Stretching Forth Toward the Good Things to Come: Hilary of Poitiers' Account of the Law of Moses in His Commentary on Psalm 119

Perhaps best known for his staunch opposition to the Arians, Hilary of Poitiers was also a notable biblical commentator. This study examines the account of the Mosaic law Hilary develops in the course of his twenty-two tractates on Psalm 119. Using an ensemble of Pauline texts as his interpretive framework, Hilary elaborates on how particular precepts of the Mosaic law adumbrate not only the redemptive work of Christ’s first advent but also the eschatological consummation of salvation. Ultimately, Hilary presents the psalmist’s meditation on the law as a model for Christian readers, insofar as it transformed his desires and directed them toward the very eschatological goods that Hilary’s Christian readers also await.