1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther: Volume 5 (Volume 5) (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther: Volume 5 (Volume 5) (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

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. * Makes accessible early Christian commentary on 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther * 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 these historical books * Includes the RSV text * Renders ancient Greek, Latin, Coptic and Syriac writings in lucid English translation * Provides biographical sketches and a timeline of ancient Christian sources * Contains indexes, bibliographies and keys to original language sources * Excellent resource for preaching and teaching Marco Conti (PhD, University of Leeds) is professor of medieval and humanistic Latin literature at the Ateneo Salesiano and lecturer in classical mythology and religions of the Roman Empire at the Richmond University in Rome. Thomas C. Oden, formerly a professor at The Theological School of Drew University, is general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, the Ancient Christian Doctrine series and the Ancient Christian Texts series, and author of numerous theological works, including a three-volume systematic theology.