John Calvin as Biblical Commentator: An Investigation into Calvin's Use of John Chrysostom as an Exegetical Tutor

The year 2009 brought with it the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, a global celebration. With this commemorative event came a new and renewed appreciation for the life and thought of the French Reformer and his profound impact on the world. Scholars universally have acknowledged that while "The Theologian of Geneva" is mostly appreciated for his Institutes of the Christian Religion, it is Calvin as a biblical commentator that needs to be taken with revised interest. When Calvin first set out to write a commentary on virtually every book of the Bible, he was drawn to the exegetical work of the great Greek Patriarch of the fourth century, John Chrysostom, because of his "straightforward, non-allegorical approach to the genuine, simple sense of the text." It was also the method of Chrysostom to which Calvin was attracted, "a continuous exposition" that explains each verse. Calvin, in his life long work to produce commentaries on sacred Scripture, sought to emulate the approach and method of the amazing early church theologian, John Chrysostom. This book celebrates Calvin as Biblical commentator, and what he saw in the literary work of the Greek Father that was so influential on Calvin's immense contribution to our understanding the Bible.