1 Corinthians: Interpreted by Early Christian Commentators

It is remarkable that currently three series on patristic interpretation of the Bible are either produced or in preparation. First there is the American series Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, edited by Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, which consists of short extracts from patristic interpretations. The book under review here is the second volume of a more recent American series, The Church’s Bible, edited by Robert Louis Wilken; its volumes will contain translations of far longer and sometimes of shorter passages of patristic interpretations of Old and New Testament books. Moreover, there is the German and Austrian project Novum Testamentum Patristicum, led by Andreas Merkt; its volumes will present discussions and analyses of patristic interpretations of the New Testament. The two American series can be positioned in the ancient catenae tradition, which means that they consist of a “chain” of selected texts of patristic exegesis. Judith Kovacs’s volume on Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians is introduced by a preface and a general chapter on patristic interpretation of the New Testament by Robert Louis Wilken. He utters the hope that the patristic passages may be suitable for private devotional reading and for spiritual reading in religious communities, in Bible study groups, and in prayer circles. Then Judith Kovacs gives an introduction to 1 Corinthians and discusses the extent and nature of patristic commentary on this epistle. [Full Review]