Genesis 12-50

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture #2

by Mark Sheridan (Editor)

Genesis 12-50 recounts the history of the patriarchs--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. From their mentors Paul, Peter, Stephen and the author of the letter to the Hebrews, the early fathers learned to draw out the spritual significance of the patriarchal narrative for Christian believers. The Alexandrian school especially followed Paul's allegorical use of the story of Sarah and Hagar as they interpreted the Gensis accounts. The Antiochene school eschewed allegorical interpretation but still set about to find moral lessons in the ancient narrative. For all of them the events pointed toward the promises of the age to come, the new age revealed in the resurrection of Jesus. Among the principal Greek-speaking commentators included within this volume, readers will find Origen, Didymus the Blind, John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria. Among the Latin-speaking interpreters they will find Ambrose of Milan, Augusstine of Hippo, Caesarius of Arles and Bede the Venerable. Ephrem the Syrian is the most commonly cited Syriac-speaking interpreter, while the fifth-century Catena on Genesis provides access to such fathers as Eusebius of Caesarea, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Didymus of Alexandria, Epiphanius of Salamis, Irenaeus of Lyons, Eusebius of Emesa, Severian of Gabala and Theodore of Mopsuestia among others. Varied in texture and nuance, the interpreters cited provide a wealth of ancient wisdom, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to stimulate the mind and nourish the soul of the church today.

Genres: Reference, Christian, Theology, Old Testament

392 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have quite a few of these volumes so am reading them as they correlate with another study/reading. I started the JPS Hebrew Bible and stopped at Genesis 40 to read this commentary. I should have started earlier but didn't think of it. It's great to have a lot of church fathers sharing their interpretation of the same readings.

[Henry]

Some insight but honestly I haven’t gotten as much from this as I expected. It feels to me like they have not really taken the opportunity to dig deep into the writings of the Fathers on these passages. Maybe that is my own ignorance.

[Jonathan]

None

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just great!