Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Volume 9

J. Robert Wright, Thomas C. Oden, J. Robert Wright, Thomas C. Oden

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9780830897346
• Subtopic: Biblical Reference

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 that would make the ancient Word relevant to the Christians of their day.Of extant commentaries on Ecclesiastes none are 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 Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volume offers a rich trove of wisdom on Wisdom for the enrichment of the church today.

NOTES

General Introduction

1.

Students of the Talmud will easily recognize this pattern of organization. The Talmud is a collection of rabbinic arguments, discussions and comments on the Mishnah, the first Jewish code of laws after the Bible, and the Gemara, an elaboration of the Mishnah. The study of Talmud is its own end and reward. In the Talmud every subject pertaining to Torah is worthy of consideration and analysis. As the Talmud is a vast repository of Jewish wisdom emerging out of revealed Scripture, so are the Fathers the repository of Christian wisdom emerging out of revealed Scripture. The Talmud originated la...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Project Research Team
• Contents
• Publisher’s Note Regarding This Digital Edition
• General Introduction
• A Guide to Using This Commentary
• Abbreviations
• Introduction to Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• The Song of Solomon
• Appendix: Early Christian Writers and the Documents Cited
• Timeline of Writers of the Patristic Period
• Biographical Sketches & Short Descriptions of Select Anonymous Works
• Bibliography of Works in Original Languages
• Bibliography of Works in English Translation
• Authors/Writings Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index
• Notes
• Praise for the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
• About the Editor
• Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright Page