{"title":"初级错误:保罗和亚历山大的克莱门特中的哲学家、偶像崇拜者和τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου","authors":"Brayden Hirsch","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10090","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nHistorically, interpreters of Gal. 4 have found the literal sense of τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου, “the elements of the world” to be unintelligible in context. Although a compelling Pauline vision of enslavement to these στοιχεῖα has remained elusive, this paper argues that it is possible to recapture that vision with recourse to the traditional usage of the phrase in ancient Greek philosophical literature. By examining one of the earliest extant quotations of Gal. 4 – i.e., that of Clement of Alexandria in his Protrepticus (c.190 CE) – and the philosophical language with which Clement associates Paul’s στοιχεῖα, this paper argues that Paul uses the phrase τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου according to its meaning in the ancient philosophical Sondersprache. Because an ambiguity between matter and divinity already characterized ancient philosophical thought about στοιχεῖα, Paul’s “elements” need not be either “cosmological” or “principial” (as most previous interpreters have thought), but both.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Elementary Errors: Philosophers, Idolaters, and τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου in Paul and Clement of Alexandria\",\"authors\":\"Brayden Hirsch\",\"doi\":\"10.1163/15700720-bja10090\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"\\nHistorically, interpreters of Gal. 4 have found the literal sense of τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου, “the elements of the world” to be unintelligible in context. Although a compelling Pauline vision of enslavement to these στοιχεῖα has remained elusive, this paper argues that it is possible to recapture that vision with recourse to the traditional usage of the phrase in ancient Greek philosophical literature. By examining one of the earliest extant quotations of Gal. 4 – i.e., that of Clement of Alexandria in his Protrepticus (c.190 CE) – and the philosophical language with which Clement associates Paul’s στοιχεῖα, this paper argues that Paul uses the phrase τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου according to its meaning in the ancient philosophical Sondersprache. Because an ambiguity between matter and divinity already characterized ancient philosophical thought about στοιχεῖα, Paul’s “elements” need not be either “cosmological” or “principial” (as most previous interpreters have thought), but both.\",\"PeriodicalId\":44928,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.3000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-05-06\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10090\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"哲学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"0\",\"JCRName\":\"RELIGION\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10090","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
Elementary Errors: Philosophers, Idolaters, and τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου in Paul and Clement of Alexandria
Historically, interpreters of Gal. 4 have found the literal sense of τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου, “the elements of the world” to be unintelligible in context. Although a compelling Pauline vision of enslavement to these στοιχεῖα has remained elusive, this paper argues that it is possible to recapture that vision with recourse to the traditional usage of the phrase in ancient Greek philosophical literature. By examining one of the earliest extant quotations of Gal. 4 – i.e., that of Clement of Alexandria in his Protrepticus (c.190 CE) – and the philosophical language with which Clement associates Paul’s στοιχεῖα, this paper argues that Paul uses the phrase τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου according to its meaning in the ancient philosophical Sondersprache. Because an ambiguity between matter and divinity already characterized ancient philosophical thought about στοιχεῖα, Paul’s “elements” need not be either “cosmological” or “principial” (as most previous interpreters have thought), but both.
期刊介绍:
Vigiliae Christianae contains articles and short notes of an historical, cultural, linguistic or philological nature on early Christian literature written after the New Testament, as well as on Christian epigraphy and archaeology. Church and dogmatic history are dealt with as they relate to social history; Byzantine and medieval literature are treated as far as they exhibit continuity with the early Christian period. ● Leading journal in its field. ● Extensive book review section giving a critical analysis of other titles related to the field.