5.11 Adam in the Parables of Christ: Haer. 4.36.2–6 (Gen 2:7)
chapter 5 the cross, is a mechanism "fixed with pins" (tali confixus).85 The crucified body of Christ that is fashioned from the earth is fixed to the cross with iron pins, just as a plough, and it combines wood and iron as a means to till the earth.
But even more specifically, Christ's atonement "cleaned the overgrown earth"
(emundavit silvestrem terram).86 This cleansing overturns the curse God places upon the earth in Gen 3:17–18.
Alongside Adam, Irenaeus also links the "pruning hook" ( falcem) to the imagery of Abel's slaying, which typifies the apostolic preaching leading to the gathering of the righteous.87 He appeals to the imagery of Isa 57:1 that contemplates the trouble of a righteous person dying with no recompense or justification. The reason Irenaeus turns to Abel for the "pruning hook" imagery is that a pruning hook performs the function of cutting or trimming vegetation.
It is Cain who, in a sense, "pruned back" the innocent Abel and cut short his life. The death of Abel, therefore, anticipates and prefigures the ingathering of the righteous through the salvific work of Christ. Irenaeus is also quick to point out that the liberation of the righteous from evil was anticipated before Abel, declared by the prophets, and accomplished in the person of Christ.88 To this point, Irenaeus adds that the apostles used these instruments for peaceful purposes and, following Matt 5:39, when struck they did not retaliate but instead offered their other cheek. As a result, Irenaeus' interpretation of this passage draws on an Adam-Christ and Abel-Christ typology, alongside a series of philological connections. He utilizes his intertextual argumentation to draw together Gen 2:7, Isa 2:3–4, Isa 57:1, Matt 5:39, John 4:37, and the narrative of Abel's murder in Gen 4 to depict the prophetic fulfillment of a bodily resurrection and the salvation of the righteous. He does so through the intricate connections of the creation imagery in these texts and an Adam-Christ and Abel-Christ typology.
5.11
Adam in the Parables of Christ: Haer. 4.36.2–6 (Gen 2:7) After refuting Gnostic interpretations of many Old Testament passages, this section, which begins the final section of Haer. 4, is ordered around his
85 Orbe discusses the details of the formal connections between the two objects. Orbe,
Teología IV, 476 n. 46.
86 Although it is not noted in SC or BP, this must be an echo of Gen 3:17–8 and the effects of the curse upon the ground.
87 Cf. Gen 4:10.
88 Cf. Haer. 4.30.4.
Genesis, the Creation, and the Divine Economy interpretation of several Gospels parables. Irenaeus contrasts his reading of these parables with more developed treatment of his Adam-Christ typology, verbal associations with other passages, and a narrative reading tailored to the organized unfolding of the divine economy. In Haer. 4.36.2–4 he depicts a series of parables that, in various ways, narrate salvation history and unite the work of God throughout both testaments. At three distinct points, Haer. 4.36.2,
4 and 6, an echo or allusion to Gen 2:7 surfaces within the flow of Irenaeus' argumentation. In each of these instances, there is a reference to Adam as the "formation" (plasma) of God. His Adam-Christ typology connects these passages generally, but in each instance his focus is the nature of Adam's formation in Gen 2:7 and his connections to the rest of events that transpire amid the divine economy. The particular intertextual connections are also fashioned with Gen 2:7 through verbal connections, especially the use of farming imagery
In Haer. 4.36.1–2, he interprets the parable of the wicked tenants in Matt 21:33–43. He identifies the master of the house as the Father, the vineyard as the human race formed in Adam, the servants as the prophets, and the son as Christ. Alluding to Gen 2:7, Irenaeus writes, "For God planted the vineyard of the human race when at the first He formed Adam and chose the fathers"
(Plantavit enim Deus vineam humani generis primo quidem per plasmationem Adae et electionem patrum).89 While Irenaeus sometimes uses the "vineyard" imagery for the nation of Israel, here the imagery reflects humankind in general. The intertextual connections are framed by the common farming imagery between God's tilling the earth and molding Adam and planting a vineyard in the parable. However, the interpretation of the vineyard is united with the echo of the calling of the patriarchs, the calling of the prophets, and the coming of the Son, which provides a brief summary of the trajectory of salvation history. This short echo alludes to texts such as the calling of Abraham in Gen 12. Irenaeus' intertextual reading of Gen 2:7, therefore, is connected to parallel imagery of farming and the narrative history of salvation.
Following his interpretation of the parable of the wicked tenants, in Haer.
4.36.4 Irenaeus provides a series of warning passages predicting the judgment of those who reject the true God. He alludes to several passages including:
Luke 21:34–35, Luke 7:35–36, Matt 24:42, Matt 11:23–24, and especially the reference to the "days of Noah" (temporibus Noe) in Luke 17:2–6.90 Irenaeus takes
89 Haer. 4.36.2. cf. Haer. 4.14.2.
90 Matt 11:23–24 evokes the imagery of Sodom and Gomorrah, which parallels the discussion of Noah in Haer. 4.36.3–4. In the immediate context, he also alludes to John 4:14, Matt
21:19, 2 Thess 1:5, Matt 3:10 and Matt 7:19. But these passages have only loose theological connections to the echo to Gen 2:7.
chapter 5 up the interpretation of the "days of Noah" (temporibus Noe) in connection to the Nephilim in Gen 6:2–4. He describes the wickedness of the people following this episode in Gen 6:5 and suggests that because the angels sinned by comminging with the sons of Adam, God brought on the deluge in order to restrain the sins of humanity and "preserve the true archetype, the formation of Adam" (servaret vero archetypum, Adae plasmationem).91 Orbe notes a possible alternate reading for "archetype" (archetypum) as arcae typum, or the "form of the ark." In the former case, God destroys sinful humanity while at the same time preserving a purified form of the nature and character of the one formed from the dust (Gen 2:7). The latter case, on the other hand, actually applies the imagery of "ark" (arcae) to the human form fashioned from the dust, so God preserves the figure of the ark, the human form.92 Although this alternate reading is possible and appealing in some respects, the reference to Adam seems to imply the original formation and thus the "archetype." In any case, both readings convey the same general point that the substance of Adam's formation was preserved even through the events of Noah's life. The argument of this section joins this flood narrative with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to express the idea that God privileges those who believe in God and judges those who reject God. Once again, Irenaeus interprets Gospel passages in connection to Gen 2:7, and salvation history.
Finally in Haer. 4.36.6, Irenaeus continues the theme of judgment with another echo of Gen 2:7 connected to a discussion of Psalm 23(24):1, Matt 5:45,
Matt 22:7, and Rom 13:1–6. In continuity with the previous sections, he argues that God has providence over all things and administers his provision and retribution judiciously. For those who are ungrateful, Irenaeus writes that God
"sent his armies" (mittens exercitus suos, Matt 22:7) to impose the penalty of his wrath. He focuses on the possessive pronoun "his" (suos) that identifies all humankind as the property of the Creator God. He supports this point with citations of Psalm 23(24):1 and Rom 13:1–6 that suggest the earth and everything within it, including the powers and authorities, are subject to the administration of their Creator. This is also why, following the allusion to Rom 13:1–6, he describes the activity of God in narrative fashion including mention of the giving of the Law, the sending of the prophets, and the creation of all things.
He also concludes with another reference to "his armies" (exercitus suos) in Matt 22:7 alongside an echo of Gen 2:7, saying that they are "his" (suos) armies
91 Haer. 4.36.4.
92 Orbe, Teología IV, 491 n. 72. Orbe points to Hugo Rahner analysis of sea symbolism in patristic thought see, H. Rahner, Symbole der Kirche (Salzburg: Otto Muller, 1964), 272–
303, 516.