The “Style of God”. Language as Historical Mediation and Transformation of Biblical Authority in Spinoza
Abstract
This article argues that Spinoza’s notion of the “style of Scripture” provides the methodological key to his historical conception of revelation and, more broadly, to a new theory of linguistic mediation. A comparative analysis with Robert Boyle’s theory of accommodation highlights two distinct early modern strategies for stabilizing scriptural authority: one grounded in divinely regulated linguistic adaptation, the other in historical-philological reconstruction. The divergence between these models reflects not a rupture between tradition and modernity, but competing attempts to account for the epistemic status of language and scriptural language in the early modern period.
Pubblicato 17 Settembre 2026 | Lingua: en
Keywords Tractatus theologico-politicus • Style • Biblical interpretation • Accommodation • Early modern philosophy • Spinoza • Scripture • Hermeneutics • Historical criticism • Language
Copyright © 2026 Giuseppina Totaro. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Jolma/2723-9640/2026/01/007