Ancient Christian Commentaries

[gkterry]

I was curious to know if anyone has some thoughts on the Ancient Christian Commentary series? My main study focus is the Old Testament with the Pentateuch in particular and my favorite book being Leviticus. I would not expect that the volume covering Leviticus would contain a vast amount of material. I also like to study Isaiah and other prophets. I have downloaded some of the samples and have begun to look them over a bit.

Specifically, do the ACCS Old Testament commentaries seem to do a decent job of relating the text to Jesus and the New Testament?

As a side note, Eisenbraun's has a nice sale on several of the ACCS volumes through the 17th. (Eisenbrauns - Publishers, Booksellers, Typesetters - Specializing in the Ancient Near East and Biblical Studies)

Thanks for any assistance!

 

[Prufrock]

The series has its uses, but I would personally spend my money on other works.

1.) While isolated snippets on certain verses or parts of verses from various fathers may be useful, it is a far less useful method than reading the original author's actual commentary itself.

2.) Many of the fathers were good exegetes, but the church continued to mature. Rather than reading the nascent seeds of Reformed exegesis, it is far more worthwhile to attend to the finished product itself.

That being said, these volumes can make a nice companion volume to an actual commentary on the text, but should not attempt to replace it.

 

[DTK]

I was curious to know if anyone has some thoughts on the Ancient Christian Commentary series? My main study focus is the Old Testament with the Pentateuch in particular and my favorite book being Leviticus. I would not expect that the volume covering Leviticus would contain a vast amount of material. I also like to study Isaiah and other prophets. I have downloaded some of the samples and have begun to look them over a bit.

Specifically, do the ACCS Old Testament commentaries seem to do a decent job of relating the text to Jesus and the New Testament?

The only answer I can offer is that they do and they don't. I have 13 or 14 volumes from this series, and although they've been somewhat helpful to me, I have been disappointed in them overall.

For Isaiah, I have found the following volume very relevant to your interest...

Amazon.com: Isaiah: Interpreted by Early Christian and Medieval Commentators (The Church's Bible): Robert Louis Wilken, Angela Russell Christman, Michael J. Hollerich: Books

And you might want to consider Theodoret of Cyrus, The Questions on the Octateuch, which is published in two volumes. This is the only complete translation of this work by Theodoret in English. Robert Charles Hill (just recently deceased) was an excellent translator of Greek patristic works. He has translated a great deal of Chrysostom, Theodoret, and other Greek authors that are not otherwise translated into English.

Amazon.com: The Questions on the Octateuch: On Genesis and Exodus (The Library of Early Christianity): Theodoret of Cyrus, John F. Petruccione, Robert C. Hill: Books

Amazon.com: Theodoret of Cyrus, the Questions on the Octateuch: On Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (The Library of Early Christianity): Theodoret of Cyrus: Books

DTK

 

[P.F.]

I also cannot recommend the "Ancient Christian" set for the purposes you've suggested (although it is certainly not a worthless set). As well, I'd like to add a caution: aside from Jerome and Origen, most of the prominent church fathers (and other "ancient chrirstians") were reading the Old Testament from a Greek translation - and the translation was sometimes deficient (in some places more so, and in other places less so).

If you are looking for other Old Testament commentaries by patristic authors, there are a number of interesting works to select from - especially depending on the verse or book you have in mind. If you want something on Zechariah and you need it to be in English, your options may be quite limited (I think there is something by Didymus the Blind (313-95) available) - whereas if the Psalms interest you, there are many options.

 

[gkterry]

One thing I noticed while reading the samples is that at times it seems very disjointed - quite obviously showing that it was compiled from multiple sources. I think I'll pass on the ACCS. There are too many other resources I would like.

Thanks for the book recommendations Pastor King and the helpful comments from Mr. Korte and Mr. Flannagan.