The woman and her children

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a unique, contrapuntal (i.e., dialectical) canon-hermeneutical approach to the interpretation of two passages previously unrelated in such a manner. For the first time, the conduct of biblical theology employs the Scriptures exclusively in Greek: the language of the earliest Christians, of their Bibles, sermons, liturgies, commentaries, and creeds. Both Testaments are attested by two of the earliest available comprehensive manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus (mid‑4th c.) and Codex Alexandrinus (mid-5th c). Another innovation of this essay lies in its using their deuterocanonical literature, whose books stand integrated by genre among the “Protocanonical” writings to this day in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox “lungs” of the historic Christian Church. Even some Protestants are cautiously engaging this material in an ecumenical spirit.