- Biblical Accommodation
Biblical Accommodation is the adaptation of words or sentences from the
Bible to signify ideas different from those expressed therin. Thus, if a sinner excuses his fault by saying, "The serpent deceived me", he applies the scriptural words of Eve (Gen., iii, 13) to express an idea which the sentence does not convey in the Bible. Similarly, a blind person might use the words of Tob., v, 12, "What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness, and see not the light of heaven". Here, again, the words would have a meaning which they do not bear in Sacred Scripture. This accommodation is sometimes incorrectly styled the accommodated, or accommodative, sense of Scripture. From the definition it is clear that it is not a sense of Scripture at all. The possibility of such accommodation may arise, first, from some similarity between the ideas in the sacred text and the subject to which the passage is accommodated; secondly, from the fact that the words of Scripture may be understood in two different senses. The first is called extensive accommodation. Examples of it are found in the Church's offices, both in theBreviary and theMissal , when the praises bestowed by theHoly Ghost onNoe ,Isaac , andMoses are applied to other saints. Thus the words of Ecclus., xxxii, 1, 5: "Have they made thee ruler? . . . hinder not music" are sometimes applied to College presidents assuming the burden of their office; we need not say that the words of Sacred Scripture have quite a different meaning. The second species of accommodation, called allusive, is often a mere play on words and at times seems due to a misunderstanding of the original meaning. TheVulgate text, "Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis" (Ps., lxvii, 36) means, in the mouth of thePsalmist , thatGod is wonderful in His sanctuary (sancta, -orum). The Latin words may also be translated "God is wonderful in his saints" (sancti, -orum), and they are employed in this sense in the Missal. As this second signification was not intended by the inspired writer, the English rendering of the text in theDouay-Rheims version is a mistranslation.The Use of Accommodation in the Bible
It is generally held by
Catholic authors that certain passages from theOld Testament have been used over again in theNew Testament with a change of meaning. In the Epistle to the Hebrews (xiii, 5) the words spoken to Josue, "I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Jos., i, 5), are applied to allChristian s. Other examples of accommodation are the use of Exod., xvi, 18 in II Cor., viii, 15; Zach., iv, 14 in Apoc., xi, 4; Ps., vi, 9 in Matt., vii, 2, 3; Mich., vii, 6 in Matt, x, 36. Evidently, the new meaning attached to the words is also inspired.Rationalist ic writers have maintained that similar accommodations are to be found in every case where theEvangelists quote the prophecies of the Old Testament. Some few Catholic writers have been willing to grant this explanation for a few passages, but the words in which the Evangelists assert that events in Our Lord's life took place "in order that" the prophecies might be fulfilled are incompatible with the theory that they wished to indicate only a resemblance between the event and the prophet's words. It is probable that no prophecy is used in the Gospels merely by accommodation.Rules for Accommodation
The use of accommodation in the Liturgy and by the
Fathers of the Church is sufficient to show that it is legitimate. Hence texts have been, and are frequently, accommodated by preachers and ascetical authors. Many of the sermons ofSt. Bernard are mosaics of Scripture phrases and owe much of their peculiar unction to his happy use of the sacred words. Latin writers and preachers have not been so reverent and careful in their accommodation, and this was one of the abuses condemned by theCouncil of Trent when it forbade the wresting of Scripture to profane uses (Sess. IV, Decret. "De editione et usu Sacrorum Librorum "). Interpreters are wont to give the following rules for guidance in the accommodation of Scripture:* Accommodated texts should never be used as arguments drawn from revelation; for the words are not employed in the sense, either literal or typical, intended by the Holy Ghost. Violations of this rule are not rare, either in sermons or in pious literature.
* Accommodation should not be farfetched. Allusive accommodations in many cases are mere distortions of the sacred text.
* Accommodations should be reverent. Holy words should be employed for purposes of edification, not to excite laughter, much less to cloak errors.
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