Contact us on (02) 8445 2300
For all customer service and order enquiries

Woodslane Online Catalogues

9780813201252 Academic Inspection Copy

Commentary on Matthew

Description
Author
Biography
Google
Preview
When the writing of Latin biblical commentaries was still in its infancy, a young bishop from Poitiers, in Gaul, penned a passage-by-passage exposition on the Gospel of Matthew. It is the first of its kind to have survived almost completely intact. Published now for the first time in English translation, Hilary's commentary offers a close look at Latin theology and exegesis before the Nicene Creed was considered the sole standard of orthodoxy. Likely the earliest of Hilary's writings, this commentary has none of the polemic against the "Arians" that figured so prominently in most of his later works. Nonetheless, there exists in this text an oft-stated concern with those who interpreted the Incarnation as grounds for construing Christ as only a man rather than professing Christ as God and man. Other noteworthy features of the commentary include Hilary's interest in the relation between Law and Gospel and his articulation of a Pauline-based view of justification by faith. In his view, the importance of the Law before the Gospel was indisputable and necessary. For Jews, it was considered the way of redemption. With the advent of Christ, it became an eschatological guide directing all future believers into the grace that comes by faith. Hilary's emphasis on God's righteousness conferred on a helpless race represents a far more pronounced application of Paul's thought than in any previous Latin writer.
D. H. WILLIAMS is professor of patristics and historical theology at Baylor University. His publications include books and articles on early Christian thought and literature, as well as studies that seek to integrate the ancient Christian legacy with contemporary theology. He is the editor of The Church's Bible: Commentary on Matthew.
Google Preview content