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|---|
| Passage Unit (IV.26) | Argument Function (inside Marcion’s Luke) | Structural / Irenaean Method Signals | Redaction & Dependence Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| IV.26.1 — “Domine doce nos orare” (Lord’s Prayer introduction) | Uses prayer instruction retained by Marcion as starting premise; opponent already accepts text | Refutation from retained material — exactly the AH III method: argument bounded by opponent’s Gospel | Strong indicator of inherited anti-Marcion template; not general doctrinal argument but opponent-specific exegesis |
| IV.26.2 — “Pater” language | Fatherhood interpreted as creator identity (generation, prior relation to humanity) | Identity argument through linguistic presupposition; Irenaean “terminology reveals economy” logic | Suggests prior theological schema applied systematically to vocabulary |
| IV.26.3 — Petition clauses analyzed sequentially | Dissects prayer line-by-line (kingdom, bread, Spirit, forgiveness) | Modular exegetical units; resembles testimonia chain rather than flowing rhetoric | Likely structured source blocks adapted into commentary form |
| IV.26.4 — Kingdom language | “Regnum” presupposes known ruler already revealed | Irenaean epistemological argument: new deity cannot be introduced implicitly | Repeated logical formula seen across Book IV; suggests inherited argumentative matrix |
| IV.26.5 — Daily bread (manna typology) | Bread linked back to creator’s provision in wilderness | Prophetic/typological recapitulation — classic Irenaean continuity model | Preassembled OT parallel typical of testimonia collections |
| IV.26.6 — Spirit references | Spirit traced to Genesis and creation narrative | Creator-rooting strategy; Gospel language interpreted via primordial economy | Strong alignment with Irenaean creation-based refutation style |
| IV.26.7 — Asking/Seeking/Knocking | Delay of response framed as pedagogical discipline | “Creator educates through process” — pedagogical theology prominent in Irenaeus | Theological motif appears inherited rather than improvised |
| IV.26.8 — Parable of friend at midnight | Persistence interpreted as creator’s judicial framework | Ethical teaching requires judge — recurring anti-Marcion necessity argument | Structural reuse of earlier logical template (cf. other chapters) |
| IV.26.9 — “Digitus Dei” exorcism language | Exodus precedent invoked (magicians of Pharaoh) | Gospel phrase decoded via OT narrative memory; Irenaean hermeneutic | Dense catena suggests prior proof dossier |
| IV.26.10 — Strong man / demons | Creator portrayed as cosmic ruler defeating adversary | Anti-dualistic logic: same creator governs spiritual conflict | Stock anti-Marcion motif reused across early polemic |
Tertullian, Adv. Marc. IV.26: “dignus est operarius mercede sua … excusavit praeceptum illud creatoris de vasis aureis et argenteis Aegyptiorum auferendis …” ; “Cui dicam, Pater? … a quo spiritum sanctum postulem? … Quis dabit mihi panem cotidianum?” ; “Si sapientiam atque prudentiam, has creator abscondit… apud eum ergo quaeram.”
Irenaeus parallels: AH III (programmatic statement): “secundum Lucam autem Evangelium… decurtantes… Nos autem etiam ex his quae adhuc apud eos custodiuntur arguemus eos”; AH IV (esp. IV.30; Egyptian spoiling typology): defense of Israel taking Egyptian goods as divine justice and reward; recurring AH IV language of things abscondita / revelata, prophetic concealment followed by manifestation in Christ.
Methodological parallels
The chapter proceeds exactly according to the Irenaean strategy announced in AH III: argumentation from material retained within Marcion’s own Gospel tradition. Tertullian does not primarily appeal to external ecclesial authority but demonstrates that the dominical sayings themselves presuppose the Creator. The Lord’s Prayer functions as internal evidence: every petition (“Pater,” daily bread, forgiveness, kingdom, temptation) presumes categories rooted in the Creator’s economy. This corresponds to Irenaeus’s repeated method in AH III–IV of exposing heretical incoherence by interpreting the Gospel sayings they themselves preserve.
The Egyptian-spoil argument (“vasa aurea et argentea Aegyptiorum”) reflects a specifically Irenaean apologetic technique. In AH IV.30 Irenaeus justifies Israel’s taking Egyptian goods as legitimate recompense and as typological prefiguration. Tertullian’s use of the same episode to defend Creator justice suggests inherited exegetical material rather than independent invention. Both writers treat the episode as a hermeneutical key demonstrating divine continuity rather than moral discontinuity.
Likewise the “hidden/revealed” logic (“si sapientiam… creator abscondit”) reproduces a familiar Irenaean syllogism: concealment presupposes prior revelation history. Irenaeus repeatedly argues that prophetic obscurity is resolved by Christ, undermining Marcion’s claim of a wholly new deity.
Structural correspondences
The chapter unfolds in a pattern strongly aligned with Irenaeus’s structural habits.
First comes theological grounding: prayer language presupposes the Creator as Father, provider, judge, and giver of Spirit.
Second follows hermeneutical exposition: Gospel petitions are interpreted through Old Testament precedent (manna, prophetic miracles, Exodus narrative), paralleling AH IV’s structure where dominical sayings are continuously interpreted through prophetic types.
Third is sequential Gospel exegesis. The dominical sayings appear as discrete units (Lord’s Prayer petitions, ask/seek/knock, nocturnal friend parable, Beelzebul controversy) linked in logical progression rather than rhetorical flourish. This resembles Irenaeus’s chaining of scriptural testimonia to demonstrate a unified economy.
Fourth, typological reinforcement: Exodus, Isaiah, Psalms, and Mosaic narratives function not as isolated proof-texts but as structural anchors, exactly as in AH IV where prophetic fulfillment frames Gospel interpretation.
Historical polemic parallels
Marcion is treated as a posterior innovator whose theology collapses when confronted with the historical depth embedded in the Gospel sayings. Tertullian argues that prayer presupposes prior knowledge of God; therefore Christ cannot introduce a previously unknown deity. This reflects Irenaeus’s recurring polemic that novelty is self-refuting because apostolic proclamation stands within prophetic continuity.
The Egyptian spoiling episode further reflects Irenaeus’s broader historical apologetic. Both writers defend the Creator’s justice against Marcionite criticism by reframing controversial Old Testament episodes as legitimate recompense. This argument is characteristic of AH IV’s sustained defense of the Mosaic dispensation against Marcionite moral objections.
Appeals to continuity of divine identity—Creator as giver of bread, judge of sins, ruler of kings—mirror Irenaeus’s insistence on one economy spanning patriarchs, prophets, and Christ.
Signs of inherited exegetical scaffolding
Several features suggest the presence of earlier scholion-like material compatible with an Irenaean anti-Marcionite framework.
The analysis of the Lord’s Prayer proceeds petition by petition, resembling dominical-logia commentary rather than purely rhetorical invective. The Egyptian spoiling argument appears as a compact apologetic unit already systematized in Irenaeus, implying transmission of established anti-Marcionite topoi. Logical syllogisms recur (“if prayer presupposes known God → Creator”; “if wisdom hidden → must belong to prior revelation history”), characteristic of catechetical anti-heretical argumentation. The relatively tight exegetical sequence contrasts with Tertullian’s usual digressive rhetoric, suggesting adaptation of pre-existing material.
Condensed assessment
Chapter IV.26 strongly supports dependence upon an earlier Irenaean anti-Marcionite framework. The internal-critique method, the defense of Egyptian spoiling parallel to AH IV.30, the hidden/revealed hermeneutic, and the structured sequential exegesis of dominical sayings align closely with Irenaeus’s announced program of refuting Marcion from texts retained within his own Gospel tradition.
