I really don't see how one could view the Elijah prophecy as somehow unique in referring to two separate events simultaneously (and who know, perhaps more.)
There is certainly no explicit reference anywhere else in the Bible to the woman in Genesis 3 being the Virgin Mary. But surely you do not mean to imply that a prophecy is only real prophecy if another Scriptural reference confirms it as such -- or that prophecies can only be interpreted if other Scriptures explain it? That would seem to gut the very concept of Biblical prophecy.
It seems to me that Scripture is so full of these double and triple meanings and references that they are commonplace. But then, that is how we Orthodox read the Scripture.
We don't believe that a passage has to be either historical or prophetic or spiritual or allegorical -- more often than not, we view Scriptural passages as being all of the above simultaneously. And often with multiple prophetic and spiritual meanings at once.
It is this quality of Scripture that, to me, so obviously places the Scriptures on an entirely different plane from all other written sources of Holy Tradition. The four-fold Gospel in particular is a verbal icon of Christ, and the Psalter is an "Old Testament Gospel", and have power and effects on our souls beyond comprehension.
Experienced monastics and even some devout laymen read through the Gospel and Psalter so many times that the feat of having the entire Gospel and Psalter memorized, or nearly so, is historically hardly rare in the Orthodox world. There was a time not so long ago when in order to become a bishop, one of the qualifications in the Orthodox Church was precisely to be able to recite the entire Gospel and Psalter from memory. It is felt by many monastics that until the Scriptures are memorized in this way, one only scratches the surface of the meanings of the Scripture, and more importantly of the process of living it.
No, I don't mean to imply that, I don't know. It just appears to me that this Mary "insertion" into Gen. 3 seems forced. I can appreciate why it helps with doctrine and all, but I just see it as a special interpretation, the same type of which is not used elsewhere to my knowledge.
It seems to me that Scripture is so full of these double and triple meanings and references that they are commonplace. But then, that is how we Orthodox read the Scripture.
Well, I can't sit here and wag my finger at you and say that I never believe that a verse has more than one meaning. :) BUT, I'm not so sure how commonplace it is. My normal stance on any random verse is to take the so-called "plain meaning". That is, unless the context directs me not to, such as in the case of a parable, or almost any verse in Revelation. :)
There was a time not so long ago when in order to become a bishop, one of the qualifications in the Orthodox Church was precisely to be able to recite the entire Gospel and Psalter from memory. It is felt by many monastics that until the Scriptures are memorized in this way, one only scratches the surface of the meanings of the Scripture, and more importantly of the process of living it.
Boy do I hear that! :) My mentor in our church was our former music minister. We were friends and we would meet once a week or so for a one-on-one Bible study. This went on for several years. He was really big on memorization of verses, so every week I had my little homework assignment to memorize a set of verses. I was so appreciative that he would take the time to teach me that I felt I couldn't let him down, so I did the work, even though I may not have understood what the right reasons were at the time. Now I know. :)
Anyway, if it wasn't for God using him to touch my heart with friendship, and to teach me, I wouldn't even be able to begin to talk with you all on a thread like this. I am so thankful. :)