being spoken by the Apostles (cf. 2 Thes 2:15). St. Peter saw
that people were trying to take Scripture upon themselves, outside of the unity of the
faith, and in doing so, he warned that Scripture is for the community and not for private
inter- pretations (cf. 2 Peter 1:20), and he also warned against manipulating Scripture
(which comes from private interpretations), as he saw was being done with the writings of
St. Paul (cf.2 Peter 3:15-16). Thus, when one is interpreting Scripture, it is to be sure
that they are not to seek new under- standings, that is, understandings which contradict
that which is already known- but they are to seek a further and deeper understanding of
that which is being proclaimed universally in the Church.
3) Scripture needs to be examined with itself. That is, each passage must not be thought
of as something separate from the rest of Scripture, but each passage must be remembered
within the context of the whole of Scripture. For a single passage might denote some
information, which if taken by itself will only give an incomplete, and misleading
understanding of some points of doctrine. "And if those also who follow heresies
venture to avail them- selves of the prophetic Scriptures, in the first place they will
not make use of all the Scriptures, and then they will not quote them entire, nor as the
body and texture of prophecy prescribe. But selecting ambiguous ex- pressions, they wrest
them to their own opinions, gathering a few expressions here and there, not looking to the
sense, but making use in the mere words." (St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7:16)
There are many kinds of examples which can be brought out upon this point, especially on
issues of soteriology. We read that faith is necessary for salvation, but many can confuse
it as being the sole basis, without understanding the need of repentance and its works, of
Baptism, and many other matters which Scripture discusses as being needed for salvation.
One can easily take one of verse, and make that the all in all for their own doctrines,
but if they do so, they will neglect the rest, and not run the race to the end- thus
finding themselves cut off from the prize. It is therefore of extreme importance that one
takes to heart, if they want to work at interpreting Scripture; it is easy to get caught
into some sections of it, and neglect the rest. It is even worse, however, if a person
does this-- to the exclusion of the Apostolic Tradition, because they will be much more
likely to go widely astray in their picking and choosing of doctrine-- than if they are
trying to stay within the norm of the Christian faith, because they would then understand
doctrine is not a private matter, but a matter of the universal faith.
4) Names are of key importance in understanding Scripture. Unlike within the modern
conception, that we name someone in an arbitrary fashion without considering a meaning
behind the name, names within most of history have been of significance in understanding a
person and places. There are a lot of meanings behind names and, when seeking to
understand Scripture, we must seek out the meaning behind the names of the people and
places being discuss- ed in each section. We can not understand the changing of names
(Abram to Abraham;Jacob to Israel; Saul to Paul; etc.) if we consider names as being
meaningless. To understand the names, one must often understand somewhat the languages the
names come from (or know someone who does, so as to gain the meaning behind the names).
When one has learned the meanings, then one can apply this knowledge in one's exegetics.
This was often one of the methods which Origen applied in his homilies, because it is the
easiest first step to going deeper into Scripture, and finding what types are being
represented by the names. As an example of this method, St. Maximus wrote, "The name
Mephiboseth, meaning 'ignominy of mouth (cf. 2 Sam 4:4) signifies the intellect's
preoccupation with thoughts devoted to the world and to bodily indulgence." (St.
Maximus the Confessor, Fifth Century of Various Texts, 22). Also, with a similar interest
to names, one must seek to under- stand more what is being said through the symbols of
numbers. Like with names, in ancient times, numbers were considered of great importance,
and that when one comes across a specific number, it is never by chance-- and thus, one
needs to seek out and understand the significance of each number one en- counters. St.
Augustine, in his work on the subject of Scriptural exegetics, On Christian Doctrine,
expresses this belief. "Ignorance of numbers, too, prevents us from understanding
things that are set down in Scripture in a figurative and mystical way. A candid mind, if
I may so speak, cannot but be anxious, for example, to ascertain what is meant by the fact
that Moses and Elijah, and our Lord Himself, all fasted for forty days. And except by the
knowledge and reflection upon the number, the difficulty of explaining the figure involved
in this action cannot be gotten over." (St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book II
Chap 16). Hence, one of the great keys to unlocking the further meaning of Scripture, is
understanding that which is before one's eyes, which often, in the literal level, looks to
be of little or no importance, that is, names and numbers.
5) Moral value behind what is said is very important. One area where allegory excels is in
its ability to teach on moral subjects, based upon the events recorded upon Scripture.
This is not hard to understand, nor hard to grasp, but nonetheless, because it is a key
element of what is being sought in many allegorical and spiritual interpretations of
Scripture, it is something which must be remembered when providing an exegetical analysis
of Scripture. As an example of this kind of exegetics, St. Maximus the Confessor wrote
upon an analysis of the situation of Jonah. "Scripture represents Jonah as grieving
on account of the booth and the gourd-- that is to say, on account of the flesh and the
pleasure of the flesh-- and it represents God as caring for Nineveh (cf. Jonah 4:1-11).
From this it is clear that, compared with the things valued and prized by men, what is
loved by God is better and ore precious by far. For the things that men value lack being;
they only seem to exist because of mistaken judgment, but have no principle of existence
at all: there is only the fantasy, which cheats the intellect and through passion supplies
non-existent things with empty form but no real substance."(St. Maximus the
Confessor, Fifth Century of Various Texts, 16).
6) Proper Spiritual Life and Guidance. Since the Scripture was inspired by the Holy
Spirit, it is the same Holy Spirit who will guide one in under- standing of Scripture.
This is not to mean one is to think one is guided by the Holy Spirit, and thus can dismiss
the interpretation of Scripture provided by the Church-- one can easily make a subjective
analysis of their own interpretation, and say it was through the Holy Spirit they made
their interpretation-- but totally mislead themselves. The Holy Spirit will not create
discord, but will provide unity into the faith with one's inter- pretation. This is again
why one must be willing to be bound my the Apostolic Faith, because one can easily
convince oneself incorrectly of the Spirit's inspiration in exegetics, and lead oneself
and many astray. How- ever, good exegetics will be attuned to the Holy Spirit, through a
life of prayer, virtue, and the sacraments, so that the Holy Spirit will help them in
their exegetics. "Then, finally, that the Scriptures were written by the Spirit of
God, and have a meaning, not only such as is apparent at first sight, but also another,
which escapes the notice of most. For those (words) which were written are the forms of
certain mysteries, and the images of divine things. Respecting which there is one opinion
throughout the whole Church, that the whole law is indeed spiritual; but that the
spiritual meaning which the law conveys is not known to all, but to those only on whom the
grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed in the word of wisdom of knowledge." (Origen, On
First Principles, Preface). Again, it is to be noted that this is not a statement that the
Spirit divides people away from the Church, but instills them perfectly in harmony with
the Church. Those who seek to exclaim they are led by the Holy Spirit for interpretation,
but are led far away from the revealed teachings within the Church, are to be sure not
being led by the Holy Spirit, but by their own self-deception or something worse. Thus,
St. Gregory the Great in his dialogues wrote: "For if, on the vain presumption that
they, too, are filled with the Holy Spirit, they refuse to be guided by another human
being, they will only become teachers of error. The soul that is really filled with the
Spirit of God will be easily recognized by its miraculous powers and humility. Where these
two signs of holiness are found to perfection they show beyond a doubt that God is truly
present."(St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues). With this warning, this does not mean
that one can not gain a deeper insight into Scripture through the Spirit: one in fact,
will. But deeper insight is, by nature, not going to be self-contradictory.
Works Cited and Key Works of Reference: St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine. In Nicene
and Post Nicene Fathers, Series One, Vol 2. Trans. Rev. Prof. J.F. Shaw. 1887. Reprinted
1994. St. Clement of Alexandria. The Stromata, In Ante-Nicene Fathers Series II Ed
Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 1885. Republished 1994.
St. Gregory the Great. The Dialogues. Trans. Odo John Zimmerman, O.S.B. Fathers of the
Church, Inc. Vol 39. Catholic University of America Press: Washington, DC: 1959. Fr.
Tadros Malaty, The School of Alexandria, Book One: Before Origen. Pope Shenouda III Coptic
Theological College, Sydney, Australia: 1995. [It has been an invaluable resource, helping
me not have to reread the whole of St Clement of Alexandria's works, but to have a ready
resource which breaks down St. Clement's theology and teaching in easily findable
sections. Highly suggested!]
Fr. Tadros Malaty, The School of Alexandria, Book Two: Origen. Pope Shenouda III Coptic
Theological College, Sydney Australia: 1994.(Prepatory Edition) [The same for this volume
and Origen. It can almost be considered a small encyclopedia on Origen].
St. Maximus the Confessor. First Century of Theology in "The Philokalia, The Complete
Text" Vol II.compiled by St Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain and St Makarios of
Corinth. Trans and Ed by GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware. Faber and Faber,
Boston: 1984.
St. Maximus the Confessor. Fourth Century of Various Texts in "The Philo- kalia,The
Complete Text" Vol II.compiled by St Nikodemus of the Holy Moun- tain and St Makarios
of Corinth. Trans and Ed by GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware. Faber and Faber,
Boston: 1984.
St. Maximus the Confessor. Fifth Century of Various Texts in "The Philo- kalia,The
Complete Text" Vol II.compiled by St Nikodemus of the Holy Moun- tain and St Makarios
of Corinth. Trans and Ed by GEH Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware. Faber and Faber,
Boston: 1984.
Origen. On First Principle in The Ante-Nicene Fathers Series, Vol IV. Ed Alexander Roberts
and James Donaldson. 1885. Republished 1994.