RT Article
T1 Understanding Origen: The Genre(s) of the Gospels in Light of Ancient Greek Philology and Modern Genre Theory

JF Scrinium
VO 12
IS 1
SP 181
OP 214
A1 Berglund, Carl Johan
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2016
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1561897779
AB The reflections of Origen of Alexandria (ca. 185–254 CE) concerning the nature of the New Testament Gospels may be better understood if viewed in relation to a scheme of standard introductory questions used by ancient Greek philologists in their commentaries on classical Greek literature. While this scheme did not include questions about the form or genre of the writings to be analyzed, Origen repeatedly added such reflections when he adapted the scheme in his commentaries on biblical writings. These reflections inform us of his expectations of the Gospels. Using a modern concept of genre as a system of expectations shared between author and reader, and frequently intended to shape the worldview of the readers, Origen’s views of the nature of the Gospels can be expressed as their simultaneous participation in two genres: Christian teaching and ancient historiography.

K1 Origen of Alexandria
 : exegetical methodology
 : Greek philology
 : genre
 : gospel
 : ancient historiography

DO 10.1163/18177565-00121p11