Hebrews

Distinctive in form, content, and style, the epistle to the
Hebrews offers a profound high Christology and makes an awe-inspiring
contribution to our understanding of Jesus as our High Priest.
The earliest extant commentary on the letter comes to us in thirty-four
homilies from John Chrysostom. These homilies serve to anchor the
excerpts chosen by the editors of this volume because of their unique
place in the history of interpretation. In addition to being the first
comprehensive commentary on the letter, they deeply influenced
subsequent interpretation in both the East and the West, and their
rhetorical eloquence has long been acknowledged.

As in other
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture volumes, the excerpts chosen
range widely over geography and time, from Justin Martyr and Clement of
Rome in the late first and early second century to Bede the Venerable,
Isaac of Nineveh, Photius, and John of Damascus in the eighth and ninth
centuries. The Alexandrian tradition is well represented in Clement of
Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius, Didymus, and Cyril of Alexandria, while
the Antiochene tradition is represented in Ephrem the Syrian, Theodore
of Mopsuestia, Severian of Gabala, and Theodoret of Cyr. Italy and North
Africa in the West are represented by Ambrose, Cassiodorus, and
Augustine, while Constantinople, Asia Minor and Jerusalem in the East
are represented by the Great Cappadocians—Basil the Great, Gregory of
Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa—Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, and
Jerome.

This volume offers a rich treasure of ancient wisdom from Hebrews for the enrichment of the church today.