This superb study of early Christian interpretations of Genesis 1–3 fills a major gap in the literature. It traces several themes from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament through the second-century Christian apologists, Irenaeus and Origen, to the fourth-century Cappadocians. Bouteneff uses the first three crucial chapters of the Bible as a case study, enabling him to trace the origins and growth of early Christian methods of interpretation. He shows that Genesis 1–3 was largely ignored in the Hebrew Bible, though Jewish inter-testamental writers focused on them, providing several different interpretations of Adam and paradise. In the New Testament, especially Paul's letters, Adam appears as a contrast to Jesus Christ, who inaugurated the new humanity. Beginning in the New Testament itself, early Christians used typology and allegory to make connections between Old Testament figures and events on the one hand and Christ on the other, to show him as the center of history. Early Christian interpreters and theologians, following the lead of the New Testament, developed these methods extensively. Yet, they also took literal meanings seriously. Their biblical interpretations generally emphasized moral paraenesis and Christology. A counterexample, the second-century apologist Theophilus of Antioch rejected typological exegesis and never mentioned Christ. Bouteneff sees these two absences are closely connected (73).
Yet, as Bouteneff shows, early Christian methods of interpretation are more complex and varied than simple typology. Irenaeus highlights his signature concept of recapitulation. The book quotes Eric Osborn as identifying eleven ideas as combined in this key concept (78). The chapter on Origen, the seminal exegete and theologian, is at the book's center, as he stands between the second-century beginnings of Christian reflection and the Cappadocians. Bouteneff's summary of Origen's methods of interpretation and his many-layered readings of Genesis are masterful and up-to-date.
One of this book's many strengths is that, while depicting a broad consensus in the contours of early Christian exegetical methodology, it highlights how each of the authors studied and approached scripture in a distinctive way. For instance, the writings of Gregory of Nazianzus “are peppered throughout with biblical references, applied with or without regard to their context, literally, allegorically, typologically” (141). Yet, Gregory of Nyssa focuses on points in scripture that interest him theologically while ignoring other points. Thus, “he fixates on the geometry of the trees of Eden,” asking which is at the midpoint of the garden, “and ignores the component of ‘knowledge’ so central to the scriptural account” (154).
The book, like the early Christian readings of Genesis that it studies, has multiple levels of meaning. With exemplary clarity, it skillfully traces and interweaves several narratives, one of which is the history of early Christian biblical interpretation. Besides this, it introduces the reader to major early Christian theologians. It also summarizes their writings on Genesis 1–3. A noteworthy example is Gregory of Nyssa's treatise On the Hexaemeron, which has not yet been translated into English (133–36). Yet, Bouteneff's book is not only an introduction but it also contains many insights of interest to specialists. His original synthesis of Gregory's rather difficult anthropology is a good example.
Bouteneff traces several themes in the Genesis narrative throughout the book. Interpretations of Genesis 1 emphasize the wonder of God's creative work. Paradise is understood in different ways, but there is little speculation on its character; instead, early Christians look toward the eschaton. Adam often represents every human being, as in Gregory of Nazianzus, for whom “Adam is us” (144). Yet, he also plays an important genealogical role.
The descriptive material in this book is an end in itself, worth reading repeatedly and pondering. There may be some mistakes, since in a work of such broad scope a few errors of detail are perhaps inevitable. For instance, Ephrem the Syrian was a contemporary of Gregory of Nazianzus, not a “later figure” (174), though these two gifted poets lived in different cultural worlds.
However, Bouteneff draws two conclusions significant for contemporary theological discussions. First, early Christians were not concerned about the number of days creation took. The time in which God's creative work occurs is mysterious and surely functions differently from the time we humans know. In fact, Irenaeus speaks of a backward causality, in which humankind was made in the image of Christ incarnate. Early Christians really identified him as the beginning. From this perspective, Bouteneff concludes, there need be no conflict between Genesis 1–3 and modern science. Moreover, the story of Adam and Eve can teach us about our human condition, whether or not we regard them as historical figures. Second, though Adam's sinfulness was an example of human sinfulness in general, all the writers studied in the book, including especially Paul, affirm human freedom and hold each person accountable for his or her own sins. The Latin mistranslation of Romans 5:12 and Augustine's interpretation in terms of “original sin” can thus be bypassed in a theology drawing from the rich earlier history Bouteneff depicts. The Greek writers he studies do not hold that later humans inherit Adam's sin, though they do affirm that death is inherited from him.
