Showing papers on "Exegesis published in 2007"

수사비평(Rhetorical Criticism)으로 성경 읽기

Abstract: The Korean Church seems to have shown a tendency of depending its method of approach to the Bible mainly upon literalism or historical-grammatical interpretation. It is generally accepted in the biblical scholarship that literalism should be overcome and it is a problem that historical-grammatical interpretation is used only as a method of approach in the practice of interpretation. The recent global tendency in the biblical scholarship is to perform exegetical practices using all the methods of approach to the Bible. In recent day, biblical scholars strive to adapt all the methods of approach to their practices of exegesis including literary criticism on its synchronic level. The purpose of the present essay is to illustrate the usefulness of rhetorical criticism in interpreting the Bible, especially the Old Testament, and finding its meaning in the dimensions of textuality, contextuality, and co-textuality. For this, the present essay introduces the three conventional methods of rhetorical criticism(the methods of Muilenburg School, Kennedy School, and New Rhetoric). The present essay also tries to suggest the usefulness of rhetorical criticism in applying the method to the practice of interpretation in our church. For this purpose, it attempts to interpret The Book of Nahum using the three conventional methods of rhetorical criticism. Form this analysis, it reaches to the message or meaning of The Book of Nahum that: 1) God will afflict Judah no more, because Nineveh will be cut off. 2) God will break of his yoke bar from Judah and burst Judah's cords apart, so that scoundrels shall never again invade you, because they have totally vanished. 3) Therefore, celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. The present essay emphasizes as its conclusion that rhetorical criticism should be introduced to the Korean Church actively. Citing B. L. Mack's definition, “All speech is rhetorical," the present essay closes with the suggestion that rhetorical criticism should be used practically for getting the proper dynamic meanings of the texts in the Bible within the interpretational practices of the Korean Church.

Para-Mania: Beside, before and beyond Bible Studies

Abstract: (ProQuest-CSA LLC: denotes non-USASCII text omitted) When I was nominated to be the 115th president of the Society of Biblical Literature11 of course felt very honored and was not reluctant to accept, but I also felt a bit uncomfortable or unsure about the appropriateness of the choice Normally the presidency of the SBL alternates between "OT" and "NT" scholars, and my immediate predecessor (Lyn Osiek) clearly qualified for the latter category Although I have done some work on Greek Jewish scriptures ("LXX/OG"),21 can hardly be considered an "OT" person; indeed, I do not think of myself at all as a "Bible scholar" in a traditional sense, even though my career has included investigations of traditionally biblical subjects such as a master's thesis on the use of Jewish scriptures in the canonical Jesus traditions3 and occasional excursions into specific NT exegetical problems-Was the "Theophile" (in the vocative) to whom Luke-Acts is addressed a woman? Did the tradition reflected in the NT book of Acts about Paul being called "Saul" (from the tribe of Benjamin) originate with some of his opponents who identified him in an uncomplimentary manner with the Benjaminite king Saul of ancient Israel notoriety? Was Paul's identification with "Tarsus" due to a misunderstanding on the part of the author of Acts (or its sources) of Paul's occupational affiliation with the "Tarsian" guild of weavers in Judea?4 But those were unpublished exceptions, and along with some dabbling in Dead Sea Scroll studies5 and the aforementioned text-critical interests in that heterogeneous anthology of Old Greek translations that unfortunately has come to be known simplistically as "the Septuagint," pretty much summed up my qualifications to be considered a "Bible scholar," strictly speaking A little research into the history of the SBL and its presidents, however, helped put to rest any misgivings I may have entertained6 From the outset, its founders chose to call it the society of "bibli'car literature (and exegesis), not of "Bible" literature And from the outset, many of its representatives were, like me, travelers along the margins of Bible studies proper The very first president, Daniel Raynes Goodwin (1811-1890) began his stint while already a near septuagenarian and held the post for seven years ( 1880-87); he had made his mark as a teacher and a scholar, as well as an administrator and a churchman, especially in the fields of philology and "intellectual and moral philosophy," with some attention to NT translations and thought Interestingly, he had served as provost at my home institution, the University of Pennsylvania, from 1860 to 1868 before accepting the deanship of the Protestant Episcopal Philadelphia Divinity School, where he also taught until his death in 18907 In an address in 1873 to his alma mater, Bowdoin College, he presented his concept of a Christian liberal arts education as basic to the survival of civilization: All life is progressive; the college must be progressive or die If there be any folly greater than the pretended antithesis of science and religion, it is that other folly of the antithesis of science and classical learning Let both go on together, each helping instead of hindering the other Let us propose no such miserable alternatives as learning or science, science or religion; rather let our watchword and battle-cry be learning and science, science and religion, "now and forever, one and inseparable"8 The issue of the relationship between science, religion, and classical learning became a recurring motif in SBL presidential addresses and discussions9 While I do not intend to revisit that theme directly here, it should become obvious that, for me, learning responsibly about the ancient contexts from which derives what came to be "Bible" with associated religious interests is, well, paramount While Goodwin can hardly be classified as primarily a "Bible scholar," many of his colleagues and successors clearly were such-J …

A Burning World, an Absent God

Abstract: Psychological splitting, authoritarianism, literalism, and an emphasis on the direct experience of supernatural presence and mission—characteristics of fundamentalism—are on the rise. What are the practices and traditions that can be employed to oppose them? By studying and interpreting midrash, Jewish biblical commentary originating in late antiquity, the author explores this question. By researching both primary texts and secondary sources, he found that the process of midrashic study (1) is a good example of a hermeneutic tradition and (2) contains insights that can be applied to relational psychoanalysis and contemporary culture. In particular, four characteristics of midrash were identified: intertextuality, interpersonal engagement, the absence–presence dialectic, and the prohibition against idolatry. The author argues that midrashic study can serve as an extended argument against and resistance to fundamentalist movements. Finally, through the hermeneutic concept of dialogue, the author res...

The Name And Nature of Leviathan: Political Symbolism and Biblical Exegesis

Abstract: Why did Thomas Hobbes give the title Leviathan to his major work of political theory? On the face of it, the answer to this question is clearly and sufficiently provided in the text itself. In the ...

Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture

Abstract: Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture , Brian Brock , Eerdmans Publishing , 2007 ( ISBN 978‐0‐8028‐0379‐5 ), vii + 386 pp., pb $34.00 What Brian Brock has given us in Singing the Ethos of God is nothing less than one of the finest treatments of scripture‐based ethics published in quite sometime. Critiquing what he deems an estrangement between biblical scholarship and the work of Christian ethicists, Brock seeks to ‘reframe the whole Bible and ethics discussion’ by connecting moral theology with an ‘analysis of the practices of the Christian exegetical tradition’ (p. xiv). In Singing the Ethos of God , Brock argues for the ‘world creating’ capability of scripture that transforms the Bible and ethics discussion in terms of the question, ‘What role does the Bible play in God's generation of a holy people?’ (p. xvii). Brian Brock formulates his project in three sections. The first section explores the hermeneutical question ‘gleaning insights into methodological options from the contemporary discussion [of Scripture's role in ethics]’ (p. xvii). The second section draws upon the historical exegesis of the Psalms by Augustine and Martin Luther in an effort to challenge the commonly

Displacing Christian Origins: Philosophy, Secularity, and the New Testament

Abstract: Review "The time is ripe for Displacing Christian Origins. Over the past two or more decades, there has been a growing interest among many biblical scholars in continental philosophy. At the same time, there seems to be growing interest among some philosophers in moving beyond simply reading biblical texts without reference to or engagement with biblical scholarship. This brings much to the table, pushing biblical scholars and philosophers to engage one another with higher levels of literacy in the other's field." - Timothy K. Beal, Case Western Reserve University" Product Description Recent critical theory is curiously preoccupied with the metaphors and ideas of early Christianity, especially the religion of Paul. The haunting of secular thought by the very religion it seeks to overcome may seem surprising at first, but Ward Blanton argues that this recent return by theorists to the resources of early Christianity has precedent in modern and ostensibly secularizing philosophy, from Kant to Heidegger. Displacing Christian Origins traces the current critical engagement of Agamben, Derrida, and Žižek, among others, back into nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century philosophers of early Christianity. By comparing these crucial moments in the modern history of philosophy with exemplars of modern biblical scholarship—David Friedrich Strauss, Adolf Deissmann, and Albert Schweitzer—Blanton offers a new way for critical theory to construe the relationship between the modern past and the biblical traditions to which we seem to be drawn once again. An innovative contribution to the intellectual history of biblical exegesis, Displacing Christian Origins will promote informed and fruitful debate between religion and philosophy.

Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook

Abstract: This second contribution to the "Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis" series continues the admirable tradition set by Robert B. Chisholm Jr. in "Interpreting the Historical Books." A valuable resource for pastors and students, "Interpreting the Psalms" begins by explaining the nature of Hebrew poetry and the purpose of the Psalms. An accomplished scholar of the Psalms, Mark Futato next explores issues related to properly interpreting Israel's songbook, and concludes with a sample of moving from interpretation to proclamation. A glossary is included.

Dictionary of major biblical interpreters

Abstract: Donald K. McKim eidts this revised and expanded edition of IVP's Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters. With 230 in-depth articles regarding the principal players in the history of Biblical interpretation, this volume will serve as an invaluable tool for any serious student of the Bible or history of exegesis.

Aquinas the Augustinian

Abstract: The influence Of St Augustine's thought upon that of St Thomas Aquinas is well known. With the exception of particular philosophical controversies, however, relatively little research has been done in this area. In summaries of medieval theology, Aquinas is often seen as a follower of Aristotle over the traditional "Augustinians" of his day. Against this emphasis on Aristotle, the influence upon Aquinas of such thinkers as Pseudo-Dionysius has been highlighted in recent research. While happily granting the influence of such figures as Aristotle and Pseudo-Dionysius, this book explores the impact of Augustine's thought on Acquinas' theology, philosophy, and biblical exegesis. The result is an enrichment of our understanding of Aquinas' contributions and a renewed awareness of his extraordinary indebtedness to his fifth-century teacher. The book is composed of eleven essays by an international group of renowned scholars from the United States, England, Switzerland, Holland, and Italy. The contributors are Gilles Emery, O P, Harm Goris, Wayne Hankey, Mark Johnson, Matthew Lamb, Matthew Levering, Guy Mansini, O S B, Bruce D Marshall, John O'Callaghan, John Rist, and Michael Sherwin.

The Imago Dei and Election: Reading Genesis 1:26–28 and Old Testament Scholarship with Karl Barth

Abstract: Barth's treatment of the imago dei within his interpretation of the Genesis creation story (CD III/1) divides biblical scholars and dogmaticians. In an attempt to bridge the impasse Barth's relational interpretation is re-examined. A narrow focus on the small print exegesis of Genesis 1:26–28 has often led to Barth being misread. In contrast, attention is given to Barth's hermeneutical principles and his exegesis is placed within the wider context of his understanding of the creation story. Even in terms of his own hermeneutic Barth's reading of the imago is shown to be problematic. This hermeneutic can, however, be applied to provide a reading of the imago as a relationship to God and the world analogous to Israel's election. Such a reading is exegetically defensible and theologically suggestive.

Inleiding tot die sosiaal-wetenskaplike kritiese eksegese van Nuwe- Testamentiese tekste: Die metodologiese aanloop in die navorsingsgeskiedenis

Abstract: Introducing the social-scientific critical exegesis of New Testament texts: Methodological initiators in the research history The article is the first of a series of three that aim to introduce socialscientific exegesis of New Testament texts. Aspects of the social background of these writings are analyzed in light of the perspectives which underlie the dynamics of first-century Mediterranean social world. The article shows that social-scientific criticism of the New Testament represents an exegetical approach by means of which the rhetoric of texts is interpreted in light of their cultural environment and the social interaction that determines this context and semeiotic codes. The first article focuses on the initiators in the field of historical-critical exegesis who paved the way to social scientific criticism and explain key facets of the “new” exegetical approach. The second article explains some models and methods of social-scientific criticism. The third article discusses some advantages of social scientific criticism and poses a critique of the approach by reflecting on the positivism that could underlie the epistemology behind some interpretation models used in social scientific criticism. It concludes with an emphasis on cultural criticism as a hermeneutical challenge.

Exegesis of Biblical Theophanies in Byzantine Hymnography: Rewritten Bible?

Abstract: The article discusses the interpretation of biblical theophanies in Byzantine hymns associated with the so-called Improperia tradition. After presenting the exegesis of specific theophanies as exem...

The Colossian Hymn in Context: An Exegesis in Light of Jewish and Greco-Roman Hymnic and Epistolary Conventions

Abstract: This is a revised version of Gordley’s 2006 Notre Dame dissertation supervised by David Aune. As the title indicates, Gordley is concerned to explain the Hymn of Col. 1.15-20 in its historical and cultural but also literary contexts. The book consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 is a history of research on the Colossian Hymn. Chapters 2 and 3 examine respectively hymns in Ancient Judaism and in the Greco-Roman world. Chapter 4 applies the findings of chapters 2 and 3 to an exegesis of the Colossian Hymn. Chapter 5 seeks to locate the Colossian Hymn in the developing argument of the letter. Gordley’s conclusion that Col. 1.15-20 is a prose hymn exhibiting a mixture of Jewish and Greco-Roman elements is not surprising. But it is a conclusion well argued and nuanced. According to Gordley, the Colossian Hymn (1) cites pre-existing confessional material, (2) exhibits themes from Jewish hymns of praise to God, but also (3) themes from certain philosophical instruction interested in the structure of the cosmos and rendered into hymn form for the early education of students. Gordley suggests that one of the Hymn’s principal rhetorical functions in the letter is to establish the ethos of the author, a conclusion that fits nicely with Hans Dieter Betz’s thesis that Colossians is to be approached as a case of Pauline ‘portraiture’ (‘Paul’s “Second Presence” in Colossians’, in Fornberg and Hellholm, eds., Texts and Contexts [Oslo, 1995]—which Gordley, however, does not cite). This is a thoughtful and thorough piece of historical philology. Paul A. Holloway

The New Testament and Intercultural Exegesis in Africa

Abstract: This study reviews the rise and development of intercultural exegesis in Africa, especially of the New Testament. Its origins are traced to 1996, when Justin S. Ukpong published an article introducing and applying the method of inculturation biblical hermeneutic to Lk. 16.1-13. In 1998, Jean-Bosco Matand used the same method to interpret Acts 15.1-35 and Gal. 2.11-14. In 2001 and 2003, this method was adopted by Antoine C.N. Cilumba and Chris U. Manus who called it intercultural exegesis or intercultural hermeneutics. The former applied it to Jn 2.23—3.36 while the latter extended it to many texts including Mk 1.40-45. Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole developed this method further in 2005, using the term intercultural biblical exegesis as well as intercultural biblical mediation to interpret Lk. 22.69 and Acts 7.56.

Jerome's Hebrew Philology

Abstract: Focusing on his training in classical literary studies and his extensive interaction with Jewish sources, this book describes the practice of Hebrew scholarship in St Jerome and the significance of Hebrew for his biblical exegesis.

The word and the world : biblical exegesis and early modern science

Abstract: List of figures Notes on contributors Introduction P.J.Forshaw & K.Killeen PART 1: THE WORD AND THE WORLD The Use of Creatures: Allegory, the Literal Sense and the Contemplative Life P.Harrison Making Sense of Science and the Literal: Modern Semantics and Early Modern Hermeneutics J.D.Fleming Reading the Two Books with Francis Bacon: Interpreting God's Will and Power S.Matthews Textual Criticism and Early Modern Natural Philosophy: The Case of Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) P.Mueller Giordano Bruno's Hermeneutics: Observations on the Bible in De Monade (1591) L.Catana PART 2: INFERIOR AND SUPERIOR ASTRONOMY Vitriolic Reactions: Orthodox Responses to the Alchemical Exegesis of Genesis P.Forshaw Tycho the Prophet: History, Astrology and the Apocalypse in Early Modern Science H.Hakansson 'Whether the stars are innumerable for us?': Astronomy and Biblical Exegesis in the Society of Jesus around 1600 V.Remmert Reading the Book of God as the Book of Nature: The Case of the Louvain Humanist Cornelius Valerius (1512-1578) I.A.Kelter PART 3: EXEGESIS AND SCIENCE IN EARLY MODERN CULTURE The Fortunes of Babel: Technology, History, and Genesis 11:1-9 J.Sawday Duckweed and the Word of God: Seminal Principles and Creation in Thomas Browne (1605-1682) K.Killeen Days of the Locust: Natural History, Politics, and the English Bible K.Edwards

The Reception of Rashi's Commentary on the Torah in Spain: The Case of Adam's Mating with the Animals

Abstract: W HILE R ASHI ’ S B IBLICAL C OMMENTARY has profited from extensive and more or less uninterrupted scholarly inquiry, 1 considerably less attention has been devoted to the varied reactions over the ages to his scriptural exegesis. 2 The sorts of questions rightly posed with respect to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah should also be asked about Rashi’s Commentary on the Torah: ‘‘Where and when did the book penetrate first? Who were its sponsors and opponents? What were the initial steps, or stages, in its adoption everywhere?’’ 3 This essay seeks to illumine an aspect of the

The Ancient Church Order Literature: Genre or Tradition?

Abstract: The ancient Christian texts frequently called "church orders" do not fit this label well, and attempts to define a single literary genre for these texts have proven problematic. One can consider them as witnesses to a tradition of ecclesiological Old Testament exegesis that conceives itself as apostolic. This becomes clear by an extension to all these texts of insights from recent studies on the Didascalia apostolorum and the Apostolic Constitutions. This move makes it possible to group these texts with many others that witness to this same tradition, which maintains a dynamic contact with ancient Jewish exegesis.

Historical consciousness and existential awareness in Karl Barth\'s hermeneutics

Abstract: Karl Barth’s hermeneutic legacy prolonged Western Christian tradition, especially influenced by Hegelian philosophy of history. This led to Barth’s “theological exegesis” instead of a historic-critical exegesis. In a preceding article Barth’s understanding of the notion “hermeneutic circle” is discussed against the background of the Enlightenment and its counter-movement in Romanticism. In this article Barth’s attitude to the place and role of historical criticism is explained in light of his dialectic distinction between “scientific” and “practical” interpretation. The article aims to show that Barth, with his dialectics, continues Schleiermacher’s realism. In conclusion, the positivistic traits in the Barth legacy are raised once again, in order to open the door to Jurgen Habermas and other deconstructionist thinkers of the postmodern era in hermeneutics.

The Word is Near You: A Study of Deuteronomy 30: 12-14 in Paul's Letter to the Romans in a Jewish Context

Abstract: The study deals with a much-debated text in "Paul's Letter to the Romans", 9:30 - 10:21. The study in particular analyses Paul's use and interpretation of "Deuteronomy" 30:12-14 in "Romans" 10:4-17. Scholars have characterized Paul's exegesis here as idiosyncratic, fanciful, baffling, and arbitrary. By a comparison with Jewish writings, such as the writings of Philo of Alexandria and Baruch, the thesis is argued that Paul's treatment of "Deuteronomy" 30:12-14 can be located within Jewish exegetical method, expository structure, terminology as well as content and context. The author interprets "Romans" 9:30 - 10:21 afresh, and throws new light on Paul's exposition of "Deuteronomy" 30:12-14.

An Ex-Sabbatean's Remorse? Sambari's Polemics against Islam

Abstract: IT IS WELL KNOWN that ethnoreligious identities constitute multilayered constructions and include elements of reference to and delimitation from other identities. Thus, the "intertextuality" of pre-modern Jewish literature - to use a term coined by literary criticism - refers not only to the vast treasure of rabbinic classics and Jewish folklore but to some extent also to rivaling narratives and canons.1 This statement can also be extended to include pre-modern Jewish historiography, the broader concern of the present article. yet, while the "midrashic" or homiletic trait of pre-modern Jewish historiography has already been highlighted by Salo W. Baron,2 its intertextual character in the described sense, including cross-cultural frames of reference, has received less attention.3A work that provides a fascinating and illuminating illustration of this kind of intertextuality is the Hebrew chronicle Divre Yosef (Words of Joseph') written by the seventeenth-century Egyptian Jewish author Joseph Sambari. This chronicle, a history of the Jews in the Islamic world, is prefaced by a lengthy introduction to the origins of Islam in which the author employs biblical allusions and midrashim that would only be understandable to readers familiar with this Jewish interpretative tradition.4 As I will show, Sambari makes polemical use of exegesis, which serves as a mode of constructing a Jewish religious identity vis-a-vis a competing tradition - Islam. As part of his project, Sambari satirizes Islamic legends about the life of Muhammad - known as sira in Arabic.My thesis is that Sambari not only concealed an anti-Islamic polemic within the complex textual allusions of his chronicle but that he also adhered to an anti-Sabbatean agenda. I argue that Sambari's jibes against Islam can be understood as a response to a specific historical event: the failure of the messianic movement around Sabbatai Sevi after the messianic candidate and some of his followers had converted to Islam. This religious crisis had blurred the well-established boundaries between Judaism and Islam; a desire to redraw these lines of difference motivated Sambari - in all likelihood an ex-Sabbatean himself - to compose his chronicle of the Jews in the Islamic world.5In addition, I shall argue that Sambari's work echoes a puritanical tendency in seventeenth-century Ottoman Islam that was inspired by the preachers of the Kadizadeli movement and which - while originally directed against certain Islamic Sufi orders - may have conditioned the Ottoman response to the Jewish messianic movement.6 It seems that pro-Kadizadeli politics in particular were behind certain unusual restrictions imposed on non-Muslims in the late seventeenth century. It is these contemporary phenomena, namely, the puritanical tendencies in Muslim society and the Sabbatean disaster, that in part inspired Sambari to compose his historical work. While Sambari's lengthy accounts of Islamic narratives might seem paradoxical given that he wanted to prevent his coreligionists from embracing this tradition, his familiarity with precisely the culture he attacked can be explained as the logical result of the cultural ambiguities and immediate events of his age.SAMBARI, HIS BACKGROUND, AND WORKThe only source of biographical information on the author of Divre Yosef is the chronicle itself, from which we can establish that Joseph Sambari lived sometime in the second half of the seventeenth century in Cairo,7 then the seat of the Ottoman governor of Egypt. As his familiarity with Islamic rituals and Arabic sources suggests, the author probably belonged to the community of musta'ribun ('the Arabized'), indigenous Egyptian Jews who shared much in common with their Muslim compatriots in language and customs.8 While his occupation is unknown, he may have served as a scribe9 to the wealthy Jewish leader Rafael Joseph Celebi. The latter 's position as civil representative, known by the honorific Ottoman title of celebi, of Egypt's Jewish community10 was based on the influential offices he held within the financial administration of the land on the Nile: he was not only the Ottoman governor's chief money-lender, jarraf basic; he was also the director of the Cairo Mint, and, in addition, managed the customs revenues at the important sea port of Alexandria as a tax-farm (iltizam). …

Biblical Hermeneutics and Spiritual Interpretation: The Revelatory Presence of God in Karl Barth's Theology of Scripture:

Abstract: Modern methods of historical-critical and literary interpretation have secularized biblical interpretation by treating scripture as a strictly human text that can be understood by discerning the meaning of its many human authors and redactors. In a similar way modern fundamentalist and patristic exegesis have also secularized biblical interpretation in that they assume that scripture itself is the Word of God, whose meaning is readily evident from the words on the page and no longer requires the gracious gift of God's action and presence to make its meaning manifest. This paper argues that Karl Barth's theology of scripture provides the resources to revitalize biblical interpretation because Barth takes seriously the full humanity of the Bible and the need for historical interpretation while understanding that any interpretation of scripture's transcendent subject matter requires the presence of God's Word and Spirit to make its meaning understood and applied in the Church and world today.

Reinterpreting nature in early modern Europe : Natural philosophy, biblical exegesis, and the contemplative life

Abstract: In offering this advice on the reading of scripture, Cistercian monk Arnoul of Boheriss (fl. 1200) provides a useful example of the place of the bible in the meditative traditions of medieval monasticism. For Arnoul, scripture was studied not in order to confer knowledge (scientia) upon the reader; rather, the words of scripture were to be savoured and digested in such a way that they would provide the fertile subject matter for prayer and contemplation. In this long-standing tradition of prayerful reading — lexio divina — the divine words of scripture were ruminated upon and literally ‘tasted’ with the heart. Arnoul’s counsel, concerning the reading of scripture, contrasts instructively with the position of the Calvinist theologian Lambert Daneau (1530-95), who some three and a half centuries later was to suggest, to the contrary, that one should indeed search for ‘science’ within the pages of scripture. In his Physica Christiana (‘Christian Physics’, 1576), Daneau argued that the book of Genesis was a ‘Treatise of Naturall Philosophie’ penned by Moses. Daneau’s English translator went so far as to insist that all true natural philosophy was ‘founded uppon the assured round of Gods word and holy Scriptures’.2