Skovoroda’s prefiguration in the context of biblical heuristics and noematic
Authors: Levchenko N. 
Published: December 2022

Biblical noematic, that is, the science of the meanings of the Holy Scriptures, and heuristics, the science of finding these meanings, were central to the exegesis of Hrygorii Skovoroda. Under the influence of the teachings of the fathers of the Alexandrian school, they changed their methodological principles, transformed to a certain extent and moved towards a comprehensive allegory of the Holy Scriptures in the author's system of its interpretation.

The true meaning of the Word of God lies under the tinsel of the material shell of the word, which Skovoroda calls figures, signs, symbols. Using images and symbols, Skovoroda explained the invisible nature, that is, the existence of God, Truth. To decipher the meaning of the figures means to discover the truth hidden in the Holy Scriptures.

Trying to find the truth in the Holy Scriptures, Skovoroda superimposes his own already transformed allegorical constructions on biblical allegories, that is, he talks about allegories in terms of allegories, thereby not simplifying but complicating their meaning.

For example, the image of a snake coiling in a ring and having a sharp look is a metaphorical personification of self-knowledge, self-view of the world. So, the image of a snake coiled in a ring symbolizes the general meaning of human life.

It is difficult to understand, the philosopher notes, where the beginning and where is the end of a snake coiled in a ring, if you do not notice its head. It is equally difficult to understand eternity – it is everywhere and nowhere, because it is invisible and covers its hypostasis. Skovoroda regards the coils and rings of the snake as symbols of eternity, and therefore also symbols of the Bible itself. That is why the writer calls the Bible a snake and God at the same time.

Biblical noematic, that is, the science of the meanings of the Holy Scriptures, and heuristics, the science of finding these meanings, were central to the exegesis of Hrygorii Skovoroda. Under the influence of the teachings of the fathers of the Alexandrian school, they changed their methodological principles, transformed to a certain extent and moved towards a comprehensive allegory of the Holy Scriptures in the author's system of its interpretation.

The true meaning of the Word of God lies under the tinsel of the material shell of the word, which Skovoroda calls figures, signs, symbols. Using images and symbols, Skovoroda explained the invisible nature, that is, the existence of God, Truth. To decipher the meaning of the figures means to discover the truth hidden in the Holy Scriptures.

Trying to find the truth in the Holy Scriptures, Skovoroda superimposes his own already transformed allegorical constructions on biblical allegories, that is, he talks about allegories in terms of allegories, thereby not simplifying but complicating their meaning.

For example, the image of a snake coiling in a ring and having a sharp look is a metaphorical personification of self-knowledge, self-view of the world. So, the image of a snake coiled in a ring symbolizes the general meaning of human life.

It is difficult to understand, the philosopher notes, where the beginning and where is the end of a snake coiled in a ring, if you do not notice its head. It is equally difficult to understand eternity – it is everywhere and nowhere, because it is invisible and covers its hypostasis. Skovoroda regards the coils and rings of the snake as symbols of eternity, and therefore also symbols of the Bible itself. That is why the writer calls the Bible a snake and God at the same time.