The Sensus Plenior of Sacred Scripture
Overview
This work, published in 1955, is a dissertation Raymond Brown wrote at St. Mary’s University in Baltimore. It deals with the notion of sensus plenior or “fuller sense,” a term in biblical exegesis first used by Andres Fernandez, S.J. in the late 1920s. This new hermeneutic classification sparked a complicated dispute in Catholic circles in the years following, to which Brown adds his voice in this text. Brown defines sensus plenior as “that additional, deeper meaning, intended by God but not clearly intended by the human author, which is seen to exist in the words of a biblical text (or group of texts, or even a whole book) when they are studied in the light of further revelation or development in the understanding of revelation.” Brown explores the use of Scripture in its various senses through the ages, explains the divisions of sensus plenior and its relations to other senses of Scripture, examines the objections raised against it, and much more.
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- Presents a discussion on the notion of sensus plenior
- Explains the divisions of sensus plenior and its relations to other senses of Scripture
- Explores the use of Scripture in its various senses through the ages
Top Highlights
“The literal sense is that which both the Holy Spirit and the human author directly and proximately intended, and which the words directly convey, either properly or metaphorically.” (Page 4)
“The sensus plenior is a distinct sense from either the literal or the typical, holding a position between the two, but closer to the literal. Like the literal sense it is a meaning of the text; unlike it, it is not within the clear purview of the hagiographer. It shares this latter characteristic with the typical sense; but unlike the typical sense, it is not a sense of ‘things’ but of words. In practice, there will be many borderline instances in both directions where it is impossible to decide just what sense is involved.” (Page 122)
“Now comes an all important question: does a classification into the literal and typical senses meet all possible needs? For instance, can all the valid exegesis of the last three thousand years be classified as either literal or typical? Can the valid use of Scripture (we use the word ‘valid’ to exclude accommodation) in the liturgy and in the documents of the Magisterium be classified as either literal or typical? Do these forms of exegesis fully succeed in harmonizing the two Testaments?” (Page 68)
“The honor, however, of having first used the term ‘sensus plenior’ to designate clearly one of the senses of Scripture belongs, to the best of our knowledge, to Fr. Fernández, writing in the 1920’s.3 Since then the term has been accepted by many authors.” (Page 88)
“The O. T. was a partial revelation—it had meaning in itself, but it attained to fullness only with Christ.” (Page 89)
Raymond E. Brown was a Sulpician priest and bible scholar. He taught for many years at Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and was professor emeritus of biblical studies at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. Over his lifetime he was awarded more than dozen honorary doctorates from American and European universities and was commended by Pope Paul VI for his “learning, prudence, and Catholic regard for the Magisterium of the Church.” Brown was the author of three books in the Anchor Yale Bible series on the Gospels and Epistles of John. He died in 1998.