Epilogue

Abstract The Epilogue quickly rehearses the major theses of the book. By exploring the practices of Clement’s exegesis, regardless of our estimation of the success of these techniques, we find that Clement nevertheless claims that the exegesis of Scripture built on the commentarial activity of the grammarian is the foundational practice of Christian theology. To conclude, the Epilogue suggests that this is true not merely for Clement. Scriptural exegesis is at the heart of the development of all early Christian theology. And although I am not the first scholar to make this claim, the weight of this study suggests that scholars would be best served by analyzing the creative exegesis of individual Christian readers before proposing any judgments on the substance of “early Christian theology” or even “patristic exegesis” as a whole. One might just find that Clement—frequently neglected as both a theologian and an exegete—proves a veritable prophet on the Christian exegetical tradition that follows him.