Reading Matthew with Monks

In Reading Matthew with Monks Derek Olsen seeks to evaluate whether earlymedieval monastic biblical interpreters can serve as effective conversationpartners for modern readers who are committed to broadening their reading ofScripture. Olsen puts the interpretations of four modern Scripture commentaries inconversation with Ælfric of Eynsham's interpretations of four texts from the Gospelof Matthew. In so doing he clarifi es early medieval monastic interpretive contextsand assesses their usefulness in modern scholarship. As outsiders in moderncritical debates Ælfric and his sources may provide alternative approaches orperspectives that open interpretive possibilities where modern interpreters arelocked in disagreement. Early medieval monastic interpreters can serve as excellentguides for understanding the potential for moral spiritual or formative meaningsof a biblical text. By adding their voices to modern hermeneutics modern readerscan find new depth in biblical texts.