History of Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church

The history of biblical interpretation can help us understand how to better interpret the bible today. The new testament canon was established in the 4th century but that did not necessarily mean that the church would be in full agreement on how the Scriptures were to be interpreted. For the most part, there was agreement in the church about the list of books that belonged in the New Testament Scriptures. However, many of the early church followers developed a unique style of interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures that they believed helped bring to light the truth of the New Testament Scriptures.

These early church fathers used what we call typology. Which is an Old Testament story that forshadows New Testament events. Typology has it's place in biblical interpretation when taken in context but left unchecked it can lead into incorrect interpretations. In their typological interpretations they took what they had learned from the New Testament Scriptures and, through allegory and types, made the Old Testament confirm what the New Testament said in ways the Old Testament wasn't necessarily meant to be read.

They went to great extent to 'read between the lines' and make the stories and symbols of Old Testament Scripture mean something that related to the New Testament revelation, which could have in no way been the Old Testament author's intent in writing.

Even though it was far out at times this method of biblical interpretation was fully organized as a legitimate interpretation of Scripture in the church in Alexandria in the early third century. Origen was the main teacher at the Alexandrian school, which was formed to teach those who had converted from paganism to Christianity. They longed to formulate a system of theology that would explain Christianity through the use of philosophy as well. Many of those who attended and taught at that school had a background in classical literature and philosophy. The men of the Alexandrian school were constantly seeking hidden meanings that were embedded in Scripture. Although their hearts were probably in the right place, their actions led to many incorrect views of the Scripture and of truth. The theology they developed was many times erroneous in nature.

The biblical interpretation form of exegesis was developing and thriving in the church at Antioch in the early fifth century. Theodore of Mopsuestia intensely studied the Scriptures and opposed the allegorical system of interpretation. He sought to understand the grammar of the text and historical background in order to fully understand what the original writer was meaning. He also looked at Scripture within the context of the verses that surrounded it. He refused to pluck out one Scripture passage and develop an interpretation for it without first carefully examining the surrounding text so that he could get a full understanding of what was being said. Other Early Church Fathers such as Chrysostom followed this style in the history of biblical interpretation and did much to help the problems that arose from the church fathers that followed the typological style of biblical interpretation.

Today there are many ways that people interpret Scripture. By looking at the History of Biblical Interpretation we should be able to come up with a grounded view of how the Bible should be interpreted. Today, most scholars subscribe to the exegesis style of interpretation to ensure they are getting the correct meaning out of the Scriptures.