Exegetic Homilies: On the Hexameron - On the Psalms

The Fathers of the Church #46

by Basil the Great, Ex Fontibus Company, Agnes Clare Way (Translator)

Basil the Great, of Caesarea, here offers homilies on Genesis (on the Hexameron, or the Six Days of creation) and on selected Psalms. A great work of early Christian biblical exegesis and a monument of patristic theology, now available in an attractive and affordable edition.

Published by Ex Fontibus Co.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

After 370, Christian leader Saint Basil, known as "the Great," Greek bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, vigorously opposed Arianism.

Arabic: باسيليوس الكبير
Greek: Μέγας Βασίλειος

People also call him of Mazaca in Asia Minor. He influenced as a 4th century theologian and monastic.

Theologically, Basil supported the Nicene faction of the church, not the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea on the other side. Ability to balance theological convictions with political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.

In addition to work as a theologian, Basil cared for the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines, which focus on community, liturgical prayer, and manual labor for monastic life. People remember him, together with Pachomius, as a father of communal monasticism in east. The traditions of east and west consider him.

People refer collectively to Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa as the fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholics gave the title of hierarch to Basil, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom. The Catholic Church recognizes him as a doctor. The epithet "revealer of heavenly mysteries," sometimes refers to Basil.

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my second time to read the book. I first read it maybe 25 years ago and hardly remembered it at all. Though Basil's commentary on the 6 Days of Creation was widely praised in the Patristic era, it is probably more important now as a historical example of Cappadocian exegesis. Basil knows the science/philosophy of his day - he engages it both critically and also accepting its truths. We can speculate how he might have related to modern science, but he does not raise modern scientific questions in approaching the Genesis text. Half the book is sermons on the Psalms and again are mostly of interest in that they show how he read the text. He uses methods of exegesis common to others of his day and as found in Jewish tradition. He often treats each line of the Psalms as almost a proverb which can be interpreted isolated from the context of the Psalm. He often uses a "word list" to interpret a text - he takes one word from a Psalm verse, finds another biblical text which has that same word and then uses that text to interpret the text at hand. Thus texts we would consider completely and logically unrelated, he brings together and then finds surprising meaning in the text. One downside is any verse and any word can be taken out of context and then used to uphold some doctrine. He shows an amazing familiarity with the texts and finds meaning in texts that otherwise seem obscure or unimportant. For him it is all the Word of God, so every word is important whether in context or not.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice thoughts on Genesis. Basil makes me see nature as designed specifically by God to teach us about Himself. Basil seemed rather grandfatherly, a little bit rambling in his delivery, but a nice person to be around. Except when he's mad at those darn heretics.