Homilies on Genesis, 1–17

Introduction

INTRODUCTION HIS IS THE FIRST of several volumes containing the series of 67 homilies composed by St John Chrysostom on the entire book of Genesis. Before the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when those editions of the homilies appeared on which our present text rests, the Genesis series had been thought to contain only 61 homilies, but fortunately the missing ones have been recovered.' This first volume, for reasons of length, contains the first seventeen homilies, bringing Chrysostom's commentary up to Gn chapter 3 verse 19, a significant enough moment but so early in his text as to suggest that, as often happens with preachers, he will have to increase his pace to treat of the whole book, which is his intention. Later volumes will complete the remaining threequarters of the series of homilies. (2) In addition to this series of 67 homilies, there is extant another small series of 9 sermons on Genesis by Chrysostom. The first 8 of these comment likewise (though more generally ) on the early chapters of Gn, and in places the resemblance is verbatim. The ninth seems somewhat different, but because of its patriarchal material has been placed with this short series. These sermons are not translated in the present work. I. B. De Montfaucon, whose text and introduction J. P. Migne reproduces in his 1858-60 Paris edition, debates the testimony of Photius, ninth century scholar and successor of Chrysostom in the see of Constantinople, to the number 61; the internal evidence of the present Homily 33, which acknowledges that an intermission had occurred after Holy Week till Pentecost, suggests that Photius has lost five homilies when he claims that only 27 were delivered during Lent. 2 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM CHRYSOSTOM'S EXEGETICAL WORKS (3) The life of this great preacher of Antioch and Constantinople of the late fourth century has been adequately sketched in the previous volumes of the Fathers of the Church series devoted to Chrysostom's work,2 not to mention Dom Chrysostom Baur's monumental study.3 Only some especially relevant features need highlighting here in view of the particular character of the Gn homilies and Chrysostom's role as exegete/commentator/preacher. Firstly, Chrysostom stands within the patristic school of Antioch-and stands high, though perhaps not so influential a figure as Theodore of Mopsuestia-and thus represents an exegetical tradition resting firmly on the literal sense of Scripture as opposed to the Alexandrian school's relish for the allegorical sense" Secondly , Chrysostom's grounding in biblical studies was at the hands of Diodore of Tarsus, who, though a distinguished exegete now known from extant fragments of commentaries on Genesis and Psalms (the OT books Chrysostom also devoted most attention to),5 himself had no Hebrew and so could not introduce Chrysostom to exegesis of the Hebrew text of those books6_a most significant fact for our present work, of course. Thirdly, as I have outlined elsewhere,' the society 2. Homilies oj the Gospel oj St. John, translated by Sister Thomas Aquinas Goggin (FOTC 33, 41; 1957, 1960); Discourses Against Judaizing Christians translated by Paul W. Harkins (FOTC 68; 1979); St.John Chrysostom On the Incomprehensible Nature oJGod, translated by Paul W. Harkins (FOTC, 72; 1984); St. John Chrysostom Apologist, translated by Paul W. Harkins and Margaret Shatkin (FOTC, 73; 1985). 3. D. C. Baur. John Chrysostom and His Time (I 1929, II 1930 (ET LondonGlasgow ) 1959, 1960. 4. Cf. G. Bardy, "Interpretation chez les peres," Dict.Bibl.,Suppl. IV (Paris, 1949) 569-91; A. Vaccari, "La theoria nella scuola esegetica di Antiochia," Bibl. 1 (1920) 3-36. See also B. Drewery, "Antiochien" in TRE III 99-113. 5. Diodore's commentary on Psalms (PG 33.1587-1628) in CCG, VI Commentarii in Psalmos I-L by Jean Marie Oliver (Turnhout, 1980). 6. As H. von Campenhausen points out in the Greek Fathers (1955) (ET London, 1963) 143. "Chrysostom's own admission of his limitations here appears in Homily 4 in clarifying the significance of Hebrew "heaven(s)", where he says, 'Those who know that language say ...'" 7. R. Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his Old Testament Homilies (Sydney, 1981) 27-44. INTRODUCTION 3 of the Antioch of the day was swirling with many currents and a prey to all sorts of cultural influences-pagan, Jewish, heretical, sophist; as preacher with developing pastoral responsibility (though perhaps not yet ordained when he delivered the Gn...