Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture does what very few of today’s students of the Bible could do for themselves. With the aid of computer technology, the vast array of writings from the church fathers—including much that is available only in the ancient languages—have been combed for their comment on Scripture. From these results, scholars with a deep knowledge of the fathers and a heart for the church have hand-selected material for each volume, shaping, annotating and introducing it to today’s readers. Each portion of commentary is chosen for its salient insight, its rhetorical power and its faithful representation of the consensual exegesis of the early church.

This commentary contains a few important features. We want to show you them!

Pericopes of Scripture

The scriptural text is divided into pericopes, usually several verses in length. Each of these pericopes has a heading. For example, the first pericope in the commentary on Genesis is “1:1 The Beginning of Creation.”

To see the Scripture passage, click on the highlighted reference, in this case “1:1.” A pop-up window will open the Scripture passage to your default Bible translation.

Overviews

Following each pericope of text is an overview of the patristic comments on that pericope. The format of this overview varies within the volumes of this series, depending on the requirements of the specific book of Scripture.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Overview

Topical Headings

An abundance of varied patristic comment is available for each pericope of these letters. For this reason, we have broken the pericopes into two levels. First is the verse with its topical heading. The patristic comments focus on aspects of each verse. The topical headings summarize the essence of the patristic comment by evoking a key phrase, metaphor or idea. This feature provides a bridge by which modern readers can enter into the heart of the patristic comment.

Identifying the Patristic Texts

Following the topical heading of each section of comment, you will see the name of the patristic commentator. An English translation of the patristic comment is then provided. This is immediately followed by the title of the patristic work and the textual reference—either by book, section and subsection or by book and verse references. Tap on the name to read a brief biographical sketch of the patristic commentator.

The Footnotes

Readers who wish to pursue a deeper investigation of the patristic works cited in this commentary will find the footnotes especially valuable. Taping on a footnote number will cause a box to pop up on the screen, where in addition to other notations (clarifications or biblical cross references) one will find information on English translations (where available) and standard original language editions of the work cited.

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture footnotes

In the Resource Guide

Open your preferred Bible translation in the main window and have the Resource Guide open in the Study Center. You’ll see the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture when the commentary contains information on the open passage.

The app also keeps up with the Scripture passage you’re reading in the main window. As you move along in the Bible text, the commentary follows along. No more flipping pages back and forth. You’ll save an enormous amount of time with this feature alone.

Linked References

One of my greatest frustrations in the hard copy world of biblical commentaries are the other biblical references within the commentary. With a hard copy, I have to open a different Bible and find each and every reference to read how the verse relates. This is time consuming! The scripture references are hyperlinked in the commentary. All I have to do is tap to read it instantly.

Copy/Paste into Notes

Commentaries are full of great content. I often find myself reading a passage, going deeper with the commentary and finding that “perfect quote”. It sums up what I was thinking but didn’t know how to express it in written form.

However, in the world of hard copy commentaries, I have to re-type it into my personal study notes.

With the app, I can highlight the text that I want, and copy/paste it into my notes. Simple—but oh-so-helpful.

Integrated Dictionary

In the app, you can also utilize the American dictionary. Tap and hold a word in the text and an option menu bar will appear.

If you tap “Define” you will be able to read a dictionary definition. Use this feature when you find a word in a commentary or even the Bible that you do not know.