What is the “fourfold sense of Scripture”?
During the Patristic Period in the Middle Ages practiced an exegetical tactic known as the fourfold sense of Scripture. What are these four senses and do these ideas about the nature of Scripture still serve as the underpinning for modern Biblical Hermeneutics?
The method referenced above is called the "Quadriga". You may find that the Quadriga is a faint memory of sensus plenior where God speaks in four voices: Prophet, Priest, King, Judge.
The voice of King speaks literally and historically. The voice of Judge speaks God's moral view upon the literal-historical. The voice of Prophet speaks of Jesus's literal life. And the voice of Priest speaks of the esoteric Son of God as second person of the Trinity.
When Moses jumped back from the rod which had been turned to snake: The King speaks literally of Moses and the rod. The Judge says that Moses was guilty of murder in wielding his authority in Egypt, but that he was forgiven and was given God's authority again. The prophet speaks of Jesus facing Gethsemane and being made to be sin on the cross. He prayed "remove this cup" then "thy will be done". The priest speaks of the moment in eternity when the second person of the Trinity decided to become incarnate and endure the cross. At first the idea of being made to be sin was so abhorrent that he refused, then submitted to the will of the Father. This is also reflected in the parable of the two sons, one said he wouldn't but did.
You can see that sensus plenior is parallel to Quadriga but not exactly the same.
