Texts in Conversation
In 1 Clement, the author claims scripture long ago spoke of bishops and deacons, quoting Isaiah 60 in a form unlike the Greek Septuagint translation, which has rulers and overseers. Clement adds deacons to give the offices of his church an ancient basis.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 60:17
Septuagint
15 Because you have become forsaken and hated and there was none who helped, and I will make you an everlasting gladness, a joy for generations of generations. 16 You shall suck the milk of nations, and you shall eat the wealth of kings, and you shall know that I am the Lord who saves you and rescues you, the God of Israel. 17 And instead of bronze I will bring you gold; instead of iron I will bring you silver; instead of wood I will bring you bronze; instead of stones, iron. And I will appoint your rulers in peace and your overseers in righteousness.
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 42:5
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
3 Having therefore received a charge, and having been fully assured through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the word of God with full assurance of the Holy Spirit, they went forth with the glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come. 4 So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their firstfruits, when they had tested them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons to those that should believe. 5 And this they did in no new fashion; for indeed it had been written concerning bishops and deacons from very ancient times; for thus says the scripture in a certain place, “I will appoint their bishops in righteousness and their deacons in faith.”
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Notes and References
“... Scholars often identify this as a quotation from Isa 60:17. However, there are quite a few differences between Isa 60:17 and the text quoted here. The question arises as to this reference: is it really a quotation? Another question is why Clement introduces in this allusion—in a quite unexpected way—a reference to diakonoi? [...] This reference shows that for Clement the ministry of Israel, as reflected in the Scriptures, constitutes a model for the ministry of the ekklesia. Clement does not adduce a verbatim quotation, but while paraphrasing Isa 60:17 he presents the readers with a suggestive reference to a more or less biblical model. Introducing to the reference the combination episkopoi and diakonoi as a stock phrase from the nascent Christian community he anchors the two-fold ministry in Biblical tradition. ...”
Koet, Bart J.
"Isaiah 60:17 as a Key for Understanding the Two-fold Ministry of Episkopoi and Diakonoi according to First Clement (1 Clem 42:5)" in Koet, Bart J., Steve Moyise, and Joseph Verheyden, editors, The Scriptures of Israel in Jewish and Christian Tradition: Essays in Honour of Maarten J.J. Menken
(p. 346, 361) Brill, 2013
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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