The Pastoral Usefulness of Female Scriptural Speech in Origen of Alexandria

Abstract

In this article, I wish to build on the little work previously done on the theme of Origen and women by focusing on Origen’s exegetical treatment of the speech uttered by a selection of female scriptural characters. I focus on their speech as a way of applying the observations made by Mark Randall James in his 2021 monograph, Learning the Language of Scripture: Origen, Wisdom, and the Logic of Interpretation, concerning one of Origen’s primary exegetical goals, namely, to teach his pastoral-exegetical audience to become those who speak the words of scripture. I therefore focus on Origen’s exegetical treatment of Mary and Elizabeth in his Homilies on Luke, the mother of the 7 martyrs in his Exhortation to Martyrdom, the Samaritan woman at the well in the Commentary on John, the Canaanite woman in the Commentary on Matthew, and finally the bride of the Song of Songs in the Commentary on the Song of Songs. I demonstrate that Origen’s approach to this female scriptural speech was textured and complex. In some cases, Origen was not prepared to provide fitting contexts in which their words might be spoken by his audience, but in others, he could be found teaching his audience to use female characters’ words as exemplary prayers, as words of encouragement in the face of a situation that may lead to martyrdom, as exemplary modes of proclaiming Christ, and even in difficult exegetical contexts. This focus on female utterances in the scriptural record allows us to see how thoroughly pastoral was Origen’s exegesis, thus moving us beyond the idea that Origen used “the feminine” only for the sake of understanding complex theological and philosophical ideas.

Keywords

• origen of alexandria
• exegesis
• biblical women