Hermeneutical Principles in Ethiopic Andemta Commentary Tradition

Abstract

This article examines the hermeneutical principles of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) through a critical analysis of its indigenous Andemta Commentary (teregwame) tradition. Cross-examining the scholarly debate between Roger Cowley and Mohammed Girma, this study critiques modern reductions of the Andemta tradition to mere homiletic application, arguing instead that it embodies a sophisticated, dual-edged hermeneutic that synthesizes historical realism with spiritual polysemy. This ongoing scholarly discourse raises a central question regarding the precise nature of Ethiopian biblical hermeneutics, which is to what extent does the Andemta commentary hermeneutical tradition reflect the literal-historical methodologies of the Antiochene tradition versus other patristic interpretive frameworks? Thus, focusing on the Aqedah narrative in Gen. 22:5–8[1]  and the Andemta commentary’s interpretation of the sacrificial ram, the study demonstrates how the Andemta tradition preserves the historical and contextual setting of biblical narrative while simultaneously employing allegorical readings to unveil deeper spiritual and theological significance of the Sacred text.  

Methodologically, the study uses this Andemta tradition synthesis to challenge the perceived, historiographical binary conventionally constructed between the Antiochene literalism and the Alexandrian allegorism. It contends that while these patristic schools maintained distinct Christological trajectories, utilizing allegorical usage as a categorical metric for binary division oversimplifies patristic exegesis and obscures their functional convergence in Eastern traditions. Finally, the paper articulates a compelling proposal for contemporary EOTC scholars and homilists operating in a post-critical context: calling for a constructive retrieval of early patristic methodologies that appreciate spiritual polysemy, while maintaining hermeneutical self-scrutiny to ensure allegorical interpretations remain organically rooted in the literal-historical sense of biblical text.

[1] In the Hebrew tradition the word for Akedah stated in Gen 22: 5–8 refers to the binding of Isaac, the Son of Abrham, a narrative traditionally interpreted in Christian theology as a typological model pointing forward to the crucifixion and atonement of Jesus Christ.