ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces us to a more than literal reading of the biblical text. This extension of the exegesis into non-literal, spiritual senses of the text is necessary for the patristic and medieval understanding of Scripture. Without it, some parts of Scripture would make no sense at all; but more importantly, for Christian interpreters, it allows them to add a Christological dimension to the Hebrew Bible. The Exodus reference is important for its rarity, but also because of where it is to be found not in just any part of Scripture, but in the Ten Commandments, one of the fundamental texts of both the Jewish and Christian faiths. Similarly, the importance to Christians of the Book of Ruth which leads from Ruth's son Obed to David, from whose line Christ was born, Ruth was also interpreted by Christian exegetes as the Gentile Church, that is, the community of non-Jews who embraced Christianity, just as a type of Christ.
