This volume examines the early Church's methods of theological argumentation concerning the metaphorical texts of the Bible. Ps 45 presents some of the oldest biblical evidence for the divinity of Christ and was often cited in christological and trinitarian controversies.
In the 4th century the conflict between the traditional interpretation of the Church and linguistic methods erupted. In the course of the debate with Arian exegesis the significance of metaphor and the possibility of speaking of God were conceived anew.
This study is based on dogmatic, exegetical and spiritual texts ranging from Justin to Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret of Cyrus. It shows how the various forms of argumentation interact: how scholarly theology was mediated through preaching, and pastoral and catechetical interests affected christological reflection.