From the first centuries of its existence, the Church has interpreted the historical events recounted in the Old Testament as being "types" or "figures" of the events of the New Testament and of the sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ. Jean Cardinal Danielou, one of the foremost Catholic scholars of the twentieth century, and a theologian especially concerned with the relationship between history and the Christian revelation, examines in this book the typological interpretation of the Fathers of the Church and their contemporaries during the first three centuries of the Christian era. Among examples he discusses are the crossing of the Jordan by the Israelites as a type of baptism, Rahab as a type of the Church, and the fall of Jericho as a figure of the end of the world. The complex interpretations of Adam, the flood, and the sacrifice and marriage of Isaac are also described in full and commented on. The work is divided into five books entitled "Adam in Paradise," "Noah and the Flood," "The Sacrifice of Isaac," "Moses and the Exodus," and "The Cycle of Joshua". Each book is divided into chapters discussing the various types and the interpretations of Irenaeus, Clement, Gregory of Nyssa and their contemporaries, including Philo. (Ex Fontibus Co.)
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Unknown Binding
Danielou's examination of how the early church fathers interpreted the Old Testament is a book of uneven quality in my opinion. I waffled on whether to give the book 3 or 4 stars, so 3.5 is probably what it deserves. The book lays out in detail several examples of Old Testament typology, focusing on the first 6 books of the Bible, Genesis through Joshua. Typology is essentially the study of how Old Testament people, places, themes, and events foreshadow or outline New Testament realities in a prophetic or 'typical' way. For example the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites is a type of the future reality of Baptism, whereby Christians are washed clean from their slavery to sin (cf. slavery in Egypt). The actual content and interpretations in typology that Danielou provides is quite good. I especially enjoyed the section on Rahab as a type of the Church, and the comparision of Adam and Christ. The parts of the book that really dragged, and were uninteresting was Danielou's rather wordy descriptions of what the church father's meant, and the sections that dealt with allegories. It was helpful, however, that Danielou spent some time distinguishing allegory (which he rejects) and the hermeneutics of typology. But, he did this multiple times, and the example of the allegory of the ark should have been enough to get his point across. Overall I enjoyed the insight that came from quoting his sources, but I didn't find Danielou's commentary very interesting. Some chapters on allegory in particular are worth skipping altogether.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Biblical typology is almost a lost art to many Christians who are unfamiliar with the writings of the early Church Fathers or the great Saints of the Middle Ages, all of whom were steeped in the mystical tradition. It was critical to the early Church Fathers to demonstrate the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah which fill the Old Testament and to show how the "types" of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the sacraments given to the Church by Christ. Some examples are the Mystagogical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem or De Mysteriis and De Sacramentis by St. Ambrose. It is also important to recognize that understanding the liturgy more fully is not possible without understanding the biblical typology upon which it rests.
Origen and the Alexandrian School of Scriptural interpretation especially brought out the spiritual richness of the developing tradition, which goes back to the Jewish scholar Philo. However, even the more literally focused Antioch School spoke of types, though their interpretation differed. For example, the Antiochian school saw the water from the rock in the desert as a type of Eucharist (which comes from the Pauline tradition), while the Alexandrian school saw it as a type of Baptism (from the Johannine tradition). Yet as Danielou notes "we meet an agreement of all schools upon the fundamental types." Thus, he can conclude, "This proves that we are face to face with something which is part and parcel of the deposit of Revelation."
The chapters tell the story of the richness of the biblical typology presented, which only skims the surface of all that the Scriptures hold: Book I: Adam and Paradise; Book II: Noah and the Flood; Book III: The Sacrifice of Isaac; Book IV: Moses and the Exodus; Book V: The Cycle of Joshua. Cardinal Danielou does not have time to explore the history of the origins of typological exegesis but what he gives us is rich fare indeed. This receives my highest recommendation for those seeking to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ.
Origen and the Alexandrian School of Scriptural interpretation especially brought out the spiritual richness of the developing tradition, which goes back to the Jewish scholar Philo. However, even the more literally focused Antioch School spoke of types, though their interpretation differed. For example, the Antiochian school saw the water from the rock in the desert as a type of Eucharist (which comes from the Pauline tradition), while the Alexandrian school saw it as a type of Baptism (from the Johannine tradition). Yet as Danielou notes "we meet an agreement of all schools upon the fundamental types." Thus, he can conclude, "This proves that we are face to face with something which is part and parcel of the deposit of Revelation."
The chapters tell the story of the richness of the biblical typology presented, which only skims the surface of all that the Scriptures hold: Book I: Adam and Paradise; Book II: Noah and the Flood; Book III: The Sacrifice of Isaac; Book IV: Moses and the Exodus; Book V: The Cycle of Joshua. Cardinal Danielou does not have time to explore the history of the origins of typological exegesis but what he gives us is rich fare indeed. This receives my highest recommendation for those seeking to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ.
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