Canes Domini sumus

The Work of the Exegete in a Text of Rupert of Deutz

Abstract

This study examines a hunting metaphor in Rupert of Deutz’s commentary on Micah 2:4–5 and asks how it defines the work of the Christian exegete. Rupert compares interpreters to the Lord’s hunting dogs, the true sense of Scripture to prey, and Scripture itself to a dense forest. The article situates this imagery within Rupert’s Benedictine setting, the difficulty of the Micah passage, and the medieval practice of reading through patristic authorities, especially Jerome. Source-critical discussion relates the pursuit of truth to Clement of Alexandria and Xenophon, while the positive symbolism of dogs is traced through Cassiodorus and Gregory the Great. Rupert’s distinctive contribution is the synthesis of two inherited motifs: hunting as the strenuous search for truth and the dog as an image of the preacher who protects and edifies the Church. The metaphor, therefore, presents exegesis as persistent, demanding, and pastoral work. The successful interpreter follows the elusive sense through textual difficulties, rejoices before the Lord on grasping it, and returns with an interpretation that nourishes and delights the reader.