Origen of Alexandria’s Appraisal of the Mosaic Law

In this paper I will evaluate the reception of Mosaic Law (hereafter just Law) by Origen of Alexandria (c. 185 – c. 254 C.E.). Within in the polemics against “Christian heretics” and Judaism, Origen ascribed an important place to the Law preferring allegorical interpretation to the “heretical” and “Judaizing” approaches to the law, which included both rejection and literal interpretation.  Origen of Alexandria treated the Mosaic law on the one hand as relatively lower in value to Christian message while at the same time defending its divine origin and limited but continuing relevance. While a chronological evolution is apparent in Origen’s thought, I argue that there is a great deal of continuity in Origen’s view of the Law between the Alexandrian and Caesarean period.