Anthony Briggman: Rethinking the Dating of Irenaeus’ Proof of the Apostolic Preaching

The dating of Irenaeus’ Proof of the Apostolic Preaching (Prf) relative to the composition of his Against Heresies (AH) has yet to be settled. For many years the consensus held that Irenaeus wrote Prf after AH, an opinion based on the presence of an allusion to AH located in Prf 99. More recently, however, Yves-Marie Blanchard questioned the originality of Prf 99-100, contending the natural ending of the work is Prf 98 (Aux sources du canon, le témoignage d’Irénée, 1993). Having negated the reference to AH, Blanchard contended the style of argumentation in Prf indicates it belongs to the era of the Apologists, earlier than the composition of AH. Blanchard’s analysis of Prf 99-100 has already received a short critique by Adelin Rousseau (SC 406). Moreover, Blanchard’s stylistic comparison of Prf to earlier writings is not decisive, and is persuasive only if no other substantial observation suggests a later relative date. The purpose of this paper is to offer two such observations. First, I shall contend that several aspects of the theological account we find in Prf is more advanced than the account in AH. If we accept the premise that a more advanced theological account is a more mature one, then we may offer an opinion on the relative dating of the two statements. Second, I shall argue that the presence of the Hands of God motif, the identification of the Word or Spirit as the Hands or either one as a Hand (contra Loofs’ distinction between ‘Hands’ and ‘Hand’ language), in AH 3-5 and Prf 11 bears on the relative dating of Prf. It is my contention that the presence of the Hands motif in Irenaeus is due to his reception of Theophilus’ To Autolycus during the course of the composition of AH 3. Since Hands language occurs in Prf 11 the work cannot be dated prior to the later portion of AH 3 where an incipient form of the Hands motif first occurs in AH. Otherwise the absence of Hands language in AH 1 and 2, its emergence in AH 3, and full-fledged utilization in AH 4 and 5 cannot be explained. Therefore, rather than locating Prf prior to Irenaeus’ composition of AH, we have cause to date it during or after his writing of AH 4 & 5.