The Theology of Thomas Aquinas

Chapter Sixteen: Thomas Aquinas as Interpreter of Scripture

  Sixteen Thomas Aquinas as Interpreter of Scripture   The medievals seem not to have recognized a distinction between systematic and historical theology, or between dogmatics and exegesis. A medieval professor of theology typically was expected to teach all aspects of the faith and to be conversant with all sources of theological knowledge. “Sacred doctrine,” therefore, was not restricted to any one of the theological specializations familiar to us today. Rather, it was seen more broadly, as the process of transmission of saving knowledge having its origin in God and reaching humankind through church doctrine, Scripture, and theology. The work of interpreting Scripture by a professor thus took place within a full and rich context of explanation , instruction, and transmission, and presupposed his grounding and training in the extensive range of the faith and its appropriation. Through the efforts of preachers, themselves increasingly in the High Middle Ages the beneficiaries of university instruction,“sacred doctrine” and the interpretation of God’s word in Scripture were in turn passed on to the faithful. This is why medieval theology could understand itself as, especially, “exercise on Holy Scripture.”1 We must be mindful of the unified character of medieval theology in approaching Aquinas’ interpretation of Scripture, shaped as we are by a rather different, modern, and more specialist understanding of exegesis and biblical theology. Nevertheless, Aquinas did interpret several books of the Bible in the classroom, and most of these interpretations saw publication . Lecturing on Scripture was in fact his main task as a university  professor—the technical designation of the theology professor was, indeed, “master of the sacred page”—and so it is legitimate to single out this part of his work for special consideration in this essay. In the following, therefore, I shall deal with a specific segment of his literary production—namely, his scriptural commentaries—while also examining the methods he employed in his interpretation of Scripture. Last, but equally important, I will locate Aquinas’ exegesis, in terms of its function and intent, within the whole breadth of his theological thought. I begin this presentation with () a review of Aquinas’ exegetical writings , followed by () an examination of the hermeneutics and the methodology of his exegesis, highlighting at the same time () general tenets, particularly the theological characteristics of Thomistic exegesis and its relevance for theology. The Exegetical Writings of Aquinas Of all the works of Aquinas, the commentaries on the Scriptures have traditionally challenged scholars the most. Although lecturing on a specific book of Holy Scripture was central to the academic life of a medieval professor, the history of the texts and the chronology of many of Aquinas’ commentaries have remained uncertain. Many medieval theologians did not themselves prepare their most important lectures for publication. In fact, as a rule, these lectures were handed down only in the form of notes, so-called reportationes, made by students. Aquinas appears to have revised for publication only a handful of his commentaries. Such are the commentary on the Book of Job and parts of the commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans; we also have the autograph of his lecture on Isaiah. Only these works, prepared by Aquinas himself for copying , are termed expositio; the taking of notes is referred to as lectura. In the following , I provide an overview of when and where, according to scholarly consensus , Aquinas commented on various individual books of the Bible:2 prior to  Cologne Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram; Super Ieremiam et Threnos spring  Paris Principium Rigans montes de superioribus; Hic est liber mandatorum Dei ‒ Orvieto Expositio super Iob ad litteram / Orvieto Glossa continua super Evangelia (Catena aurea)— in Matthaeum Thomas Aquinas as Interpreter of Scripture  ‒ Rome Catena aurea—in Marcum, Lucam et Iohannem; Lectura super epistulas b. Pauli apostoli / Paris Lectura super Matthaeum / Paris Lectura super Iohannem / Naples Expositio super epistulam b. Pauli apostoli ad Romanos (cc. ‒); Postilla super Psalmos Thus far there are critical editions only of the expositions of Job and of Isaiah.3 According to Weisheipl, Aquinas is supposed to have interpreted the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Book of Lamentations under Albertus Magnus in Cologne, when Aquinas was Baccalaureus biblicus. The particular task of the Baccalaureus biblicus, or Cursor biblicus, was a “cursory” interpretation of Holy Scripture, that is to say, a brisk and basic understanding of the text’s literal sense. This characterization fits, however, only part of the commentary on Isaiah. Not only are...