Aufsätze /Essays

The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke in the Expositio evangelii

secundum Lucam of Ambrose and in the In Lucae evangelium
expositio of Bede as observed in the Figure of Elisabeth
by Gillian Bonney

I. Introduction: "Status Quaestionis"

The centuries which separate Ambrose from Bede seem to many scholars
to be dominated by the brilliancy of Jerome, the importance of Augustine
and the dignity of Gregory. The figure of the bishop which had such
influence on the High Medieval Church seems to have very little connec-
tion for many people, with Bede the monk. Ambrose of Milan holds more
interest for those who are intent on perceiving his political and theological
role in the Arian dispute and the various conflicts betweeen the Church
and the Emperors. In recent years, greater attention has been paid to
Ambrose's biblical exegesis but the ever-recurrent accusation of scarce
originality tends to orientate scholars more towards discussing his literary
and philosophical sources rather than his theological objectives 1•
Bede on the other hand, has often aroused more interest for his work
as a historian than an exegete. While there is a certain tendency in recent
schotarship to evaluate Bede's political astuteness, at the same time the
author is censured for his evident reliance on manifold literary sources

An example of this interest in the political and historical aspects of Ambrose's life can be
seen in the work of N.B. McLynn, Ambrose of Milan. Church and Court in a Christian
Capital, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London 1994, 377: "The real Ambrose will in any case
elude us" and in the work of D.H. Williams, Ambrose of Milan and the End of the
Nicene-Arian Conflicts, Oxford 1995. lnterest in the exegesis of Ambrose was renewed
with the publication by H. Savon, Saint Ambroise devant l'exegese de Phiion le juif 1-2,
Paris 1977, and that of L.F. Pizzolato, La dottrina esegetica di sant' Ambrogio, SPMed
9, Milano 1978 which is in defence of his originality. As regards the charge of little
originality an adequate reply is provided by M. Sirnonetri in Lettera e/o allegoria. Un
contributo alla storia dell'esegesi patristica, SEAug 23, Roma 1985 (271-280) 271:
"Quanto poi all' originalita di cui Ambrogio da prova nei confronti della fonte, essa puo
interessare lo storico della letteratura ma non dell' esegesi." For the most recent review
of the entire question G. Visona, In cerca di sant' Ambrogio, La rivista del clero italiano
78, 1997, (737-755) 738: "Al termine di queste letture, infatti, si rimane colpiti da quanto
siano cantrastanti le interpretazioni della figura di sant' Ambrogio, sia nella valutazione
complessiva della sua personalita sia nell' apprezzamento delle singole sue componenti,
come Ia preparazione culturale, lo spessore teologico, il ruolo politico, Ia capacita
pastorale, Ia qualita dell'esegesi, le doti letterarie, l'afflato spirituale."

ZAC, vol. 5, pp. 50-64

© Waltee de Gruyter 2001
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 51

which derive from other authors 2 • Originality, it must be always kept in

mind, a fairly recent literary criterion, was certainly not our two authors'
main preoccupation. For the marginal glosses, the many original texts
taken from other authors which are to be found in Bede's biblical exegesis,
were for him the seal of the authority under which he placed his entire
life's work as a teacher in the Church 3•
In fact both Ambrose and Bede possessed the common objective of
preserving the doctrina certa a sound doctrine of the message in the best
possible way for those who listened to them. The centuries and the figures
of other Christian authors which separate these two important exegetes
have perhaps prevented us from perceiving how the kerygmatic force of
the Gospel of Luke actually provides the link between these two Fathers
of the Church.
It is the precise scope of this article, that is to say within the Iimits
provided by such a medium, to attempt to indicate how some fundamental
points of Ambrose's exegesis of the Gospel of Luke are to be traced in
Bede's work. If our enquiry may adopt the basic assumption that the
female figures which abound in this Gospel provide an integral part of
both Ambrose's and Bede's approach to the kerygma of the evangelist, our
enquiry must of necessity begin here. However the scrupulous examina-
tion of all the pertinent texts would be beyond the scope of this work. The
pericopes to be examined will therefore be restricted to those concerning
the biblical figure Elisabeth since for our purposes this figure is of extreme
importance for a wider comprehension of the texts.

II. Ambrose and his Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam

The Gospel of Luke, it may be postulated, is directed to Christians who

are the true Israel and as such appears as a call for radical decisions in the
person of Jesus Christ. Luke certainly wrote for Christians in order to
reassure them of the foundation of what had been taught to them, but this
intention does not completely exclude the possibility that non-Christians,
the gentes, who remained faithful to the religio antiqua, also read Luke
Acts orthat it was not originally written for them. Thus God, who offered
salvation to His people in the Old Testament, continues to do so in the
person of Jesus Christ and the Church. The history of salvation continues
and Christians must testify to this in their Jives. However even those men
and women of Judea, together with the non-Jews who refuse Christ do not

2 N.G. Higham, An English Empire, Manchester 1995, 15. An objective view of Bede's
exegesis can now be observed in A. Holder, The Venerable Bede on the Mysteries of
Salvation, ABenR 42, 1991, 140-162. J.F. Kelly, On the Brink . Bede, JECS 5, 1997, 85-
103.
3 Bed., in Luc. prol. (CChr.SL 120, 7 Hurst).
52 Gillian Bonney

belong to the true Israel 4 , since all who reject Christ are not part of this
new people. Such an interpretation may give us some insight into both
authors' basic assumptions in their approach to the text.
Recent schotarship has focused more attention on Ambrose's theologi-
cal objectives, that is to say the reasons for which he decided to concen-
trate his homiletic exegesis on the Gospel of Luke, and the question is still
being debated. lt has also recently been suggested that the centre of his
hermeneutical procedure is not that of drawing the Old Testament to-
wards the New but to the contraryS. lt is moreover highly significant that
the bishop should have chosen the Gospel of Luke of all the New Testa-
ment books as the basis of his homiletic catechesis to his variegated and
cosmopolitan congregations of both Christians and pagans, the gentes of
fourth century Milan. Ambrose, like Luke, is clearly explaining the mes-
sage of salvation in Christ to people of different religious backgrounds.
Ambrose hirnself in the Prologue emphasises the fact, that in Luke Jesus
is depicted as the calf and the calf is the priestly victim who comes to save
mankind 6 • The third Gospel above all narrates the sacrificium sacerdotale
of Jesus Chrisr7. Its other great merit is its historical style8 • In antiquity the
historian like the orator had to reconstruct the facts on the basis of
testimonies and elements of proof which might testify to the serious nature
of his basic proposition. History, we must remember, was intimately
connected to the rhetorical technique of communication 9 • Thucydides for
example, in his search for the cause of the dispute which had broken out
between Athens and Sparta opined that he had found it in the inordinate
growth of Athenian power, a fact which had caused undue apprehension
to the Spartans 10 • Ambrose quite clearly has a propositio, a fundamental
assertion and exempla, the proofs of the history of salvation in mind
because although disdaining the synthesis of ancient philosophy as re-
ceived from Origen as the mere anticipation of Christ true source of
wisdom 11 , he does not hesitate in using the philosophical, historical and
rhetorical skills which he had received as the young offspring of a sena-
torial family for his catechesis of an often equally weil educated congre-
gation.

4 R.T. O'Toole, L'unita della teologia di Luca. Un 'analisi del Vangelo di Luca e degli Atti,
Torino 1994, 19 .
.I Th . Graumann, Christus interpres. Die Einheit von Auslegung und Verkündigung in der
Lukaserklärung des Ambrosius von Mailand, PTS 41 , Berlin/New York 1994.
6 Ambr., Luc. prol. 7 (SAEMO 11 , 88 Coppa): Et bene congruit vitulo hic evangelii liber,
quia a sacerdotibus inchoavit et consummavit in vitulo, qui omnium peccata suscipiens
pro totius mundi vita est immolatus; sacerdotalis enim et ille vitulus.
7 Ambr., Luc. X 117,118 (SAEMO 12, 476 C.).
H Ambr., Luc. prol. 4 (84 C.).
9 PI., Prt. 326 A.
10 Th ., Pelop. I 23,6.
11 Ambr., Luc. pro l. 2 (84 C.).
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 53

The term of expositio would in itself be a clear indication for the better
educated members of his congregation. Ambrose is preparing a Statement
of facts, which must be confirmed by various proofs, and this work is also
a narration, a fundamental proposition which, together with the proofs,
is to be related by its author 12 • Ambrose hirnself describes his style with
the term vi/itas and indeed his vocabulary often contains examples of
everyday languagen. Yet the biblical exegesis is divided into the partes
orationis prescribed by Cicero and Quintilian. lt relies on traditional
literary forms such as the cynic dialogue, the technique and language of
the suasoriae and the controversiae and frequent quotations from the
poets 14 • Above all, the skilful use of the rhetorical figures, such as anaphora
and homoeoteleuton used in parallel cola adsonantia 15 to effect a climax
in the amplificatio, confer a musicality and emotional depth for his
listeners in many of the more significant pericopes 16 • Ambrose was the first
Latin author to introduce this kind of cursus mixtus into his works.
Indeed, it is this very combination of the ars rhetorica, in the sense in
which Quintilian understood it 17, with the ars poetica, which particularly
seems to connect Ambrose's style directly to the rhetorical and poetical
origins of history as a literary form in ancient Greek literature 18 •
Nevertheless not even such a concept of history as the basic substratum
of the work is sufficient forawider comprehension of the texts. For Ambrose
the Holy Scriptures, whose true author is God, are the fount of all true
wisdom. The author is not searching for the wisdom of the philosophers
of the past or the present but that of God himself, in order to enlighten his
vision of Christ and his Church. God's entry into history in the person of
Jesus Christ, as narrated in Luke, is for Ambrose the Kalp6s, the culmina-
tion, the fulfilment of history and the true life of human beings is realised
in the Church, Christ's mystical body. The Myos of the philosophers lives
in the'lncarnation, the Church and Scriptures 19 • By adopting a more Alexan-

12 Quint., inst. II1 9,7; VII 2,50; XI 2,3 .

13 Ambr., Luc. II 42 (184 C.).
14 Ambr., Luc. II 5 (150 C.); I 43 (138 C); II 42 (184 C.).

LI Cic., orat. 211 (71,12f. Westman): Cum Graeci K6~~aTa et KwAa nominent, nosnon recte
'incisa' et 'membra' dicamus; 65f. (20,3-5 W.): Eaque ita disponunt ut pictores varietatem
colorum, paria paribus referunt, adversa contrariis, saepissimeque similiter extrema
definiunt. Huic generi historia finitima est. Aug., doct.chr. IV 36 (CSEL 80, 126,26-127,2
Green): Porro autem qui novit, agnoscit quod ea caesa, quae commata Graeci vocant, et
membra et circuitus, de quibus paulo ante disserui cum decentissima varietate inter-
ponerentur, totam istam speciem dictionis, et quasi eius vultum, quo etiam indocti
delectantur moventurque, fecerunt.
16 Ambr., Luc. II 19 (162-164 C.).
17 Quint., inst. III5,2 (139,4f. Winterbottom): Tria sunt item, quae praestare debeat orator,
ut doceat, moveat, delectet.
1H G. Bonney, L'esegesi di Sant'Ambrogio in relazione alle figure femminili dell' "Expositio
Evangelii secundum Lucam", Sal. 57, 1995, (123-130) 125.
19 Ambr., Luc. prol. 4 (84 C.).
54 Gillian Bonney

drian method of exegesis Ambrose gives his listeners the Iitera!, moral and
spiritual interpretation of the pericopes, but he clearly pays greater atten-
tion to the moraland mystical sense of the text 20 • The Iitera! Ievel is the Old
Testament, the symbolic and morallevel is tobe found in the New Testa-
ment for man's interior life and above these two is the spiritual eschato-
logicallevel. Like Philo, Ambrose comments the Bible with the Bible, that
is analogically, but his use of allegory is more similar tothat employed by
Paul for he adapts Philo's extra-temporal Alexandrian allegory to the
historical reality of the advent of Jesus Christ. For the bishop therefore, the
Scriptures, which he constantly peruses in his search for wisdom, are the
Word of God which is offered to humanity and which acts in history. In
such a perspective they thus become a living dynamic corpus of history in
the making which will be fulfilled only in an eschatological dimension and
which must be read in a historical context21 •

III. Bede and his In Lucae evangelium expositio

During the centuries which elapsed before the age of Bede there is copious
evidence of the exegesis of many pericopes of Luke's Gospel, but less on
Acts of the Apostles, in the works of Christian authors and Fathers of the
Church. Before Bede's work on the entire Lucan corpus, Arator had
attempted a poetical commentary of Acts of the Apostles in Latin, the
Libri duo de Actibus Apostolorum. The Irish too, in a more Antiochean
style of exegesis, displayed a great deal of interest in the same Gospel but
so far, research has still not provided us with an interpretation of a similar
Ievel tothat effected by Bede22 • The monk of Jarrow decided to maintain
the term Expositio in his title, merely changing the word order and
substituting the preposition secundum with that of in. In view of Bede's
mastery of both the Latin language and of rhetorical technique which had
been so much a part of his education in Latin humanitas as it had been
for Ambrose, even in such a remote area of the former Roman Empire,
such a decision cannot be considered either casual or conventional. To
Bede Latin was the sacred language of the gentes 23 •
Bede's intention is to interpret the Gospel of Luke, which he also
acknowledges to be part of history and which contains much concerning
the priestly roJe of Jesus Christ, under the authority of his illustrious

2 ° Cf. H. de Lubac, L'exegese medievale I, Theologie des quatre sens, Paris 1959, 10; M.
Simonetti, Lettera e/o allegoria (see note 1 ), 273; L.F. Pizzolato, Domina (see note 1),
232. The author himselfexplains to us his method in Ambr., Luc. 117 (150 C.): Didicimus
seriem veritatis, didicimus consilium: discamus mysterium.
21 Ambr., Luc. X 44 (426 C.).
22 B. Bischoff, Turning Points in the History of Latin Exegesis, PIBA 1, Dublin 1976,
74·134.
23 Bed., exp. in Act. II 4 (CChr.SL 121, 16 Laistner); retr. in Act. III 22 (121 l.).
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 55

predecessors24 because he is directly involved in the training of preachers

for a missionary church. For Bede too, the true author of the Gospels is
God himself2S, so the intervention of God in history, in the person of Jesus
Christ, is to be the subject of a systematic verse by verse commentary in
a different literary form from that of Ambrose's homilies, one which will
be more suitable for Bede's future doctores, or preachers. These latter will
present the message of salvation both to those who have already been
converted to Christ and to others, the gentes who still have to enter his
mystical body, that is the Church 26 • Bede, being weil aware that he is
dealing with a far less erudite Ievel of persons who have not experienced
the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Milan, promptly adapts his form and
content in order to produce a handbook of pastoral theology for his
young pupils. His main concern therefore, is to impart a sound doctrine
under the authority of the Church about certain questions which, for
different cultural, historical and doctrinal reasons, simply had not been
examined by Ambrose 27• Yet Bede, as he hirnself teils us, like Ambrose in
his homiletical work on the same text of Luke, is particularly interested
in jesus' priestly role 28 •
Bede's style of exegesis, despite some parts where he seems to be
following Tyconius 29 , is more Alexandrian style for he too carefully inter-
prets the female figures of Luke's Gospel by following the same allegorical
model which is found in Ambrose's homilies 30 • Yet Bede on each occasion
shapes the material in a slightly different fashion to suit his particular
scope and context. Naturally, he allows more space for the explanation
secundum litteram and often has to provide the grammatical, linguistical
and historical elucidations which his peculiar cultural background re-
quires. However a glance at some examples of the Irish commentaries on
Luke may be efficacious in demonstrating the superior intellectual Ievel
which the school of Jarrow had attained in Bede's days 31 • Above all,
another significant aspect of Ambrose is to be found in the attention
directed towards the moral aspect of the exegesis, as expressed in the
centrality of the figure of Christ which dominates the whole of the work 32 •

24 Bed., in Luc. prol. (8 H.).

25 Bed., in Gen. IV 28,6-7 (CChr.SL 118A, 213f. jones).
26 Bed., retr. in Act. II 6 (111 L); III 35 (122 L).
27 Bed., in Luc. prol. 55 (6 H.).
28 Bed., in Luc. I 3 (76 H.); I 2 (53 H.); I 2,39 (71 H.).
29 G. Caputa, II sacerdozio dei fedeli nella "Explanatio Apocalypsis", Convegno Pontificium
Institutum Altioris Latinitatis, Marzo 14-16, Roma 1991, 194 .
.lO L.F. Pizzolato, Dottrina (see note 1 ), 73: "La figura si pone storicamente prima della
verita ."
.ll B. Bischoff/M. Lapidge, Bible commentaries from the Canterbury School of Theodore
and Hadrian, Cambridge 1994, 24; B. Bischoff, Turning Points (see note 22).
32 V. Pelagin, I fondamenti teologici della vita cristiana secondo San Beda, Padova 1986, 86:
"II cristocentrismo di Beda." Cf. G. Coppa, Cristo in Sant' Ambrogio, Bess. 1, 1979, (43-
66) 44 : "Tutti gli scritti di Ambrogio sono a carattere cristologico"; A. Bonato, La figura
56 Gillian Bonney

For both Ambrose and Bede, Jesus and no other is the fundamenturn of
all virtues, of the moral options which take or refuse in their daily Jives
in conformity with their objective, that is of their sequela Christi. Our
authors do not propose only God's commandments tobe respected but a
person whose example is to be imitated. This alone confers the moral
content to their interpretation of the GospeP 3 •

IV. The Figure of Elisabeth in the Exegesis of Ambrose and Bede

The Latin texts given here are those of Ambrose's work. Where he does
not provide a text Bede's is used. Furthermore for the sake of clarity, they
have been divided into four distinct groups which indicate the four main
assertions or propositiones contained in them 34 •
I) Luke 1,5: Fuit, inquit in diebus Herodis regis Iudaeae sacerdos quidam
nomine Zaccharias de vice Abia et uxor eius de filiabus Aaron et nomen
eius Elisabeth.
The biblical texts show that in place of eius in that of Ambrose Bede
uses illi. The term inquit in Ambrose's text is an indication of an oral
quotation which is frequent in the work. Ambrose comments in true
Alexandrian fashion, with a biblical analogy, of similar praise attributed
to the mothers of Samson and Samuel (Gen 18,1-15; 1Kgs 1,2; 1Chr

di Cristo in Sant' Ambrogio, Teoi(R) 22, 1997, 244·290. Ambr., fid. 111 7,52 (SAEMO
15, 216 Moreschini): Principium itaque nostrae virtutis est Christus; Bed., in Luc. 11,51
(38 H.): Cum ergo audiuimus brachium Dei patris esse Deum filium non nobis obstrepat
consuetudo carnalis sed quantum illo donante possumus Dei virtutem et sapientiam
cogitemus per quam facta sunt omnia.
33 The "moral" senseisalso called the "tropological" sense, a perspective which belongs to
the "spiritual" sense but which provides each one of us with the forma virtutis for our
lives. lt derives from the cognitio veritatis which we receive by means of the allegory. See
note 54 infra.
34 As regards the Bible texts used by Ambrose and Bede in their exegesis of the Gospel of
Luke, it may be safely affirmed that Ambrose used a version of the Vetus of which no
complete codex is extant but which was circulating in that period. Cf. B.M. Metzger, The
Text of the New Testament, New York/Oxford 1992, 74; H.J. Frede, Epistula ad
Ephesios, VL 24/1, Freiburg 1962-1964, 26•·29•, Bulletin: Codex Bezae [ed. Parker/
Amphoux, Leiden u.a. 1996], Revue Biblique 104, 1997, 429f.; however, A. Passioni
Deli' Acqua, Le versioni latine della Bibbia nella Chiesa Antica in ltalia, in: La traduzione
della Bibbia nella Chiesa italiana. Voi.I L'eredita' storica e il Nuovo Testamento, ed. by
C. Buzzetti/C. Ghidelli, Milano 1998, (15-25) 17 note 8, speaks of an M version of the
Itala used by Ambrose. As regards the text used by Bede, the work of C. Plummer, Bedae
Opera, Oxford 1915, v. II, Appendix 393-394, provides a series of possible references
from the Vulgate, the Versio Antiqua and some other more doubtful sources; B. Bischoff/
M. Lapidge, Bible Commentaries (see note 31), 197: "The biblical instruction given to
English students at Canterbury was based on the text of the Latin Vulgate"; R. Marsden,
The Text of the Old Testament in Anglo-Saxon England, CSASE 15, Cambridge 1995,
53: "ln the case of Bede, who frequently used old texts along with the new in his
commentaries and compared the different versions critically, there are grounds for
believing that sometimes he referred directly to the Old Latin and even Greek biblical
manuscripts which were available to him at Wearmouth-Jarrow".
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 57

24,10) and at the sametime respects a well-recognizable literary tradition

of antiquity, that is the emphasis on the noble lineage of famous men 35 •
Ambrose also notices that Elisabeth bis mother too is of priestly lineage.
John the precursor of Jesus inherits from his family and from his ancestors
his faith et ipso infusam iure naturae. The expression might seem to
express a Platonic concept of innate knowledge received by the soul but
here is to be interpreted as the ancient faith of Israel, the necessary premise
for the prophetical figure of Elisabeth 36 •
Bede on the other band devotes to verse 1,5, a lengthy historical or
rather grammatical section based on the evidence of Josephus and biblical
analogies, to the nature of the priesthood in Palestine. He too pays great
attention to the priestly descent of John and his collocation in the history
of salvation, but unlike Ambrose makes no mention of Elisabeth 37 • Nev-
ertheless the fundamental propositio made by both authors is that John,
the precursor of a new kind of priesthood, is the offspring of a faith
inspired by the spirit of God.
II) Luke 1,6: Et erant ambo iusti ante deum incedentes in omnibus
mandatis et iustificationibus domini sine querella.
The biblical texts of verse 1,6 also show the variations of autem ambo
iusti in Bede's text. Ambrose here comments on the meaning of the
expression sine querella which in the Latin version has a juridical origin
and is an attempt to express the sense of the Greek word amemptoi 38 •
The author interprets it in a similar way to that of Origen in his com-
mentary on Luke. No man is without sin in the sense of Job 14,4 and
Rom 3,23, but he can be freed from the veterem errorem, the sin in
which he was immerged from his birth and so cease from sinning39 • The
couple now allegorically represents the figures of the gentiles who are
entering the Church. This Church which has been assembled from sin-
ners, must be washed clean, abluta a delicto, sanctified by the gratiam
dei, so that it may no Ionger live a life of sin. The pious Israelite's
observance of the Law must be evident both to God and human beings 40 •
The true Israel, those who see God, are those whose Jives are perfect in
35 Plut., Alex. 2f.
36 Ambr., Luc. I 15-21 (11 0-118 C.). Cf. PI., Phaid. 75 C.
37 Bed., in Luc. I 1,5 (21 H.).
38 Cf. CxiJEIJTITOt 1Thess 2,10; 3,13; Hebr 8,7; Phil2,15; 3,6. The juridical flavour of this term
is preserved in the Latin translation of sine querella. Cf. Dig. 5,2,1.
39 Orig., hom. in Lc. II 1 (SC 87, 110 Crouzei/Fournier/Perichon): Si igitur aiunt eum
absque peccato dici, qui numquam peccaverit, et nos assentimus nullum esse absque
peccato. Ambr., Luc. I 17 (112 C.): sin autem eum qui veterem errorem correxerit et in
eam se vitae transformaverit qualitatem ut temperet a peccato, negant abstinere delictis,
non possum in eorum convenire sententiam ... Nam cum ecclesia ex gentibus, hoc est ex
peccatoribus congregata sit, quomodo ex maculatis immaculata potest esse, nisi primo
per dei gratiam quod abluta a delicto sit, deinde quod per qualitatem non peccandi
abstineat a delictis?
4 ° Cf. 1Kgs 16,7.
58 Gillian Bonney

the eyes of God 41 • He alone makes men and women just. Sine querella
is therefore to be irreprehensible in the eyes of God. In such ontological
perfection where et mentis bonitas concordat et facti, as Ambrose defines
it, the concept of the just actio which derives from the correct intentio,
a philosophical topos which is to be found in the works of Plato, Philo
and the Stoics, is thus re-elaborated in the biblical sense of Prov 3,4 42 •
God alone distinguishes between the intentions which human beings have
and the actions which they perform. Ambrose contrasts this with human
justice which when too severe often causes resentment.
Bede employs Ambrose's same text for his commentary of the verse and
merely inserts the word inquit after incedentes and videt after aliter to
indicate his borrowing from Ambrose. He speaks of the dulcedo, the
sweetness of God's grace which tempers human justice 43 • In a homily the
Ambrosian idea of the just person reappears. Gemina virtus est in homine
perfecto, ut et intentio sit et actio 44 and that is to say in actibus pariter et
cogitationibus suis circumspecte agebant45 • Both authors present the
propositio that no one is born free of sin but with the aid of God is able
to become truly just46 •
III) Luke 1,7: Et nonerat filius eius eo quod esset Elisabeth sterilis et ambo
processissent in diebus suis.
Ambrose does not provide this biblical text but gives his interpretation of
sterilitas in his exegesis of Luke 1,13. Bede too avoids a literal explanation
of the term and expresses the concept that John's birth is a gift (donum).
Yet the key to Bede's thought is to be found in his homily when he declares
that Elisabeth conceived John by the grace of the spirit and is to be placed
among the saints. She has become a figura 47 of the Old Law which was

41 Ambr., Luc. I 18 (114 C.); I 5-6 (100-102 C.): videre.

42 PI., Prot. 343 B; Philo, praem. 14,81; Marc.Aur., mem. 12,29. Cf. Prov 3,4: "If you do
this both human beings and God will be pleased with you."
43 Bed., in Luc. I 1,6 (120, 22 H.).
44 Ambr., Luc. I, 8 (102 C.).
45 Bed., hom. II 19 (CChr.SL 122, 321 Hurst); Ambr., Luc. I 17 (114 C.): lta nec ab initio
immaculata - humanae enim hoc impossibile naturae - et per dei gratiam et qualitatem
sui, quia iam non peccat, fit ut inmaculata videatur.
46 Bed., hom. II 19 (320-322 H.).
47 The Greek word T(mos has various interpretations, among which in PI., R. II 19: "the
patterns of the gods". Tertullian for instance, uses the word figura as its Latin translation
but in his works figura is also synonymous for aenigma and allegoria. Cf. Tert., adv.
Mare. II 21 ,2; III 16,3; V 6,1; V 8,1 where it is used in passages which refer directly to
Christ. In Ambrose's works figura tends to signify something slightly different. lt is a real
and historical thing which announces something else which is also equally real and
historical and which may be discerned through the exegesis. The term is more associated
with the Old Testament since it refers to th, future and through Christpoints to the truth.
In fact it precedes Christ but acquires its true meaning with the advent of Christ. Ambr.,
Psal. XLIII 56 (SAEMO 8, 148 Pizzolato); XXXIX 9; XLIII 59; Psal. 118/2 prol. 2, VI
15 (SAEMO 9, 57 Pizzolato/Petschenig); VIII 16 (324 P./P.); X 25 (276 P./P.); XIX 24
(304 P./P.); sacram. 5,1 (SAEMO 17, 102 Banterle); 2,2 (148 B.).
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 59

ordered to give birth to a spiritual offspring by means of the office of

priesthood 48 •
Luke 1,13: et uxor tua Elisabeth pariet filium .
Ambrose here, with the aid of biblical analogies, insists on the moral sense
that fecunditas in marriage is munus divinum and is the true scope of
marriage. Children are the praemia, the stipendia militiae suae of mater-
nity, of life itself49 •
Bede calls Elisabeth infecunda coniu1zx, but for the sameversein stilus
commaticus concentrates more attention on the aspect of the grace which
John receives in his mother's womb for his work of evangelization, a most
important theme in the whole of Bede's exegesis 50 •
Luke 1,15: Et spiritu, inquit, sancto replebitur adhuc in utero matris.
Ambrose here, like Origen, speaks of the grace which prompted John to
prophecy, evangelizavit the coming of Christ. In his commentary of Luke
1,44, he notices the prophetical announcement prophetavit, which Elisa-
beth makes. In John there is not only spiritus vitae sed spiritus gratiae even
before his birth 51 •
Bede also uses the same biblical analogy of Samson as employed by
Ambrose for verse 1,5, to speaks of the prophetical mission, evangelizavit
of John. He too is referring to Luke 1,44 when Elisabeth and John are
filled with the holy Spirit upon the recognition of Mary and her child 52 •
Luke 1,24-25: Post hos autem dies concepit Elisabet uxor eius et occultabat
se mensibus quinque dicens: quid mihi sie fecit dominus in diebus, quibus
respexit auferre obprobium meum inter homines?
Ambrose here develops his idea of verecundia, the Stoic virtue of respect
for others which in his work is elaborated into the virtues of silence and
discretion in speech53 • The idea that Elisabeth is ashamed of her late
pregnancy is to be found in Origen 54 but Ambrose takes the opportunity
of urging husbands in a parenetical passage, to greater respect of their
wives when they are with child. He refers to Luke 1,42, to Elisabeth's cry
when she is aware of the arrival of the Lord. She and her child are filled

4H Bed., hom. II 19 (321 H.); cf. D.E. Aune, La profezia nel primo cristianesimo e nel mondo
mediterraneo antico, Brescia 1996, 260: "Si presuppone ehe vi sia uno stretto legame tra
sommo sacerdozio eil dono della profezia" .
49 Ambr., Luc. I 29-31 (126-128 C.).
50 Bed., in Luc. I 1,12-13 (120, 24 H.). Cf. evangelizare I 1,15 (26 H.); I 1,26 (30 H.); VI
24,2 (411 H.).
51 Ambr., Luc. I 33 (131 C.); cf. Orig., hom. in Lc. IV 4-5 (SC 87, 132 C./FJP.).
52 Bed., in Luc. I 1,15 (25 H.) .
.IJ Ambr., off. I 18 (SAEMO 13,66 Banterle); virg. II 15 (SAEMO 14/1, 176 Gori). Cf. Cic.,
off. I98 (33,24-26 Atzert): Nobis autem cum a natura constantiae, moderationis, tempe-
rantiae, verecundiae partes datae sint.
54 Orig., hom. in Lc. IV 1-2 (SC 87, 132 C./F./P.): Adhuc in utero matris erat /ohannes et
iam Spiritum sanctum acceperat.
60 Gillian Bonney

with a holy spirit. The reason for her cry, he affirms, is that she realises
its true significance, quia religiosum parturn and praises the Lord 55 •
A few variations in Bede's biblical text may be noticed. The word quid
in Ambrose has become quia in Bede's version and sie precedes fecit. Bede
of courseseparates the two verses in his work. He comments on verse 1,24
by a detailed examination of the office of the high priest. He makes no
mention of Elisabeth but describes the priestly duties and offers a tro-
pologicaP6 explanation of the sacrament of penance. Bede here speaks of
the shame of an older mother, anilis verecundatur aetatis and of the
sterilitas which has been taken away. As regards Elisabeth, he too com-
ments verse 1,25 as describing her embarrassment on discovering her
pregnancy and her reason for hiding away. Yet referring here to verse
1,42, he says she cries with a loud voice clamosa, as a prophetess and
praises God for the birth of a prophet. Bede here following Ambrose's
intuition, designates Elisabeth allegorically as a figura of the Law which
under the discipline of the doctrine of the high priest, had to give birth to
spirituales Deo filios 57• However she had become sterile because even
though some people had seemed just according to the Law, the latter
could not render anyone perfect. Both Zacharias and Elisabeth are exempla
or proof of those who read the Scriptures secundum litteram. Only the
coming of Christ could open the kingdom of heaven to men and women.
Bede in fact interprets the number five as the five books of Moses that
parabolatim designate the mysteria Christi and are a prefiguration of the
five eras of the world which precede that of Christ58 •
Luke 1,36: Et ecce Elisabeth cognata sua et ipsa concepit filium in
senectute sua.
The text is of Bede as Ambrose does not comment this verse directly. Bede
here makes Elisabeth an exemplum for Mary, a proofthat there is no Iimit
to God's power to render human lives fruitful.

IV) Luke 1,40: Et intravif in domum Zachariae et salutavit Elisabeth.

Ambrose uses verse 1,36 to comment 1,40. Elisabeth's pregnancy becomes
a proof for Mary ut fides adstrueretur exemplo that God can accomplish
whatever he wishes.

55 Ambr., Luc. I 45 (140 C.). Cf. II 24 (166 C).

56 The term "tropology" has a similar meaning to that of "allegory", the continuous
metaphore, as attested in Quint., inst. IX 2,45 (498,14-16 W.): Primum, quod tropos
apertior est, quamquam aliud dicit ac sentit, non aliud tamen simulat; VIII 6,52 (473,24f.
W.): Sed allegoria quae est obscurior 'aenigma' dicitur.
57 Bed., in Luc. I 1,24 (120, 28 H.).
5 ~ The mystical interpretation of numbers is a characteristic of the earliest Jewish exegesis
and also that which was later developed in Alexandria. Cf. Philo, op.mund. III 13.
However the same method, as regards numbers, was applied by Christian authors who
used allegory for example, to the eschatological theme of the five ages which precede that
of Christ. Cf. Aug., Gen.Man. I 23,35-41; civ. XX 7; ver.rel. 31,48; Caes.Arel., serm . 169.
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 61

Bede presents Ambrose's whole text without paraphrase. Elisabeth, like

her son, is filled with God's grace as Mary and her son approach her but
at the same time she realizes that she is not so privileged as Mary.
Elisabeth recognizes in Jesus the fount of God's spirit and his mother as
one who because of her faith, has attained in her life a unique degree of
favour in the eyes of God. Here we find a weil known topos of patristic
literature, Mary with her willingness to cooperate with God has saved
humanity from Eve, that is from itself and its deliberate refusal of Him 59 •
Elsewhere in a homily Bede affirms that Elisabeth begins to evangelize.
The figura of the Law thus fulfils its prophetic function 60 •
Luke 1,41 : Et factum est ut audivit salutationem Mariae Elisabeth,
exsultavit infans in utero eius et repleta est spiritu sancto Elisabeth.
Ambrose again uses another biblical analogy to comment Luke 1,41. With
parallel cola he effects a comparatio between Elisabeth and John. Elisabeth
hears Mary's voice before John does but he receives the grace of God
before she does since he recognizes the presence of Jesus. Both women,
istae gratiam loquuntur, speak words of grace, prophetant matres spiritu
parvulorum, on account of their offspring.
Bede simply repeats verbatim Ambrose's whole teaching on the gift of
grace which is conferred on Elisabeth and her son as a gift, donum 61 •
Luke 1,45: Et beata quae credidisti.
lt is no mere chance that the women speak in this fashion, Ambrose states,
concluding with another patristical topos, for as sin entered the world a
mulieribus, so also will spiritual benefits. Once women muliebra opera
deponentes infirmitati renuntient, lay aside their part of human weakness
which exists in the sexless soul, they may attain true purity, that is the
spiritual perfection of Mary. This apparently misogynous statement, which
derives from a neo-Platonic concept of the soul 62 , undoubtedly contains a
vein of male prejudice towards the female sex but must also be read both
in the light of the allegorical context of the figurae 63 and that of the use

59 Just., dial. 100,5 (PTS 47,242,33-35 Marcovich): napeevos yap ovaa Eva Kai äq>6opos. TOV
Myov TOV cnr6 TOÜ Öq>EWS <JVAAaßoüaa, lTapaKoT)v Kai 66:VOTOV ETEKE' lTiaTtV 5€ Kai xapav
Aaßoüaa Mapia 1') 1rap6evos; Iren., haer. V, 19,1 (SC 153, 248,5-8 Rousseau): Qua seducta
est male illa quae ;am viro destinata erat virgo Eva per veritatem evangelizata est bene
ab angelo ;am sub viro Virgo Maria; Ambr., Luc. II 28 (170 C. ); IX 4 (364 C.); IV 57
(344 C.); X 155 (504 C); inst.virg. 5,32-35 (SAEMO 14111, 134-139 Gori).
60 Bed., hom . I 4 (122, 22 H .).
61 Ambr., Luc. II 23 (164-166 C.).
62 Plot., enn. IV 8: "The soul cannot be the body"; Philo, leg.all. II 38: "The mostproper
name for sense perception is woman" ; cf. Ambr., Luc. II 28 (170 C.).
63 L.F. Pizzolato, Domina (see note 1 ), 72f.: "La figura viene ad indicare normalmente il
mondo veterotestamentario (... ). La situazione futura, come si vede, non enecessariamente
neotestamentaria, ma sempre comunque riferibile, tramite Cristo, alla verita, e pertanto
Ia figura e sempre precristica. La relazione figura-veritas puo in questo quadro equivalere
all'opposizione imperfezione-perfezione. "
62 Gillian Bonney

of the same term of infirmitas, where it describes not the juridical status
of warnen but the ontological condition of human beings in marked
cantrast to the firmitas of Jesus 64 •
Bede's text reads beata, inquit, quae credidit, since he is using that of
Ambrose.
Luke 1,55:
Bede affirms at the end of his detailed commentary of the Magnificat,
which Ambrose comments indirectly, that is by prolepsis65 , that Eve, the
allegorical figure of humankind, will be saved by two matres, namely
Mary and Elisabeth66 •
Luke 1,57: Elisabeth autem impfeturn est tempus pariendi et peperit
filium.
Here the text is of Bede as Ambrose does not provide one. He speaks of
John as one who begins from his mother's womb a full life in Christ67 •
Bede repeats the same concept of vitam plenitudinis perfectionis68 •
Luke 1,60: Et respondens mater eius dixit: nequaquam sed vocabitur
Iohannes.
Elisabeth announces the name of the child which she has received from
God. While Ambrose here emphasizes the few prophetic words quam
paucis, which Elisabeth utters under the influence of the spirit of God 69 ,
Bede, with some slight variations for his pupils, uses Ambrose's text to
comment the pericope. He therefore adds nothing at this point to the
textual interpretation but in a homily he is more explicit. Elisabeth again
performs a prophetical munus, that is by proclaiming the name of John
aloud she confirms the grace present in Chrisr7°.
V) Some Conclusions
The allegorical and spiritual exegesis of the figure of Elisabeth in the work
of Bede clearly draws its original inspiration from Ambrose's interpreta-
tion of the female figures of the Gospel, for neither Augustine nor Gregory
devote such attention to this aspect of the woman. Both Ambrose and
Bede place her in a sphere which, to our modern sensibility, might appear
to be excessively spiritual, but it must be born in mind that their main
preoccupation was neither the political nor juridical status of warnen. In

64 Ambr., fid. IV 4,42 (SAEMO 15, 274 Moreschini); incarn. 6,52 (SAEMO 16, 412
Moreschini/Bellini); ep. 2,25-27 (SAEMO 20,39 Banterle). Cf.Iac. 1128 (SAEMO 3, 298
Moreschini/Palla); ep. 4,16,12 (SAEMO 19, 166 Banterle/Faller); off.l,37,186 (SAEMO
13, 136 B.); fid . 111 7,52 (216M.).
65 Ambr., Luc. II 27 (168 C.).
66 Bed., in Luc. 11,55 (39 H .); cf. Ambr., Luc. II 23 (166 C); II 28 (170 C.).
67 Ambr., Luc. II 23 (166 C.).
6H Bed., in Luc. I 1,57 (39 H.).
69 Ambr., Luc. II 34 (176 C.).
70 Bed., in Luc. I 1,60 (40 H.); cf. Bed., hom. 20 (122, 331 H.).
 The Exegesis of the Gospel of Luke 63

fact both authors, while perceiving the spiritual strength of the female sex
are at the same time influenced by their respective cultures in visualizing
women in a position which, though significant and complementary at an
anthropological and religious Ievel, hardly pertains to every aspect of the
intrinsical concept of the dignity of womanhood 71 • An interpretation of
these texts which concentrates its attention merely on their social and
historical context would inevitably reduce the authors' true objectives in
composing their works. Yet the powerful image of materas conveyed with
consummate rhetorical technique, an aspect which is impossible to exam-
ine fully in this present context, is of such simplicity as to be perceived by
the audientes of both Jarrow and Milan. In fact by means of this same ars
rhetorica and the allegory, four basic points of Ambrose's homilies pass
into Bede's praelectiones.
Firstly the figure of Elisabeth, in both authors, represents all those who,
before the coming of Christ sincerely tried to abide by the Law, the
Commandments and rules of Judaism.
Secondly, no one can Iead a truly just life without the aid of God.
Elisabeth and Zacharias appear to be just in the eyes of their fellows but
they are not sinless because only Christ can free them from sin. Yet, it
must be noticed, the obprobrium of sterility which characterizes their
Jives, as was the custom in antiquity, is only attributed to the woman, who
becomes the figura of the Synagogue and the Law in both authors.
Thirdly the encounter with Jesus as a child in the womb of his mother
is sufficient enough to fill both mother and son with a new sanctifying
spirit. However, it must be stressed that it is only the good wife, the
optima sponsa, the female part of these figures of the Synagogue and the
ancient cult, who once she is aware of her belated pregnancy at an
advanced age, withdraws from public view. After meditation upon the
meaning of the event, she realises that her forthcoming maternity, which
Bede emphasizes as evangelization, is a blessing from God. There is no
Iimit to God's power to render human Jives fruitful.
Finally it is Elisabeth, as both authors stress, who filled with God's
spirit, cries out in a loud voice like a prophet upon recognizing the
approach of salvation in the person of Mary and her child. Elisabeth
accepts them in her abode just as the Church accepts the gentes, who
having been unable to reach salvation through the Law or philosophy,
receive baptism in Christ. lt becomes even clearer at this point that the
term gentes or gentiles, in both authors' minds, does not simply indicate
those who do not adhere to the Jewish faith but the entire human family
which is in search of a form of salvation. The figura of Elisabeth as the

71 Cf. Ambr., Luc. I 30 (126 C.); I 45 (142 C.); VII 70 (342 C.); VIII 75 (346 C.); VIII 76
(346-348 C.); VIII 4 (286 C.). Bed., in Luc. V 20,36 (359 H.); in Gen. I 25-26 (24 H.);
hom. II 10 (251 H.); in Ezr. I (CChr.SL 119A, 257 H.); hist. IV 23 (408 Colgravc/
Mynors); III 24 (282 C./M.); IV 13 (322 C./M.); II 12 (180 C./M .); I 27 (82 C./M.).
64 Gillian Bonney

Law and the pregnant Synagogue is thus the exemplum, it anticipates the
choice of all those people whom the spirit of God draws towards Christ's
Church. Elisabeth's life is no Ionger sterile but receives with joyful hope
the long desired gift of fecunditas.
Elisabeth then, becomes an active instrument of God's spirit for the
salvation of all human beings. She unlike the silent Zacharias, is able to
read the spiritual sense of the Scriptures. She also prophesies again in
pronouncing the very name of John and becomes the bridge between
Zacharias, the former way of seeking for God and the new, as described
in the figures of Mary and Jesus. For this female figure indicates towards
the future of humanity by pointing the way to salvation in the name of
Christ. Elisabeth therefore, in the works of both Ambrose and Bede, is the
prefiguration of the present and the eschatological future of the Church,
the necessary dynamical and spiritual link between the old and new
generations of those who are searching for a meaning to their Jives.

ABSTRACT

Es war bislang schon bekannt, daß Beda sich mehrmals des Lukas-Kommentars des
Ambrosius für die Abfassung seines eigenen Lukas-Kommentars bedient hat.
Dieser Artikel möchte nun anhand einer genauen Analyse der spirituellen Ausle-
gung der Figur der Elisabeth im Lukasevangelium aufzeigen, wie vier propositiones des
Ambrosius in das Werk Bedas übergehen:
1. Vor dem Kommen Jesu hat der von Gott inspirierte Glaube aufrichtige Menschen
geschaffen wie Elisabeth, die Johannes gebar.
2. Kein Mensch wird ohne Sünde geboren, aber mit der Hilfe Jesu kann er sich vom
Bösen befreien.
3. Die Macht Gottes kennt keine Grenzen, um das Leben des Menschen reich zu
machen.
4. Die in Jesus vorhandene Gnade rettet das Menschengeschlecht. Elisabeth, Mutter
und Prophetin, wird so zur wirksamen Mittlerin des Heils zwischen den Generatio-
nen vor Christus und den zukünftigen.