Through a careful examination of his extant sermons, some of which survive in Latin and others in classical Armenian, this book invites readers to hear a bishop's voice from the mid- fourth century, an important period in late antique Christianity

Eusebius of Emesa was a highly educated Christian cleric of the Greek-speaking church in Syriac, and a pupil of the famous Eusebius of Caesarea. After receiving his early education in his native town, he studied theology at Caesarea in Palestine and Antioch, and philosophy and science at Alexandria. Eusebius accepted the small episcopal see of Emesa, but his powers as mathematician and astronomer led his flock to accuse him of practicing sorcery, and he had to flee to Laodicea. Some of his sermons survive to the present day in various form, mostly in Latin and Armenian texts. This collection of three sermons that are attributed to him come from a Latin collection and relate to his theological speculation on the death and resurrection of Christ.

The identification and publication of an ancient Armenian translation of Eusebius of Emesa's Commentary on Genesis (1980) and the edition of fragments of his work in the Greek Catena in Genesim have opened new perspectives for the study of this fourth-century scholar and bishop of Syrian descent. This book now brings together the evidence of the various branches of tradition of this work, the oldest complete Antiochene commentary to survive. The author concentrates on one of the most striking characteristics of Eusebius' commentary: its interest in translation problems and appeal to alternative readings. Apart from the Septuagint, the version commented on, Eusebius quotes "the Syrian" (ho Syros) and "the Hebrew" (ho Hebraios). It has long been unclear what or who answered to these names. The author proposes a new solution to this problem. The first part of this study deals with the content and affiliations of all biblical quotations in the Commentary, and with their place in Eusebius' method of exegesis. The author demonstrates that Eusebius refered to the Hebrew and Syriac texts in their original languages. He had direct access to the Syriac text (and is thus one of the oldest witnesses to the Peshitta version), but used informants for his knowledge of the Hebrew text. His approach in assessing the value of the different versions of the biblical text is contrasted with that of his predecessors Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea, his contemporary Jerome, and later Antiochene exegetes who followed or criticized him. The second part gives the basis of the first: it is a collection of all passages that cite alternative readings. All texts are given in their original languages and in English translation. A commentary deals with the textual tradition of each passage, identifies the questions Eusebius wanted to solve by the use of alternative readings, contrasts his handling of the text with that of others, establishes his sources, and studies the biblical quotations in detail.

First published in 1988, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God is still considered by many scholars to be the finest work on the Arian Controversy. Examining scholarly works on the Controversy and many original texts, Professor Hanson, provides a clear understanding of how the traditional and historic doctrine of God as the Holy Trinity reached its most mature and enduring form. The author is not primarily concerned to defend the orthodox position itself, but rather to discover and examine the formation of that orthodoxy. The history of the events - the Councils, the interventions of the Emperor, the rivalries of sees, the behaviour of bishops, the varying fortunes of the different schools of thought and their leaders - is interwoven with the progression of thought and doctrine during the sixty years of the Controversy. Professor Hanson sees the problem of the reconciliation of two concepts which were both part of the very fabric of Christianity - monotheism and the worship of Jesus Christ as divine.

This is the first extensive study of a major Patristic work, showing its importance for the history of Church and theology, Manichaean studies and the use of ancient philosophy. It includes a critical text and translation of central passages.

The Book of Genesis in Late Antiquity: Encounters between Jewish and Christian Exegesis examines the relationship between rabbinic and Christian exegetical writings of Late Antiquity in the Eastern Roman Empire and Mesopotamia. The volume identifies and analyses evidence of potential ‘encounters’ between rabbinic and Christian interpretations of the book of Genesis. Each chapter investigates exegesis of a different episode of Genesis, including the Paradise Story, Cain and Abel, the Flood Story, Abraham and Melchizedek, Hagar and Ishmael, Jacob’s Ladder, Joseph and Potiphar and the Blessing on Judah. The book discusses a wide range of Jewish and Christian literature, including primarily rabbinic and patristic traditions, but also apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, Philo and Josephus. The volume sheds light on the history of the relationship between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity, and brings together two scholars (of Rabbinics and of Eastern Christianity) in a truly collaborative work. The research was funded by an award from the Leverhulme Trust at the Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge, UK, and the Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies of the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, UK.