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. |
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... grace of God, to interpret the divine Scriptures in a way that integrates spirituality and erudition, liturgy and dogma, and generally all aspects of our faith which embrace the totality of our life. To allow the fathers to speak to us ...
... grace. The epistle to the Hebrews represents a similar pattern: what was repeated and therefore imperfect in the Old Covenant is fulfilled and accomplished definitively in Christ. The Gospels of Matthew and John, in contrast, and other ...
... grace and a new beginning or recapitulation in Christ. Thus the theory was in place. But the church still lacked a practical instrument, namely, a Christian commentary on the Old Testament, book by book. Hippolytus of Rome, who died in ...
... grace and a gift for which the interpreter needs to pray.40 “Methodology,” quotes Henri de Lubac, “is a modern invention. In the first centuries of the Church, those who explained the Scriptures entrusted themselves to the inspiration.
... grace (Ambrose). 2:23 The People Groaned in Bondage In the Service of an Unjust King. Ambrose: Hence the Hebrews, who groaned in the works of Egypt, attained the grace of the just, and those “who ate bread with mourning and fear” were ...
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 |