Edited by Mark Sheridan, this commentary on Genesis 12-50 shows how the early church fathers drew out the spiritual significance of patriarchal narrative for Christian believers.

Thomas C. Oden (1931-2016) was a pioneering theologian and served as the architect and general editor for the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. He was also the general editor of the Ancient Christian Doctrine series and the Ancient Christian Devotional series, as well as a consulting editor for the Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity. A prolific writer and seasoned teacher, Oden also served as the director of the Center for Early African Christianity at Eastern University in Pennsylvania and was active in the Confessing Movement in America, particularly within the United Methodist Church.

Mark Sheridan is a Benedictine monk of Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem and professor emeritus in the Faculty of Theology of the Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, Rome, where he served as dean of the Faculty of Theology (1998-2005) and Rector Magnificus (2005-2009) of the Athenaeum. Among his publications are Rufus of Shotep: Homilies on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and From the Nile to the Rhone and Beyond: Studies in Early Monastic Literature and Scriptural Interpretation. He is a specialist in Coptic language and literature.