ANDREW (or Andreas) OF SAINT-VICTOR°

ANDREW (or Andreas ) OF SAINT-VICTOR ° (c. 1110–1175), Christian Hebraist, probably English by birth; died as abbot of Wigmore (Herefordshire). Andrew was the pupil, in Paris, of Hugh of Saint-Victor (d. 1141), who was interested in Jewish biblical exegesis. Andrew acquired some proficiency in Hebrew, engaged in prolonged oral discussion with Jews, and was the first exegete after *Jerome to introduce Jewish material into a Christian Bible commentary on a substantial scale. His works cover Genesis through Kings, the Prophets (including Daniel), Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes (the last is the only one available in a printed edition; ed. by G. Calandra, 1948). The Vulgate is collated with the Hebrew text, and an embryonically critical attitude is adopted toward the sources, patristic and Jewish alike. Andrew's lack of concern with Christian theological tradition even allowed him to interpret the "Suffering Servant" of Isaiah 53 not as Jesus, but as Israel, or Isaiah himself. As an innovator, he was at first fascinated by his newfound Jewish sources and recited them indiscriminately. Later he assessed them more critically, though primarily from a rationalist rather than a theological standpoint. He evinced interest in biblical chronology and geography. His work parallels matter found in *Rashi and Joseph *Bekhor Shor. Andrew's work circulated quite widely, and in about 1271–72, Roger *Bacon, while commending his resort to the Hebrew text, deplored the prestige enjoyed by his "literalist" commentaries.

bibliography:

B. Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages (1952²), 112–95; R. Loewe, in: jhset, 17 (1951/52), 238–40; H. Hailperin, Rashi and the Christian Scholars (1963), index; Mahoney, in: New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1 (1967), 496 (incl. bibl.).

[Raphael Loewe]