Scriptural Authority and Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age : God's Word Questioned

"An international conference which took place in Utrecht from 30 August to 1 September 2012, under the title 'God's Word Questioned: Biblical Criticism and Scriptural Authority in the Dutch Golden Age'. Page v.Scriptural Authority and Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age explores the hypothesis that in the long seventeenth century humanist-inspired biblical criticism contributed significantly to the decline of ecclesiastical truth claims. Historiography pictures this era as one in which the dominant position of religion and church began to show signs of erosion under the influence of vehement debates on the sacrosanct status of the Bible. Until quite recently, this gradual but decisive shift has been attributed to the rise of the sciences, in particular astronomy and physics. This authoritative volume looks at biblical criticism as an innovative force and as the outcome of developments in philology that had started much earlier than scientific experimentalism or the New Philosophy. Scholars began to situate the Bible in its historical context. The contributors show that even in the hands of pious, orthodox scholars philological research not only failed to solve all the textual problems that had surfaced, but even brought to light countless new incongruities. This supplied those who sought to play down the authority of the Bible with ammunition. The conviction that God's Word had been preserved as a pure and sacred source gave way to an awareness of a complicated transmission in a plurality of divergent, ambiguous, historically determined, and heavily corrupted texts. This shift took place primarily in the Dutch Protestant world of the seventeenth century. Cover......Page 1 Scriptural Authority and Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age: God’s Word Questioned......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Preface......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 12 Abbreviations......Page 14 List of Contributors......Page 16 BIBLICAL CRITICISM AS AN INNOVATIVE DISCIPLINE......Page 18 THEMES AND ISSUES......Page 22 GATHERING THE STRANDS......Page 29 1: Biblical Philology in the Long Seventeenth Century: New Orientations......Page 33 Biblical Philology......Page 34 Literary Conservatism......Page 40 Interconfessional Strife and the Status of the Bible......Page 45 The Epistemic Downgrading of Revealed Doctrines by Irenic Writers......Page 55 The Eccentric Position of Innovative Exegetes......Page 59 Dismantling the Divine Mesage: Thomas Hobes and Lodewijk Meyer......Page 63 The Bible Seen from Outside the Christian Tradition: Spinoza as a Biblical Critic......Page 68 By Way of Conclusion: An Evaluative Note......Page 73 Part I: Famous Cases of pia fraus......Page 76 2: The Johannine Comma from Erasmus to Westminster......Page 78 INTRODUCTION......Page 90 THE ‘VELESIAN READINGS’: THE SHORT VERSION......Page 92 THE ORIGIN OF THE ‘VELESIAN READINGS’......Page 93 THE SOURCES......Page 94 DISSEMINATION AND INCIDENTAL CRITICISM......Page 96 COMPLETE DEMISE......Page 100 WHAT DID FAJARDO WANT?......Page 102 CONCLUSION: LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES......Page 104 Part II: The Boundaries of Early Modern Orthodoxy Challenged......Page 106 INTRODUCTION......Page 108 JOSEPH SCALIGER: ‘I WISH I WERE A GOOD GRAMMARIAN’......Page 109 DANIEL HEINSIUS: BASHING BEZA AND HELPING HELLENISM......Page 113 HUGO GROTIUS: IRENICISM AND ECUMENISM......Page 118 THE EMBODIED BIBLICAL PHILOLOGIST......Page 123 5: The Naked Truth of Scripture: André Rivet between Bellarmine and Grotius......Page 126 Part III: The Bible in Early Modern Judaism......Page 148 PREAMBLE: THE RABBIS AND THE TEXT......Page 150 THE MORAL BIBLE OF EARLY MODERN ASHKENAZ......Page 152 SEPHARDI EXPERIENCE AS INTELLECTUAL PARADIGM......Page 154 (RE)JUDAIZING SCRIPTURE......Page 157 Defining the Stakes: The Da Costa–Da Silva Controversy......Page 159 Understanding the Law through the Law: Aboab’s Nomologia......Page 163 A Format in Search of Content: The Conciliador by Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel......Page 165 SUMMING UP: AUTHORITY, TRUTH, AND TEXT IN EARLY MODERN JUDAISM......Page 170 INTRODUCTION......Page 172 BIBLICAL CONTRADICTIONS AND INFALLIBILITY: JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN CONTEXTS......Page 175 MATHEMATICAL PRECISION, BIBLICAL INFALLIBILITY, AND THE ISRAELITE JUDGES......Page 181 THE GREATEST PROBLEM THAT THERE IS IN SCRIPTURE......Page 185 CONCLUSION: THE REVERBERATIONS OF JEWISH BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY......Page 189 Part IV: Benedictus de Spinoza: Ancestry and Heritage......Page 192 8: Spinoza’s Hermeneutics: Some Heretical Thoughts......Page 194 9: How Did Spinoza Declare War on Theology and Theologians?......Page 214 Part V: Innovative Exegesis by Remonstrant, Mennonite, and Other Liberal Thinkers......Page 234 Preliminary Remarks......Page 236 The Biblical Hermeneutics of van Limborch in the 1680s—Its Origins and Challenges......Page 239 Van Limborch’s Anti-Cocceian Position in the Late Work Commentarius in Acta apostolorum et in epistolas ad Romanos et Hebraeos......Page 246 The Circle of Recipients......Page 249 Conclusive remarks......Page 256 11: Pierre Bayle and Biblical Criticism......Page 257 Close to the Bible, Far from Criticism......Page 258 First Discoveries and Ambivalence......Page 260 Bayle Promoter of a ‘Simonian’ Biblical Criticism......Page 265 Bayle Practitioner of Criticism......Page 269 Conclusion......Page 272 12: Bayle, the Bible, and the Remonstrant Tradition at the Time of the Commentaire philosophique......Page 274 13: Witches and Forgers Anthonie van Dale on Biblical History and the Authority of the Septuagint......Page 287 An Experiment in Divining......Page 288 Into the Republic of Letters......Page 289 Libertines and Sceptics......Page 292 By the Book: Witches and Oracles......Page 295 Experiments with Witchcraft: Local Knowledge......Page 299 Medicine and Truth......Page 301 The Bounds of Friendship......Page 303 Honesty, Faith, and Forgery......Page 308 Van Dale’s Religion......Page 314 Publish or Perish......Page 317 Delay or Plagiarize: At Work on Aristeas......Page 319 Conclusion......Page 323 Part VI: Orthodox Reformed Exegetes Enter the Fray......Page 324 14: Biblical Criticism, Knowledge, and the First Commandment in Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676)......Page 326 BIBLICAL CRITICISM (CRITICA)......Page 327 BIBLICAL EXEGESIS AND SECULAR KNOWLEDGE......Page 333 THE ETHICS OF KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE: THE FIRST COMMANDMENT......Page 338 CONCLUSION......Page 340 INTRODUCTION......Page 342 COCCEJANISM AND SCRIPTURARIANISM......Page 344 SCRIPTURARIANISM CONTROVERSIAL......Page 348 ‘TO SAFEGUARD SCRIPTURE FROM THE ACCUSATION OF CORRUPTION’......Page 353 VAN LEENHOF: SCRIPTURARIAN TURNED SPINOZIST......Page 359 CONCLUDING REMARKS......Page 362 Part VII: Biblical Criticism in the Eighteenth Century......Page 366 16: The Bible as Secular Story: The Northern War and King Josias as Interpreted by Hermann von der Hardt (1660–1746)......Page 368 17: Critics of the Critics: Johann Scheuchzer and His Followers in Defence of the Biblical Miracle......Page 391 TOSTADO RIBERA Y MADRIGALAND THE SUN MIRACLE......Page 393 THE SUN MIRACLE DOUBTED......Page 396 SCHEUCHZER AND THE DEFENDERS OF THE MIRACLE......Page 399 SCHEUCHZER AS A TRENDSETTER OF PHYSICO-THEOLOGY......Page 405 CONCLUSION......Page 407 Bibliography......Page 410 Index Locorum Biblicorum......Page 448 Index of Names and Subjects......Page 450 Biblical Philology In The Long Seventeenth Century : New Orientations / Henk Nellen And Piet Steenbakkers -- The Johannine Comma From Erasmus To Westminster / Grantley Mcdonald -- Stronger Than Fiction : The Velesian Readings Of The Greek New Testament / Jan Krans -- The Janus Face Of Scaliger's Philological Heritage : The Biblical Annotations Of Heinsius And Grotius / Dirk Van Miert -- The Naked Truth Of Scripture : André Rivet Between Bellarmine And Grotius / Anthony Ossa-richardson -- God's Word Confirmed : Authority, Truth, And The Text Of The Early Modern Jewish Bible / David Kromhout And Irene E. Zwiep -- God's Word Defended : Menasseh Ben Israel, Biblical Chronology, And The Erosion Of Biblical Authority / Benjamin Fisher -- Spinoza's Hermeneutics : Some Heretical Thoughts / Anthony Grafton -- How Did Spinoza Declare War On Theology And Theologians? / Jonathan Israel -- The Biblical Hermeneutics Of Philip Van Limborch (1633-1712) And Its Intellectual Challenges / Ke̜stutis Daugirdas -- Pierre Bayle And Biblical Criticism / Jean Bernier -- Bayle, The Bible, And The Remonstrant Tradition At The Time Of The Commentaire Philosophique / Maria-cristina Pitassi -- Witches And Forgers : Anthonie Van Dale On Biblical History And The Authority Of The Septuagint / Scott Mandelbrote -- Biblical Criticism, Knowledge, And The First Commandment In Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676) / Aza Goudriaan -- Biblical Philology And Hermeneutical Debate In The Dutch Republic In The Second Half Of The Seventeenth Century / Jetze Touber -- The Bible As Secular Story : The Northern War And King Josias As Interpreted By Hermann Von Der Hardt (1660-1746) / Martin Mulsow -- Critics Of The Critics : Johann Scheuchzer And His Followers In Defence Of The Biblical Miracle / Bernd Roling. Edited By Dirk Van Miert, Henk Nellen, Piet Steenbakkers, Jetze Touber. The Book Is Based On An International Conference Which Took Place In Utrecht From 30 August To 1 September 2012, Under The Title 'god's Word Questioned : Biblical Criticism And Scriptural Authority In The Dutch Golden Age.'--page V. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 393-430) And Indexes. Did innovative textual analysis reshape the relations between Christian believers and their churches in early modern confessional states? Scriptural Authority and Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age explores the idea that in the long seventeenth century humanist-inspired biblical criticism contributed significantly to the decline of ecclesiastical truth claims. Historiography depicts this era as one in which the dominant position of religion and church began to show signs of erosion under the influence of vehement debates on the sacrosanct status of the Bible. Until recently, this gradual but decisive shift has been attributed to the rise of the sciences, in particular astronomy and physics. This collection looks at biblical criticism not only as an innovative force, but also as the outcome of developments in philology that had started much earlier than scientific experimentalism or the New Philosophy. Scholars began to situate the Bible in its historical context. An international team of contributors show that even in the hands of pious, orthodox scholars philological research not only failed to solve all the textual problems that had surfaced, but even brought to light countless new incongruities. This supplied those who sought to play down the authority of the Bible with ammunition. The conviction that God's Word had been preserved as a pure and sacred source gave way to an awareness of a complicated transmission in a plurality of ambiguous, historically determined, and heavily corrupted texts. This shift took place primarily in the Dutch Protestant world of the seventeenth century. Book jacket A collection of original essays on biblical criticism and the process of secularization in the Netherlands during the long seventeenth century, as advances in the field of philology drew into question the authority of Scripture. __Scriptural Authority and Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age__