BERRUYER, ISAAC JOSEPH

Jesuit exegete; b. Rouen, France, Nov. 7, 1681; d. Paris, Feb. 18, 1758. Berruyer's most noteworthy exegetical work was the ill-fated "History of the People of God." The first part, entitled Histoire du peuple de Dieu depuis son origine jusqu'à la venue du Messie, appeared in seven volumes in 1728; by 1736 seven editions and four translations of the work had been published. The second part, Histoire du peuple de Dieu depuis la naissance du Messie jusqu'à la fin de la Synagogue, followed in 1753; a revised edition was published at Antwerp in 1754. Berruyer's name appears on few copies of the second part, which was published without the knowledge and against the will of his Jesuit superiors in Paris, and, possibly, of Berruyer himself. The third part, Histoire du peuple de Dieu, ou paraphrase des épîtres des apôtres, was printed at Lyons in 1757.

As the various parts of the work appeared, controversy grew increasingly bitter. Berruyer was denounced for cavalier treatment of the sacred texts, and some critics felt that his attitudes were dangerously Nestorian; but the chief complaint seems to have been that he was influenced by the eccentricities of Father Jean Hardouin. The Histoire was condemned by many French bishops, the superiors of the Society of Jesus, the Sorbonne, and the Parlement of Paris. The three divisions of the work were consigned to the Index in 1732, 1754, and 1758, but an approved revision of part one was issued at Besançon in 1828.

Bibliography: c. sommervogel et al., Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, 11 vol. (Brussels–Paris 1890–1932; v. 12 suppl. 1960) 1:1357–70. l. bopp, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, j. hofer and k. rahner, eds., 10 vol. (2d new ed. Freiburg, 1957–65) 2:262. j. brucker, Dictionnaire de la Bible, suppl. ed. l. pirot et al. (Paris 1928–) 1.2:1627–29. e. lamalle, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, a. baudrillart et al., eds. (Paris 1912–) 8: 890–891. p. delattre, Catholicisme. Hier, aujourd'hui et demain, g. jacquemet (Paris 1947–) 1:1495–96.

[j. b. donnelly]