Contents

List of Tables XIV

Abbreviations XV

I Introduction

1 “Wicked Interpreters of Well-Said Words”

2 Valentinian Exegesis of Apostolic Texts

3 The Valentinian Corpus and Some Notes on Nomenclature

4 Biblical Studies and Reception History

5 Chapter Overview

II Irenaeus, the Valentinians, and the Rhetoric of Interpretation

1 Introduction

2 Valentinus is the New Marcion

3 Irenaeus’ “Hypothesis” and “Rule of Truth”

4 Evidence of Irenaeus’ Rhetorical Training

4.1 External Evidence from Recent Research on Greco-Roman Paideia

4.2 Internal Evidence from Adversus Haereses

5 Influence of Rhetorical Education on Irenaean Exegesis

5.1 The Process of Inventio, or, Treasure Hidden in a Field

5.2 Irenaeus’ Description of the Valentinian “Method”

5.3 The Utility of the Parabole

5.4 The Clarity and Obscurity of Scripture

6 Conclusion

III Soteriological and Paraenetic Interpretations of The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 Introduction

2 The Parable of the Lost Sheep: Gospel Contexts

2.1 The Parable in the Gospel of Matthew

2.2 The Parable in the Gospel of Luke

2.3 Gospel Contexts: Conclusions

2.4 Excursus: The Lost Sheep in the Gospel of Thomas

3 Crossbreeding Passages, Parables, and Pictures

4 A Spectrum of Early Christian Interpretation

5 Irenaeus’ Interpretations of the Parable

5.1 The Salvation of Adam in Haer. 3.18–23

5.2 Salvation in the Eternal Present in Haer. 5.9–12

6 The Black Sheep: The Fallen Sophia of the Ptolemaeans in Haer. 1.1–8

6.1 Some Questions of Framing

6.2 The Lost Sheep as the Fallen Sophia

7 Counting Sheep: Marcosian Gematrical Speculations in Haer. 1.13–21

8 We Are the Ninety-Nine: Participatory Soteriology in the Gospel of Truth

8.1 Literary Dependence Upon the Gospel of Matthew

8.2 Interpretation

9 Conclusion

IV Pure and Hybridized Strains of the Parable of the Sower

1 Introduction

2 The Parable of the Sower: Gospel Contexts

3 The Hearer As “The Good Soil”: Interpretations On Spiritual Reflection

3.1 Ptolemy’s Epistle to Flora

3.2 Clement’s Stromata

4 The Hearer as “The Good Seed”: Interpretations On Religious Diversity

4.1 The Parable of the Tares: Gospel Contexts

4.2 The Interpretation of Knowledge

4.3 Tertullian’s De Praescriptione Haereticorum

5 Conclusion

V The Divisions of the Law in the Epistle to Flora and Haer. 4.12–15

1 Introduction

2 The Divine Law

3 The Law Added By Moses

3.1 Ptolemy’s Use of Matthew 19.8

3.2 The Divorce Sayings in their Gospel and Historical Contexts

3.3 Flora and the Woman of 2 Apology 2

3.4 The Divorce Controversy in Second-Century Cosmological Debate

4 The Tradition of the Elders

4.1 The Korban Pericope In Its Gospel and Historical Contexts

4.2 Ptolemy’s Citation of the Korban Pericope

4.3 Ptolemy’s Exegesis of the Korban Pericope

4.4 Irenaeus’ Citation and Exegesis of the Korban Pericope

5 Conclusion

6 Appendix

VI Conclusion

1 Heretical and Orthodox Exegesis, According to Irenaeus

2 Valentinian and Patristic Exegesis, In Actuality

2.1 Parallel Deviations from the Synoptic Meaning of the Text

2.2 Multiple Traditions of Interpretation

2.3 A Heretic May Be the More Conservative Exegete

2.4 Tessera Rearrangement

2.5 Allegorical Interpretation of the New Testament

2.6 Valentinian Contributions to Christian Hermeneutics and Theology

3 Notes on the Valentinian Movement

3.1 Valentinian Ethics and Ecclesiology

3.2 Valentinian Cosmogony

3.3 The Decline of the Valentinian Movement

4 The Canonization History of the Gospel of Matthew

5 Closing Remarks

Bibliography

1 Primary Sources

1.1 Editions and translations of Valentinian sources

1.2 Editions and translations of Irenaeus

1.3 Editions and translations of other early Christian and Jewish sources

1.4 Loeb Classical Library

2 Secondary Sources

Index of Ancient Sources

Index of Subjects