Overview
What sort of Bible did Augustine have? How did he quote from it - and was he accurate? Do Augustine's biblical citations transmit readings not found in any surviving manuscripts? This book is part of a major project on the Old Latin versions of the Gospel according to John, and uses Augustine as a test-case to examine the importance of the evidence provided by the Church Fathers for the text of the Gospels. The early history of the Latin Bible is reconstructed from Augustine's comments in his treatise De doctrina christiana (On Christian teaching). Details are assembled from sermons, letters, and other writings to show how Augustine and his contemporaries used the Bible in the liturgy of the Church, public debates, and in composing their own works. Augustine's own methods of citing the Bible are analysed, and features are identified which are characteristic of citations produced from memory rather than read from a gospel codex. The second part of the book is a chronological survey of the biblical text in Augustine's works, showing how he switched from using the older versions of the Gospel to the revised text of Jerome, which later became known as the Vulgate. Finally, a verse by verse commentary is provided on all the significant readings in Augustine's text of John, assessing their significance for the history of the Latin Bible, and in some cases the Greek tradition as well. Details are also given of Augustine's exegesis of particular verses of the Gospel, making this an indispensable handbook for biblical scholars and church historians alike.
Full Product Details
Author: H. A. G. Houghton (Professor of New Testament Textual Scholarship, University of Birmingham)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 14.40cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 22.30cm
Weight: 0.643kg
ISBN: 9780199545926
ISBN 10: 0199545928
Pages: 420
Publication Date: 04 September 2008
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
An invaluable and groundbreaking work...This is a superb piece of scholarship which has significantly enriched and advanced multiple fields of study. Paul Foster. The Journal of Theological Studies Houghton's very learned study is skillfully executed, highly enlightening, and extremely valuable for anyone working with the biblical text of Augustine. Roland J. Teske, Journal of Early Christian Studies. Houghton's study is a substantial achievement and will prove to be a standard reference in a number of fields... Houghton deftly blends his own research agenda with a keen attention to numerous adjoining questions, making this study a necessary tool not only for those concerned with reception history of the Old Latin text type but for anyone concerned with cognate fields. Evan F. Kuehn, Wheaton College.
invaluable and groundbreaking work... This is a superb piece of scholarship which has significantly enriched and advanced multiple fields of study Paul Foster, Journal of Theological Studies
Author Information
H. A. G. Houghton is Professor of New Testament Textual Scholarship at the University of Birmingham, where he is also Director of the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing. He is one of the editors of the Gospel according to John and corresponding editor for the principal Pauline Epistles in the Vetus Latina series.
