ABSTRACT
An attempt is made to place early Christian interpretation of the Bible in its proper cultural context, which in the beginning was predominantly Hellenistic-Jewish, and gradually became more Hellenistic-pagan. In the first century ce, this Jewish tradition of interpreting the Bible had already developed a rich variety of approaches, methods and concerns. The biblical interpretation of Jesus and Paul could probably be better understood if we knew more than we do about the interpretations of the Pharisees of that period. Early Christian interpretations of prophetical texts have much in common, from a hermeneutical point of view, with the Qumran pesher. In the New Testament writings there is normally a quite wide and also an even distribution of the scriptural quotations with regard to the different books of scripture. Typological interpretation of the Old Testament was not only restricted to the pages of theological works but also found its way into Christian art. A good example is the Junius Bassus sarcophagus.
