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The Questions on the Octateuch, Vol. 1: On Genesis and Exodus (Library of Early Christianity) Paperback – December 19, 2007

by Theodoret of Cyrus (Author), Robert C. Hill (Translator)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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Shortly before his death (ca. 460), as his health was failing, Theodoret decided to undertake a monumental project of exegesis. In the more than two decades of his episcopacy, he had commented on both the prophets and the sapiential literature of the Hebrew Scriptures. Now he would expound the historical books. For his commentary on the Octateuch, he adopted the format of question and answer. This device allowed the expositor to focus attention on particularly challenging passages that could give rise to misunderstanding. Long experience had taught him that "careless reading of holy Scripture is the cause of error among ordinary people." Intimately acquainted with every detail of the text, well-informed about contemporary Judaism, and steeped in the works of previous interpreters, he makes his way through a massive body of text with concision, a sure sense for the significant and the controversial, and a thoughtful moderation respectful of the accomplishments of Alexandrian, as well as Antiochene, biblical scholarship.

THE LIBRARY OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY

The Library of Early Christianity will be a permanent enterprise that publishes one new volume approximately every other year.

The Library will publish texts in the original ancient languages of both East and West―Greek, Latin, Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Georgian―accompanied by contemporary English translations printed on the facing pages. In order to make the texts more accessible to the nonspecialist and to aid readers in comprehending the thought of the influential thinkers of the early church, each volume will include an introduction, notes, and a bibliography.

Editorial Director John F. Petruccione is associate professor in the Department of Greek and Latin at the Catholic University of America.

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  1. Print length
    452 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Catholic University of America Press
  4. Publication date
    December 19, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    5.45 x 0.96 x 8.16 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0813214998
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0813214993
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Catholic University of America Press (December 19, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 452 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0813214998
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0813214993
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.45 x 0.96 x 8.16 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

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5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Stefano Nikolaou
5.0 out of 5 stars Patristic Gold
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2019
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We are lucky that the ancients left us these works for our edification. Theodoret is knowledgeable and was a prolific author. Almost all of his Old Testament commentaries have been translated into English. Of course, this work is not a commentary but a series of questions and answers on 'difficulties' from the Bible. The Octateuch was the collective term for Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Ruth. Clearly the early Christians were not passive readers - they had lots of questions.

Many of Theodoret's responses don't meet the standards of modern critical scholarship but I didn't mind too much. Theodoret accessed Jewish tradition to help him understand the text. As a Greek bishop Theodoret uses the Septuagint but also knows Syriac. This is a beautiful edition that is quite affordable. It's well worth adding to your patristic library.
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Paul Stevenson
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent tool for students and scholars
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2008
This handsomely printed volume begins with an introduction to the life and works of Theodoret, a Syrian bishop from the great metropolis of Antioch. (His cognomen "of Cyrus" comes from the fact that he was elected bishop of this latter city when he was about 30 years of age.) This introduction is followed by a separate introduction to the Greek text of the work and a bibliography of works on Theodoret and related authors and topics.

This book displays a critical edition of the Greek text on the left-hand page and an English translation on the right-hand page. The English translation of this volume, and the other one in the set, was done by the late Robert C. Hill. It is a very good literary translation, rather than a literal translation. This means that the translation conveys the meaning well, but that the reader will sometimes have to look carefully to determine the correspondences between the English and the Greek words. This format can be a great aid to students who have a basic knowledge of Greek but can get bogged down in the sometimes hard-to-follow word order.

The content of the book reminds me of modern study Bibles. There are questions that Theodoret evidently heard from ordinary churchgoers, followed by his answers, which often aim to clarify obscure or seemingly contradictory points. An example from early in the book might be in order:

Q: "If the earth was in existence, how did it come to be, since the historian says, 'The earth was in existence'?"

"The historian" is a reference to Moses. Theodoret showed little patience with this question, which was based on sloppy reading:

A: "This is a silly, foolish question. He who said, 'In the beginning God made heaven and earth,' did not say that the earth was eternal, but that it received its existence after, or along with, heaven. Furthermore, the historian did not simply say, 'The earth was in existence,' but connected it with what follows: 'The earth was invisible and formless.' That is, though made by the God of the universe, it was invisible, because still covered by the water, and formless, because not yet arrayed with growth or sprouting meadows, groves and crops."

The question and answer arise from the wording of the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament, which was (and still is) the one universally used by the Greek-speaking Church. The people who were asking the question were pulling a phrase out of context, and Theodoret said they had to read it in the context of the rest of the sentence. It seems such a simple point, but people have continued to employ similarly silly approaches to Bible reading up to this very day. So the lessons of Theodoret continue to be quite useful to us.

This is the first of two volumes containing Theodoret's *The Questions on the Octateuch,* published by the Catholic University of America Press. The Press plans these to be the first volumes in a series called the Library of Early Christianity, which will continue to publish bilingual editions of early Christian authors who wrote in various languages, not just Greek.
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