L11 Monasteries and manuscripts
A key role in the history of Christianity and the story of the Bible was the part played by monasteries. Intentional religious communities organized around worship and dedicated to a life of full discipleship, monastics formed monasteries in Syria and Egypt in the first century. The form was often ascetical in the East. In the west following the example of John Cassian and Benedict of Nursia, monasticism was coenobitic – the emphasis was on the common life more than on the individual.
Attentive to prayer and work, Saint Benedict constructed a rule of life that is still followed by many Christians living “in the world”. Monastic schools taught grammar and rhetoric, and existed as relative islands of literacy in a fragile civilization, especially during the dark ages.
As some communities grew, they formed small cities where biblical manuscripts were copied and stored.
Benedictine monks sought to live a life imitating the apostolic church described in Acts 2 and 4. Obedience to the Rule and abbot, sharing possessions, devoted to prayer and radical discipleship the monks kept the monastic hours. Lay brothers often made simple vows with less demanding hours, but were able to participate in worship and work within the community.
The 8 “hours” of common prayer: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline prayed the Psalms (the entire Psalter was recited each week). New Testament canticles were part of Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. During Matins, there was a sermon or teaching on some text of scripture. Daily celebration of the Eucharist was part of the day. Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) of scripture or other religious writings was a part of contemplation and prayer.
The life of worship and prayer demanded multiple copies of the Psalters, lectionaries, music for singing the Psalms, and other portion of the liturgy. Thus they copied by hand the manuscripts, the scriptures in both Latin and Greek well into the 17th century even after the printing press was invented. Thus Monasteries were repositories of manuscripts and books.
The monastic scriptorium provided a setting for artistic expression. Interpretations of biblical texts were developed in literary forms of antiphons and responses e.g. the musical expression of Gregorian Chant. Scribes also drew elaborate illustrations in the texts as we saw in the Book of Kells.
L12 Interpretation within Judaism
Jewish interpretation of the Bible continued through the medieval period, shaped in part by conditions of diaspora existence in a Christian world. Remember Christianity became the official state religion in 313 under Constantine. Where Judaism was officially recognized prior to 313 as a tolerated religion, after the Edict of Milan, this changed. Jews were not allowed participation in economic or political life and had no public religious role.
First Crusade 1095 forward put the Jews in danger of persecution from Christians. Therefore, Jews formed strong communities as a matter of self-protection and encouraged worship and study of God’s word.
Bible reading followed the Pharisee ideals of Oral Torah and interpreted in Talmud. The Jewish interpretations were no doubt influenced by the suppersessionist tendencies of Christian biblical interpretation.
Not unlike the monastic community, the synagogue provided a social setting of worship and bible study. There were three times of formal daily worship: morning, afternoon and evening.
Morning worship focused on passages of the Psalms, leading to Kaddish (doxology), benedictions praising God for creation, the gift of Torah and faithfulness; and the profession of faith (shema) drawn from scripture. The prayers followed , reading from Torah, and ending with prayers.
Scrolls stored in the synagogue gave the building a place of study, for rabbis and students. Many synagogues had attached chambers in which manuscripts were stored and study, writing, and other scholastic work could be done.
Bible study focused on the Hebrew text in the tradition of Talmudic study: examination of the literal and applied sense of the text. Some rabbis wrote commentaries on the Bible, some in countering Christian messianic claims, some on more philosophical, ethical, and moral teachings within Judaism.
Some scholars sought a deeper meaning to Scripture as the basis for a mystical way of life. In the 2nd century CE, there was a form of mysticism based on speculation about the mekavah (heavenly throne chariot) described by Ezechiel, that spawned a Jewish-Gnostic literature based on “heavenly places.” Another form of Jewish mysticism flourished in Germany and later in Spain where Jewish rabbis wrote books showing how to read torah in mystical terms.