Features & Benefits- Makes accessible early Christian commentary on the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament- Covers the period from Clement of Rome (second century) to John of Damascus (mid-eighth century)- Illuminates Scripture in the light of classic and consensual Christian faith- Informs postcritical Christian reading and exposition of Scripture- Renders ancient Greek, Latin, Coptic and Syriac writings in lucid English translation

Alberto Ferreiro presents patristic commentary on the Twelve Prophets (the so-called Minor Prophets), bringing new understanding to the books of both the Old and NewTestaments.

The Gospel of Matthew stands out as a favorite biblical text among patristic commentators. The patristic commentary tradition on Matthew begins with Origen's pioneering twenty-five-volume commentary on the First Gospel in the mid-third century. In the Latin-speaking West, where commentaries did not appear until about a century later, the first commentary on Matthew was written by Hilary of Poitiers in the mid-fourth century. From that point, the First Gospel became one of the texts most frequently commented on in patristic exegesis. Outstanding examples are Jerome's four-volume commentary and...

Because the Catholic Epistles focus on orthodox faith and morals, the Fathers drew on them as a means of defense against the rising challenge of heretics. This factor gave these letters a freshness and relevance to conditions in the fourth and fifth centuries that might otherwise seem surprising. Many of the Fathers unabashedly saw in them anticipatory attacks on Marcion and strong defenses against the Arians. They did so quite naturally because in their view truth was eternal and deviations from it had existed from the beginning. Above all, the Fathers found in the Catholic Epistles a manual...

Marco Conti edits this excellent collection of commentary from the church fathers on 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. Includes Greek and Syriac commentators who set before you a table of delights and theological insights, some in English for the very first time.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In the translator's introduction to this volume, James Kellerman relates the following story: As Thomas Aquinas was approaching Paris, a fellow traveler pointed out the lovely buildings gracing that city. Aquinas was impressed, to be sure, but he sighed and stated that he would rather have the complete Incomplete Commentary on Matthew than to be mayor of Paris itself. Thomas's affection for the work attests its great popularity during the Middle Ages, despite its significant missing parts--everything beyond the end of Matthew 25, with further gaps of Matthew 8:11--10:15 and...

The Revelation to John—with its vivid images and portraits of conflict leading up to the formation of a new heaven and a new earth—was widely read, even as it was variously interpreted in the early church. Approaches to its interpretation ranged from the millenarian approach of Victorinus of Petovium to the more symbolic interpretation of Tyconius, who read Revelation in the sense of the universal and unitary time of the church. Tyconius's Book of Rules, deeply admired by Augustine, strongly influenced not only ongoing interpretation of Revelation but the whole of medieval exegesis. From...

Christianity Today Book of the Year For the early church fathers, certain passages in the shorter letters of St. Paul proved particularly important in doctrinal disputes and practical church matters. Pivotal in controversies with the Arians and the Gnostics, the most commented-on christological text in these letters was Colossians 1:15-20, where Jesus is declared "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." The fathers found ample support scattered throughout the Pastorals for the divinity of the Son and the Spirit and for the full union of humanity and divinity...

Among the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon were all thought by the early church fathers to have derived from the hand of Solomon. To their minds the finest wisdom about the deeper issues of life prior to the time of God's taking human form in Jesus Christ was to be found in these books. As in all the Old Testament, they were quick to find types and intimations of Christ and his church that would make the ancient Word relevant to the Christians of their day. Of extant commentaries on Ecclesiastes none are so profound as the eight homilies...