Heb. 7, 3: Argumentum ex silentio in the Light of Early Jewish Exegesis
https://doi.org/10.31802/BCA.2021.12.4.004
Abstract
The present article is dedicated to the exegetical argument based on silence or «argumentum ex silentio». In early Judaic hermeneutics a silence of the Scripture was regarded as the basis for a statement that a thing had never happened if it wasn’t mentioned. This method plays an important role in Hebrews argument on the superiority of Jesus’s priesthood over that of Levitical. At the same time, it isn’t quite clear for those who aren’t aware of early Judaic hermeneutics and needs a special consideration. In the following article I analyze some early Judaic exegetical texts (Midrash «Genesis Rabba», Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Philo’s tract «On Flight and Finding» and Midrash «Tanchuma») using the argument based on silence in order to make a context of Heb. 7, 3 clearer. Thereafter the features of the argument of Heb. 7, 3 are examined in the light of rabbinical texts and Philo of Alexandria.
About the Author
E. Y. Kolodniy
Saint-Petersburg Theological Academy
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Eugene Y. Kolodniy, MA in Theology PhD student
17, Naberezhnaya Obvodnogo Kanala, Saint-Petersburg 191167
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Review
For citations:
Kolodniy E.Y. Heb. 7, 3: Argumentum ex silentio in the Light of Early Jewish Exegesis. Bible and Christian Antiquity. 2021;(4):92-110. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31802/BCA.2021.12.4.004
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