The Old Testament in Orthodox Tradition

Oxford University Press has just released the latest book by Eugen J. Pentiuc, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline: The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition provides a general overview and a detailed analysis of the primary ways in which the Old Testament has been received, interpreted and conveyed within Eastern Orthodox tradition.

About this book we are told:

"This work is a major event: the first comprehensive and thorough analysis of the role of the Old Testament in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, written by the foremost Eastern Orthodox scholar of Scripture, internationally respected within both Church and Academy alike. Opening up the scriptural culture of Eastern Orthodoxy in all its dimensions, this illuminating volume will richly reward every reader," V. Rev. Dr. John Behr, Dean and Professor of Patristics, St. Vladimir's Seminary.
The book fills a vacuum in scholarly literature on the history of biblical interpretation. A special emphasis is placed on the hallmarks of Eastern Orthodox reception and interpretation of the Old Testament, including:

• the centrality of Scripture within Tradition
  
• a blend of flexibility and strictness at all levels of the faith community
  
• integrative function and holistic use of the sacred text
  
• a tensed unity of discursive and intuitive modes of interpretation
  
• a dynamic synergy between formative and informative goals in the use of Scripture.
  

According to Michael Coogan, editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, "In this extraordinarily learned book, Pentiuc sheds much-needed light on an often neglected aspect of the history of interpretation of the Bible. Appropriately, he discusses not just texts, but ritual and art as well, so that reading his book is like walking into a lavishly ornamented Eastern Orthodox church where the Divine Liturgy is being celebrated. This view from the inside is an invaluable contribution."

The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition is divided into two parts: Reception and Interpretation. Reception addresses issues such as unity and diversity of the Christian Bible, text, canon, and Tradition. Interpretation focuses on discursive and intuitive Eastern Orthodox modes of interpretation. Patristic exegesis serves as a case study of the discursive modes. The intuitive modes representing the so-called "liturgical exegesis" are subdivided into aural (hymns, psalmody, lectionaries) and visual (portable icons, frescoes, mosaics).

This book offers the first comprehensive examination and analysis of the receipt, transmission, and interpretation of the Old Testament in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In Orthodoxy, the Old Testament has commonly been equated with the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Jewish Bible attested by fourth- and fifth-century Christian manuscripts. As Eugen Pentiuc shows throughout this work, however, the Eastern Orthodox Church has never closed the door to other text-witnesses or suppressed interpreters' efforts to dig into the less familiar text of the Hebrew Bible for key terms or reading variants.

The first part of the book examines the reception of the Old Testament by the early Church, considering such matters as the paradox of the inclusion of the Jewish scriptures in the Christian Bible, as well as the Eastern Orthodox views on text, canon, and the relationship between Scripture and Tradition. Pentiuc's investigation is not limited to the historic-literary sources but extends to the visual, imaginative, and symbolic aspects of the Church's living tradition. In the second part of the book he looks at the various ways Orthodox Christians have sought to assimilate the Old Testament in the spiritual, liturgical, and doctrinal fabric of their faith community. Special attention is given to liturgy (hymnody, lectionaries, and liturgical symbolism), iconography (frescoes, icons, illuminations), monastic rules and canons, conciliar resolutions, and patristic works in Greek, Syriac and Coptic.

This wide-ranging and accessible work will serve not only to make Orthodox Christians aware of the importance of the Old Testament in their own tradition, but to introduce those who are not Orthodox both to the distinctive ways in which that community approaches scripture and to the modes of spiritual practice characteristic of Eastern Orthodoxy.

xford University Press will release the latest book by Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, on January 9, 2014. The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition provides a general overview and a detailed analysis of the primary ways in which the Old Testament has been received, interpreted and conveyed within Eastern Orthodox tradition.
"This work is a major event: the first comprehensive and thorough analysis of the role of the Old Testament in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, written by the foremost Eastern Orthodox scholar of Scripture, internationally respected within both Church and Academy alike. Opening up the scriptural culture of Eastern Orthodoxy in all its dimensions, this illuminating volume will richly reward every reader," V. Rev. Dr. John Behr, Dean and Professor of Patristics, St. Vladimir's Seminary.
The book fills a vacuum in scholarly literature on the history of biblical interpretation. A special emphasis is placed on the hallmarks of Eastern Orthodox reception and interpretation of the Old Testament, including:

• the centrality of Scripture within Tradition
  
• a blend of flexibility and strictness at all levels of the faith community
  
• integrative function and holistic use of the sacred text
  
• a tensed unity of discursive and intuitive modes of interpretation
  
• a dynamic synergy between formative and informative goals in the use of Scripture.
  

According to Michael Coogan, editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, "In this extraordinarily learned book, Pentiuc sheds much-needed light on an often neglected aspect of the history of interpretation of the Bible. Appropriately, he discusses not just texts, but ritual and art as well, so that reading his book is like walking into a lavishly ornamented Eastern Orthodox church where the Divine Liturgy is being celebrated. This view from the inside is an invaluable contribution."
The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition is divided into two parts: Reception and Interpretation. Reception addresses issues such as unity and diversity of the Christian Bible, text, canon, and Tradition.
Interpretation focuses on discursive and intuitive Eastern Orthodox modes of interpretation. Patristic exegesis serves as a case study of the discursive modes. The intuitive modes representing the so-called "liturgical exegesis" are subdivided into aural (hymns, psalmody, lectionaries) and visual (portable icons, frescoes, mosaics).
- See more at: http://www.hchc.edu/about/news/news_releases/oxford-university-press-to-publish-rev.-dr.-pentiucs-the-old-testament-in-eastern-orthodox-tradition#sthash.WDcKW57P.dpuf

Oxford University Press will release the latest book by Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, on January 9, 2014. The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition provides a general overview and a detailed analysis of the primary ways in which the Old Testament has been received, interpreted and conveyed within Eastern Orthodox tradition.
"This work is a major event: the first comprehensive and thorough analysis of the role of the Old Testament in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, written by the foremost Eastern Orthodox scholar of Scripture, internationally respected within both Church and Academy alike. Opening up the scriptural culture of Eastern Orthodoxy in all its dimensions, this illuminating volume will richly reward every reader," V. Rev. Dr. John Behr, Dean and Professor of Patristics, St. Vladimir's Seminary.
The book fills a vacuum in scholarly literature on the history of biblical interpretation. A special emphasis is placed on the hallmarks of Eastern Orthodox reception and interpretation of the Old Testament, including:

• the centrality of Scripture within Tradition
  
• a blend of flexibility and strictness at all levels of the faith community
  
• integrative function and holistic use of the sacred text
  
• a tensed unity of discursive and intuitive modes of interpretation
  
• a dynamic synergy between formative and informative goals in the use of Scripture.
  

According to Michael Coogan, editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, "In this extraordinarily learned book, Pentiuc sheds much-needed light on an often neglected aspect of the history of interpretation of the Bible. Appropriately, he discusses not just texts, but ritual and art as well, so that reading his book is like walking into a lavishly ornamented Eastern Orthodox church where the Divine Liturgy is being celebrated. This view from the inside is an invaluable contribution."
The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition is divided into two parts: Reception and Interpretation. Reception addresses issues such as unity and diversity of the Christian Bible, text, canon, and Tradition.
Interpretation focuses on discursive and intuitive Eastern Orthodox modes of interpretation. Patristic exegesis serves as a case study of the discursive modes. The intuitive modes representing the so-called "liturgical exegesis" are subdivided into aural (hymns, psalmody, lectionaries) and visual (portable icons, frescoes, mosaics).
- See more at: http://www.hchc.edu/about/news/news_releases/oxford-university-press-to-publish-rev.-dr.-pentiucs-the-old-testament-in-eastern-orthodox-tradition#sthash.WDcKW57P.dpuf