The rich tapestry of the creation narrative in the early chapters of Genesis proved irresistible to the thoughtful, reflective minds of the church fathers. Within them they found the beginning threads from which to weave a theology of creation, Fall, and redemption. Following their mentor the apostle Paul, they explored the profound significance of Adam as a type of Christ, the second Adam. The six days of creation proved especially attractive among the fathers as a subject for commentary, with Basil the Great and Ambrose producing well-known Hexaemerons. Similarly, Augustine devoted portions of five works to the first chapter of Genesis. As in previous volumes within the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, the range of comment contained in this volume spans from the first century to the eighth and from East to West, from Greek and Latin speakers to Syriac. This ACCS volume on Genesis 1-11 opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom that allows these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today. Especially helpful is the volume editor's provision of Septuagintal alternative readings to the Masoretic text, which are often necessary to understanding the fathers' flow of thought.

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.

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.

The history of the entry into the Promised Land followed by the period of the Judges and early monarchy may not appear to readers today as a source for expounding the Christian faith. But the church fathers readily found parallels, or types, in the narrative that illumined the New Testament. An obvious link was the similarity in name between Joshua, Moses' successor, and Jesus―indeed, in Greek the names are identical. Thus Joshua was consistently interpreted as a type of Christ. So too was Samuel. David was recognized as an ancestor of Jesus, and parallels between their two lives were readily explored. And Ruth, in ready fashion, was seen as a type of the church. Among the most important sources for commentary on these books are the homilies of Origen, most of which are known to us through the Latin translations of Rufinus and Jerome. Only two running commentaries exist―one from Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the famous Cappadocian theologians, the other from Bede the Venerable. Another key source for the selections found here derives from question-and-answer format, such as Questions on the Heptateuch from Augustine, Questions on the Octateuch from Theodoret of Cyr, and Thirty Questions on 1 Samuel from Bede. The remainder of materials come from a wide variety of occasional and doctrinal writings, which make mention of these biblical texts to support their arguments. Readers will find a rich treasure trove of ancient wisdom, some of which appear here for the first time in English translation, speaking with eloquence and powerful spiritual insight to the church today.

The church fathers, as they did in earlier books dealing with Israel's history from the time of Joshua to the united monarchy, found ample material for typological and moral interpretation in 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. It will be immediately clear to readers of this volume that they gave much more attention to 1-2 Kings than to others; whether this was due to a certain repetitiveness in the story line or other reasons is unclear. But the narratives of wise King Solomon, the construction of the temple, the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and the fates of various faithful and unfaithful kings and other powerful people were well suited to their purposes. Among Greek commentators in this Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume, readers will find Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Methodius, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyr, Procopius of Gaza and John the Monk. Among Latin commentators are Tertullian, Cyprian, Novatian, Lactantius, Ambrose, Jerome, Prudentius, Augustine, Paulinus of Nola, John Cassian, Peter Chrysologus, Maximus of Turin, Salvian the Presbyter, Fulgentius of Ruspe, Caesarius of Arles, Gregory the Great, Bede and Rabanus Maurus. Syriac commentators include Aphrahat, Ephrem, Sahdona, Isaac of Nineveh and Isho'dad of Merv. Together they set before readers a table of delights and theological insights, some of which are here available to English readers for the first time.

The book of Job presents its readers with a profound drama concerning innocent suffering. Such honest, forthright wrestling with the problem of evil and the silence of God has intrigued a wide gamut of readers both religious and nonreligious. Surprisingly, the earliest church fathers showed little interest in the book of Job. Not until Origen in the early third century is there much evidence of any systematic treatment of the book, and most of Origen's treatment is known to us only from the catenae. More intense interest came at the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth. The excerpts in this Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume focus on systematic treatment. Among Greek texts are those from Origen, Didymus the Blind, Julian the Arian, John Chrysostom, Hesychius of Jerusalem, and Olympiodorus. Among Latin sources we find Julian of Eclanum, Philip the Priest, and Gregory the Great. Among Syriac sources we find Ephrem the Syrian and Isho'dad of Merv, some of whose work is made available here for the first time in English. In store for readers of this volume is a great feast of wisdom from the ancient resources of the church with fresh relevance for today.

The Psalms have long served a vital role in the individual and corporate lives of Christians, expressing the full range of human emotions, including some that we are ashamed to admit. The Psalms reverberate with joy, groan in pain, whimper with sadness, grumble in disappointment, and rage with anger. The church fathers employed the Psalms widely. In liturgy they used them both as hymns and as Scripture readings. Within them they found pointers to Jesus both as Son of God and as Messiah. They also employed the Psalms widely as support for other New Testament teachings, as counsel on morals, and as forms for prayer. But the church fathers found more than pastoral insight in the Psalms. They found apologetic and doctrinal insight as well, as is attested by the more than sixty-five authors and more than 160 works excerpted in this Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume. Especially noteworthy among the Greek-speaking authors cited are Hippolytus, Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, Didymus the Blind, Evagrius of Pontus, Diodore of Tarsus, John Chrysostom, Asterius the Homilist, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyr, Cyril of Alexandria, and Hesychius of Jerusalem. Among noteworthy Latin authors we find Hilary of Poitiers, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, Augustine, Arnobius the Younger, and Cassiodorus. Readers of these selections, some of which appear here for the first time in English, will glean from a rich treasury of deep devotion and profound theological reflection.

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 which would make the ancient Word relevant to the Christians of their day. Of extant commentaries on Ecclesiastes none is so profound as the eight homilies of Gregory of Nyssa, even though they cover only the first three chapters of the book. Joining Gregory among those most frequently excerpted in this volume are Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory the Great, Origen, John Cassian, John Chrysostom, Athanasius, Bede the Venerable and Jerome. Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great and Cyril of Jerusalem lead a cast of other less frequently cited fathers, and then there remains a large cast of supporting players, some of whose work is translated here into English for the first time. This volume edited by J. Robert Wright thus offers a rich trove of wisdom on Wisdom for the enrichment of the church today.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." For the early church fathers the prophecy of Isaiah was not a compendium of Jewish history or theology but an announcement of the coming Messiah fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. As such, the prophet's words were a rich source of theological reflection concerning their Lord and a vital aid in their defense against the objections of the Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah. The interpretation of Jesus' ministry in light of Isaiah's prophecy was not a theological innovation on their part but rather a following of the path blazed by the New Testament writers and Jesus himself. Among passage-by-passage commentaries cited here are those by Eusebius of Caesarea, Jerome, Cyril of Alexandria, and Theodoret of Cyr, as well as one attributed to Basil of Caesarea. John Chrysostom preached a series of homilies on Isaiah of which most of those extant concern the first eight chapters, though Chrysostom frequently cites Isaiah in numerous homilies on other books. Augustine of Hippo, Gregory the Great, and Bede the Venerable frequently cite passages from Isaiah 1–39, as did many other fathers in defending the Christian faith from Jewish critics. In this Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume, readers will find materials ranging from East to West and from the first through the eighth centuries, some appearing here in English translation for the first time. Within this treasure house are riches to illumine the mind and fire the heart.

No book of the Old Testament is more frequently quoted in the New than Isaiah, and no portion of Isaiah is more frequently quoted in the New than the typologically fertile soil of Isaiah 40–66. Still, as interpreted by the fathers, Isaiah presents a message that is far more soteriological than christological, leading readers to a deeper understanding of God's judgment and salvation. Isaiah 40–66 provides us with the closest thing the Old Testament has to offer regarding a systematic theology. The excerpts included in this Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume offer us a rich array of differing styles, principles, and theological emphases, from Theodoret of Cyr to Eusebius and Procopius, to Cyril of Alexandria, Jerome and Augustine. Readers will be enriched by the wide-ranging selections, some of which are translated here into English for the first time.

The books of Ezekiel and Daniel are rich in imagery that is taken up afresh in the New Testament. Echoes of Ezekiel―with its words of doom and hope, vision of a new temple, and scroll-eating prophet―are especially apparent in the book of Revelation. Daniel is most notable in supplying terminology and imagery for Jesus of Nazareth's favored self-description as "Son of man," a phrase also found in Ezekiel. The four beasts of Daniel find their counterparts in the lion, ox, man, and eagle of Ezekiel and Revelation. It is no wonder these books, despite the difficulties in interpreting them, took hold on the imagination of the early church. In this Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume, over forty church fathers are cited in the commentary on Ezekiel, some of whom are here translated into English for the first time, but pride of place goes to four significant extant works: the homilies of Origen and Gregory the Great, and the commentaries of Jerome and Theodoret of Cyr, thus bridging East and West, North and South. A similar array of fathers are found within the commentary on Daniel. Extensive comments derive from the works of Theodoret of Cyr, Hippolytus, Jerome, and Isho'dad of Merv, providing a wealth of insight.

"And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [the risen Jesus] interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Lk 24:27). The church fathers mined the Old Testament throughout for prophetic utterances regarding the Messiah, but few books yielded as much messianic ore as the Twelve Prophets, sometimes known as the Minor Prophets because of the relative brevity of their writings. Encouraged by the example of the New Testament writers, the church fathers found numerous parallels between the Gospels and the prophetic books. Among the events foretold, they found not only the flight into Egypt after the nativity, the passion, and resurrection of Christ, and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, but also Judas' act of betrayal, the earthquake at Jesus' death and the rending of the temple veil. Detail upon detail brimmed with significance for Christian doctrine, including baptism and the Eucharist as well as the relation between the covenants. In this rich and vital resource you will find excerpts, some translated here into English for the first time, from more than thirty church fathers, ranging in time from Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus (late first and early second centuries) to Gregory the Great, Braulio of Saragossa, and Bede the Venerable (late sixth to early eighth centuries). Geographically the sources range from the great Cappadocians―Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa―John Chrysostom, Ephrem the Syrian, and Hippolytus in the East, to Ambrose, Augustine, Cyprian, and Tertullian in the West, and Origen, Cyril, and Pachomius in Egypt. This Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume is a treasure trove out of which Christians may bring riches both old and new in their understanding of these ancient texts.