Defending the Trinity in the Reformed Palatinate: The Elohistae

by Benjamin R. Merkle

Overview

This study begins with an examination of Girolamo Zanchi's De Tribus Elohim (1572), setting this important defense of the doctrine of the Trinity in the immediate context of the recent rise of antitrinitarianism within the Reformed Palatinate. De Tribus Elohim focused on the grammatical peculiarity of the Hebrew word Elohim (God) in order to refute the biblicism of its contemporary antitrinitarians. In doing so, Zanchi's argument followed an exegetical thread common within the late medieval case for the doctrine of the Trinity, but which ran contrary to the exegetical sensibilities of many of Zanchi's own Reformed colleagues. This disagreement over the correct interpretation of the word Elohim, then became a touchstone for distinguishing between two different approaches to the Hebrew text with the Reformed Church of the late sixteenth century, and becomes a significant piece in understanding the development of Reformed exegesis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191068102
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	11/12/2015
Series:	Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Benjamin R Merkle is a Fellow of Theology and Classical Languages at New Saint Andrews College, in Moscow, Idaho.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Beware of Calvinism
1. How Many Elohim? Reformed Exegesis and the Challenge of Antitrinitarianism
2. The Example of Heidelberg
3. Girolamo Zanchi
4. De Tribus Elohim
5. The Hunnius / Pareus Debate
6. Franciscus Junius and Johannes Drusius
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"Merkle's careful analysis of Zanchi's De Tribus Elohim and its reception may serve as a helpful introduction to the variegated 'world of Reformed exegesis.' Defending the Trinity is recommended for readers interested in the history of scriptural interpretation and the development of trinitarian theology within the early modern Reformed tradition."—Brent A. Rempel, Reading Religion

From the Publisher