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Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia

“In principio”: The Metaphysical Exegesis of John 1:1 by Albert the Great, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas
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“In principio”: The Metaphysical Exegesis of John 1:1 by Albert the Great, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas

Authors

  • Andrea Nannini University of Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4864-8589
  • Marcin Trepczyński University of Warsaw, Faculty of Philosophy https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0612-2597

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2022.009

Keywords

principle, beginning, Gospel of John, Albert the Great, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas

Abstract

The article presents the interpretations of the phrase “in principio” (John 1:1) provided by Albert the Great, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas in their commentaries on the Gospel of John. Their approaches are different. Albert uses the concepts of the first principle and of the intellect which acts universally and produces its own light. Bonaventure builds his interpretation on Augustine’s distinction between the beginning without beginning and the beginning from the beginning. Aquinas creates a conceptual framework based on metaphysical theories. All three approaches reflect the metaphysical character of the exegesis of John 1:1 performed by these authors. This metaphysical attitude enables them to use advanced concepts and constitutes a basis for calling their exegesis “analytical.”

References

Albertus Magnus. 1899. “In Evangelium secundum Joannem luculenta exposition.” In Divi Alberti Magni Ratisbonensis Episcopi ordinis Praedicatorum, Opera Omnia, vol. 24, 1–719. Paris: Vives.

Amerini, Fabrizio (ed.). 2010. “In Principio erat Verbum”: Philosophy and Theology in the Commentaries of the Gospel of John (II–XIV Centuries), Archa Verbi. Subsidia 11. Münster: Aschendorff Verlag.

Aristotle. 1933, 1989. Metaphysics; Aristotle, Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vols. 17, 18, translated by Hugh Tredennick. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd.

Black II, C. Clifton. 1986. “St. Thomas’s Commentary on the Johannine Prologue: Some Reflections on Its Character and Implications.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 48, no. 4: 681–698.

Bonaventure. 1893. “Commentarius in Evangelium Ioannis.” In Doctoris Seraphici S. Bonaventurae, Opera Omnia, vol. 6, 239–532. Firenze: Ad Claras Aquas (Quaracchi).

Bonaventure. 2007. Commentary on the Gospel of John. Edited and translated by Robert J. Karris.

New York: Franciscan Institute Publications.

Casteigt, Julie. 2019. Albertus Magnus, Super Iohannem (Ioh. 1, 1–18). Leuven: Peeters.

Casteigt, Julie. 2018. “Metaphysics and Testimonial Knowledge in the Super Iohannem of Albert the Great.” Traditio 73: 255–89.

Casteigt, Julie. 2018. “Réciprocité et intériorité: la Super evangelium S. Ioannis lectura de Thomas d’Aquin lue à la lumière de son commentaire de la Physique d’Aristote.” In Actualité de Thomas d’Aquin. Textes réunis par Olivier Boulnois, 213–25. Paris: Parole et Silence.

Casteigt, Julie (ed.). 2018. Verbe et chair: le sens de l’union dans la réception philosophique de l’Évangile de Jean (Jn 1, 12–14). Münster: LIT Verlag.

Covington, Eric. 2017. “Divisio Textus and the Interpretive Logic of Thomas Aquinas’ Lectura Ad Ephesios.” Journal of the Bible and Its Reception 4, no. 1: 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbr-2017-2001.

Hofer, Andrew. 2010. “He Taught Us How to Fly: Albert the Great on John the Evangelist,” Angelicum 3 (87): 569–589.

Karris, Robert J. 2007. “Introduction.” In St. Bonaventure, Commentary on the Gospel of John, edited by Robert J. Karris, 1–31. New York: Franciscan Institute Publications.

Karris, Robert J. 2006. “St. Bonaventure’s Interpretation of the Evangelical Life in His Commentary on the Gospel of St. John.” Franciscan Studies 64: 319–35.

Keating, Daniel A., and Matthew Levering. 2010. “Introduction.” In St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of John: Chapters 1–5, translated by Fabian Larcher, James A. Weisheipl, ix–xxx. Washington: Catholic University of America Press.

Kręcidło, Janusz. 2017. “Aquinas’ Exegetical Mastery in Super Evangelium S. Joannis Lectura: A Case Study of John 21.” Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia 10, no. 3: 323–339. https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2017.017.

Thomas Aquinas. 2010. Commentary on the Gospel of John: Chapters 1–5. Translated by Fabian Larcher, James A. Weisheipl. Washington: Catholic University of America Press.

Thomas Aquinas. 1952. Sancti Thomae de Aquino Super Evangelium S. Ioannis lectura. Edited by Raffaele Cai. Romae: Taurini.

Vijgen Jorgen. 2019. “Aquinas’s Reception of Origen: A Preliminary Study.” In: Thomas Aquinas and the Greek Fathers, edited by M. Dauphinais, R. Nutt, A. Hofer, 30–88. Ave Maria: Sapientia Press.

Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia

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Published

2022-08-05

How to Cite

1.
NANNINI, Andrea and TREPCZYŃSKI, Marcin. “In principio”: The Metaphysical Exegesis of John 1:1 by Albert the Great, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas. Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia. Online. 5 August 2022. Vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 41-54. [Accessed 7 July 2025]. DOI 10.12775/BPTh.2022.009.
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