Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: Volume 3Joseph T. Lienhard, Thomas C. Oden InterVarsity Press, 2014 M02 19 - 382 pages From its inception the church has always had a Bible—the Jewish Scriptures. But Christians have not read these Scriptures in the same way the Jews did. They have read them in the light of what God did in Jesus the Christ. Thus the Jewish Scriptures became for Christian readers the Old Testament. This Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume on Exodus through Deuteronomy bears ample witness to this new way of reading these ancient texts. Among the earliest interpreters whose works remain extant is Origen, who virtually single-handedly assured the Old Testament a permanent place within the Christian church through his extensive commentary and reflection. His twenty-seventh homily on Numbers is particularly noteworthy for his interpretation of the forty-two stopping places in the desert wanderings as the forty-two stages of growth in the spiritual life. Among Greek-speaking interpreters, this current volume draws widely on John Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyr, and John of Damascus. Among Latin-speaking interpreters, quotations from Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, Paterius, Caesarius of Arles, Cassiodorus, and Isidore are found in abundance. Ephrem and Aphrahat are represented among Syriac speakers. Numerous other interpreters are present from each grouping. Varied in texture and nuance, the interpretations included in this volume display a treasure house of ancient wisdom, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, speaking with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 86
... God's Word for the new church? Paul had warned the Christians against falling back into Jewish ways, so some of this Bible, at least, was not to be taken literally. Three basic approaches to the Jewish Scriptures were open to the early ...
... God gave the Israelites families because they feared him (Jerome). In God's plan, the Egyptians drowned in the very waters in which Pharaoh wanted to drown the infant boys of the Israelites (Ephrem). In God's providence, Moses was ...
... God. Jerome: Because they feared God, they built up houses. Without the fear of God, a house cannot be built. If then with the fear of God houses were built by those who had not committed sin but rather did their building at God's ...
... God (Gregory of Nazianzus). To remove one's shoes is to be freed from passion (Evagrius). The only way to stand on holy ... God's Word Shown in the Burning Bush. Prudentius: It was the Word, breathed from the Father's mouth, Who of the ...
... God. Is the angel then the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? Therefore he may be rightly understood to be the Savior himself of whom the apostle says, “Whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the ...
Contents
xi | |
xxxiv | |
xxxvi | |
xxxviii | |
1 | |
Leviticus | 163 |
Numbers | 205 |
Deuteronomy | 275 |
Timeline of Writers of the Patristic Period | 372 |
Bibliography | 379 |
AuthorsWritings Index | 391 |
Subject Index | 392 |
Scripture Index | 397 |
About the Editor | 401 |
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture | 402 |
More Titles from InterVarsity Press | 403 |
Early Christian Writers and the Documents Cited | 342 |
Biographical Sketches Short Descriptions of Select Anonymous Works | 348 |