Concord and Harmony: The Rule of Faith and Parallel Reading in Clement of Alexandria

Abstract The very notion of ‘reading in parallel’ presupposes an interpretive frame of reference which draws texts into relation in the first place. In the early church, second-century writers articulated a set of theological assumptions known as the rule of faith which served this purpose, insisting that the shared divine authorship and subject matter of the writings of the Old and New Testaments demands that they be read in concert. This study focuses on the case of Clement of Alexandria, who describes the interrelationships of the Law, Prophets, and Gospel as one of ‘concord and harmony,’ comparable to the unified voices that make up a divinely-conducted choir. In this study, I first briefly consider the core theological assumptions of the rule of faith that constitute Clement’s frame of reference. Second, I examine his claims about the origins of this frame of reference, in the tradition received from, and modeled by, Jesus and his apostles themselves. Third, I offer a case study of Clement’s own parallel reading, analyzing both his theoretical statements and some actual examples of his interpretation of the Mosaic Law in the Stromateis . Based on his description of the Law’s threefold mode of speaking through symbols, precepts, and prophecies, I observe how Clement’s prior assumptions regarding the concord and harmony of the Scriptures motivate him to read each type of text in parallel with a New Testament referent.