The Old Testament book 1 Samuel (known as 1 Kings in modern Bibles) contains one of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament, with its tense narrative about Israel's first attempts to govern itself by kingship, and a cast of famous characters who drive the story - the priest and prophet Samuel, the tragic figure of King Saul, and chiefly David himself, the youngest son of Jesse, who slays the Philistine's champion, Goliath, and gains God's favour in replacement for Saul. The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD), Anglo-Saxon England's foremost interpreter of the Bible, wrote many commentaries on the Old Testament, but his treatment of 1 Samuel stands out in particular: it is one of his longest commentaries, one of his first sustained attempts to deal with the Old Testament without support from an earlier commentary, and one of the few commentaries he wrote that can be dated precisely. Bede sets out to read the story of 1 Samuel as full of details which demonstrate the prophetic nature of Old Testament history, an attempt that is boldly experimental in its application of the allegorical method of interpretation. Historically, the commentary is of special interest for its detailed reference to the departure of Abbot Ceolfrith from Wearmouth-Jarrow in June 716 AD, which has allowed scholarship to firmly date the work and explore some potential links to the turbulent political scene in Northumbria that marked that decade. This English translation is the first rendering of the Latin into another language. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that places the work in the context of Bede's oeuvre, discusses his sources and exegetical methods, and offers a reading of the work's contemporary context in the light of current scholarly debate.

The Venerable Bede's In Ezram et Neemiam is the first and only complete commentary written on these biblical books in either the patristic or later medieval era. This translation, the first rendering of this commentary into any language, presents the work in a format that will be accessible to the layman and illuminating for the specialist. To this end, the volume contains a complete translation of the Latin text; copious annotations dealing with textual, historical, social, and religious issues; a lengthy introduction that explains the texts and seeks to locate it against the backdrop of Bede's eighth-century Northumbrian world; two appendices; and a bibliography. As the Introduction argues, this work of Bede's is an excellent example of the allegorical method of biblical interpretation, which Bede inherited from the Fathers of the Church and for which he himself is justly famed. At the same time, Bede's decision to take up these particular biblical texts on the events surrounding the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem after the return from exile in Babylon is itself fraught with a deeper significance. both the individual and societal levels, he was keen to appropriate them as a guide of sorts for dealing with the pastoral and secular crises alive in his own day. It follows that Bede, as a commentator on Scripture, was thus more of an original mind than is often allowed, as his interpretation of the Ezra-Nehemiah saga is drawn from the exigencies of his own contemporary situation rather than from the stock and trade of past tradition. By making this text available in English for the first time, DeGregorio's translation seeks not only to make more of Bede's exegetical corpus accessible to readers unable to confront the text in its original Latin, but also to alter the conception of Bede as a commentator from that of a slavish imitator to a daring innovator. Ezra and Nehemiah are two books of the Old Testament of the Bible, originally one work in the Hebrew canon. Written between 450 and 250 BC and named for two political and religious reformers in the postexilic Jewish community, they relate aspects of Jewish history from 538 BC to about 420 BC.

Works prior to this book focused on Bede as not only a European, but also as an English scholar, historian, scientist, or a biographer of saints, and have used a traditional approach towards his explanation of the Bible. Bede's interpretation of his work, its continuous progress, and the reasons behind his hurried appointment to an authority almost as high as the Church Fathers are all topics examined within the text. Essays are by Roger Ray, Faith Wallis, Calvin B. Kendall, George Hardin Brown, Scott DeGregorio, Arthur G. Holder, Lawrence T. Martin, Walter Goffart, and Joyce Hill.

As the major writer and thinker of the Anglo-Saxon period, the Venerable Bede is a key figure in the study of the literature and thought of this time. This Companion, written by an international team of specialists, is a key introductory guide to Bede, his writings, and his world. The first part of the volume focuses on Bede's cultural and intellectual milieu, covering his life, the secular-political contexts of his day, the foundations of the Latin learning he inherited and sought to perpetuate, the ecclesiastical and monastic setting of early Northumbria, and the foundation of his home institution, Wearmouth-Jarrow. The book then considers Bede's writing in detail, treating his educational, exegetical and historical works. Concluding with a detailed assessment of Bede's influence and reception from the time of his death up to the modern age, the Companion enables the reader to view Bede's writings within a wider cultural context.

As the major writer and thinker of the Anglo-Saxon period, the Venerable Bede is a key figure in the study of the literature and thought of this time. This Companion, written by an international team of specialists, is a key introductory guide to Bede, his writings, and his world. The first part of the volume focuses on Bede's cultural and intellectual milieu, covering his life, the secular-political contexts of his day, the foundations of the Latin learning he inherited and sought to perpetuate, the ecclesiastical and monastic setting of early Northumbria, and the foundation of his home institution, Wearmouth-Jarrow. The book then considers Bede's writing in detail, treating his educational, exegetical and historical works. Concluding with a detailed assessment of Bede's influence and reception from the time of his death up to the modern age, the Companion enables the reader to view Bede's writings within a wider cultural context.

The Old Testament book 1 Samuel (known as 1 Kings in modern Bibles) contains one of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament, with its tense narrative about Israel's first attempts to govern itself by kingship, and a cast of famous characters who drive the story - the priest and prophet Samuel, the tragic figure of King Saul, and chiefly David himself, the youngest son of Jesse, who slays the Philistine's champion, Goliath, and gains God's favour in replacement for Saul. The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD), Anglo-Saxon England's foremost interpreter of the Bible, wrote many commentaries on the Old Testament, but his treatment of 1 Samuel stands out in particular: it is one of his longest commentaries, one of his first sustained attempts to deal with the Old Testament without support from an earlier commentary, and one of the few commentaries he wrote that can be dated precisely. Bede sets out to read the story of 1 Samuel as full of details which demonstrate the prophetic nature of Old Testament history, an attempt that is boldly experimental in its application of the allegorical method of interpretation. Historically, the commentary is of special interest for its detailed reference to the departure of Abbot Ceolfrith from Wearmouth-Jarrow in June 716 AD, which has allowed scholarship to firmly date the work and explore some potential links to the turbulent political scene in Northumbria that marked that decade. This English translation is the first rendering of the Latin into another language. The translation is preceded by a substantial introduction that places the work in the context of Bede's oeuvre, discusses his sources and exegetical methods, and offers a reading of the work's contemporary context in the light of current scholarly debate.