This article examines two of the several passages by Jerome concerning the “dignityµ ("dignitas") bestowed on human souls upon creation, with the aim of assessing the degree to which Jerome’s way of dealing with his Greek exegetical predecessors is reflected in his understanding of human dignity. Jerome’s exegesis of Isaiah 51:12–13 and Ecclesiastes 3:18–21 will be compared to the interpretation of the same biblical verses offered by Eusebius of Caesarea and Didymus the Blind, respectively. This comparison will shed light on (...) the theological motivations of Jerome’s discourse on human dignity. (shrink)

Sara Contini examines a crucial junction in the history of the idea of universal human dignity. She argues that a key role was played by Latin authors of the 4th century who mediated between the traditional Roman notion of dignitas and Greek Christian views on the human being made in the image of God. -/- This work has been awarded the prize for outstanding excellence in a doctoral dissertation for the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bristol in 2022/23.

This study seeks to contribute to a definition of ‘human being’ according to Early Christian authors, particularly Jerome. This article addresses this inquiry by examining the interpretations provided by Jerome of passages in Scripture where human sinners are likened to animals, such as Ps 48, 13 LXX («Human beings, when they were in honour, did not understand; they were compared to mindless mules, and have become like them»).

In his Homilies on Judges, Origen deals with the biblical narrative of the cyclical abandonment and renewal of the covenant between God and his people: the Israelites neglect their pact (διαθήκη, Judg. 2:1) with God, and God hands them over to their enemies; this punishment serves an educational purpose, as it prompts the Israelites to pray to God to raise a new leader amongst them. The heroes of the Book of Judges, such as Ehud or Gideon, are interpreted by Origen (...) as mediators between humanity and heaven, in light of his notion of the journey of the human soul from the slavery of sin back to the triumph in Christ. This paper intends to investigate passages from the homilies where Origen, in Rufinus’ translation, reflects on the relationship between God and his children, and on the role of these coercive mediators who facilitate this connection, by employing an effective communication style based on powerful oppositions as a form of “hard power.”. (shrink)

In his commentary on Psalm 118(LXX):73a, “Your hands made me and fashioned me” (Tract.118Ps. 10.1–8), Hilary of Poitiers provides a unique perspective on the creation of humanity and on its exceptional dignity. I will examine key aspects of Hilary’s exegesis of this verse, namely, the identification of the hands of God, the interpretation of the two verbs “made” and “fashioned”, and the connections with Genesis 1:26 and 2:7. I will also compare Hilary’s interpretation of Ps 118:73a to the views expressed (...) by other authors such as Theophilus, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Ambrose, and Didymus, with the purpose of contextualising Hilary’s novel understanding of human dignity within the larger framework of Early Christian interpretations of Genesis. (shrink)

The paper discusses Jerome’s attack against the belief that human beings share the same substance as the heavenly powers and even as the Trinity, according to the dignity (dignitas) of the soul: in polemical texts such as Ep. 124.14, Jerome attributes this belief to Origen. Jerome’s intent clearly to demarcate the difference in nature between human and divine beings is also reflected in his exegetical writings, especially when dealing with Psalm 81, where human beings are addressed as “gods.” The paper (...) investigates Jerome’s understanding of the dignitas of humanity as it emerges from his Homily on Psalm 81: the comparison with Origen’s own passages on Psalm 81 reveals that Jerome closely follows Origen’s exegetical argument. However, through a careful definition of human dignitas Jerome intentionally distances himself from Origen when it comes to associating human beings with immortal beings, most notably Christ. (shrink)