Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, The

The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. Edited and revised by Michael W. Holmes. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999, xv + 613 pp., $29.95 paper. The Apostolic Fathers, Second Edition. Translated by J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer. Edited and revised by Michael W. Holmes. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998, xvi + 352 pp., $19.95 paper.

A thorough acquaintance with the Apostolic Fathers is important for both students of the early church and interpreters of the NT. Therefore, the appearance of an updated and moderately priced edition and translation of this material will always be noteworthy. The text most commonly used by English-speaking students has been the two-volume Loeb edition of Kirsopp Lake (1912-1913), while many pastors and students still read the translation of Roberts and Donaldson as revised by Coxe (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, 1866-72). In addition, at least six other English translations of these writings have appeared in just over half a century: Glimm/Marique/ Walsh (Fathers of the Church, 1947); J. A. Kleist (2 vols., Ancient Christian Writers, 1946-48); E. Goodspeed (Harper, 1950); the six volumes with commentary edited by Robert Grant (Nelson, 1964-68); C. Richardson (Library of Christian Classics, 1970); J. Sparks (Nelson, 1978); and M. Staniforth (Penguin, 1987). Since many of the latter are out of print, the appearance of another accurate translation will benefit the modern reader who cannot work with the original text. Even more important, however, is the critical text which reflects the last century of textual research and, unlike European editions, gathers these writings into a single affordable volume.

The present work has a complicated past. J. B. Lightfoot produced a massive fivevolume text and commentary on Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp that appeared between 1869 and 1885 and again, with minor corrections, in 1889-90 (Baker reprint, 1981). J. R. Harmer produced a subsequent one-volume edition, adding translations gleaned from Lightfoot's writings and papers and supplemented by himself. Baker reprinted the English translations in 1956 and the diglot version in 1984. However, the need for a second edition was clear. Michael Holmes first revised the English translations (Baker, 1989), then the text. In the introduction to the diglot version that appeared in 1992, Holmes referred to his work as a second edition of Lightfoot since he began with Lightfoot's edition as his base text (except in Hermas and Papias). While the English edition here reviewed is an apparently unchanged reprint of the "second edition" that appeared in hardcover in 1989, the bilingual version (for the first time appearing with Greek and English on facing pages) is referred to as an "Updated Edition" and has revised bibliographies and introductions, uses a new papyrus witness in Hernias, and corrects some previous errata. Thus, Holmes seeks to build on the fine work and reputation of the revered Lightfoot, and the result is an overwhelming success. Only occasionally does this methodology lead to the unnatural situation of keeping one variant in the text while Holmes tells us in a footnote that another reading is "probably correct" (cf. p. 40, n. 43 and p. 292, n. 46). In the following we will concentrate on the bilingual volume since it contains the very same English translation as in the English-only volume.

The translation is generally accurate and at times makes very confusing Greek quite readable. The translator also rightly attempts to keep the rendering ambiguous when the text is, or he gives alternative renderings in the notes. Very rarely is the reader left wondering what the translator intended. In 2 Clement 1.2 we ought not belittle "our Salvation" (rather than "salvation" with a small s), since the following words indicate it is a reference to Christ. In Didache 4.6 some addition has to be made to the apodosis (as was done in the protasis), since the sentence is unintelligible as it stands. Occasionally, this reviewer would take issue with the accuracy of Holmes's translation: Jesus is "the scepter of God's majesty" not the "majestic scepter of God" in 1 Clement 16.2; through faith, the almighty God has justified all [believers]" from of old" rather than "from the beginning" (1 Clement 32.4; Clement is not a universalist but is emphasizing OT believers were also saved by faith); believers have their names recorded by God "on" (not "as") their memorial [stone] in 1 Clement 45.8; and "stasis" (which carried immense weight as a term for disharmony and violence within a polls) might better be translated as "civil unrest" or "civil strife," not just general "rebellion," in 1 Clement 51.1, 54.2, etc. In Didache 6.3 the meat offered to idols "is a worship offering of dead gods" (not "involves the worship of dead gods"). At times the English is also unnecessarily verbose when trying to bring out the Greek. "The seasons ... give way in succession, one to the other, in peace" could simply be rendered "the seasons ... peacefully succeed each other" (1 Clement 20.9). The student doing a quick read in English would prefer the latter; the scholar can see the former for himself in the Greek text. While one could increase this list, it should indicate both the rather minor nature of the complaints and, conversely, highlight the overall excellence and readability of the Holmes translation.