The Life and Works of Jacob of Serug

In the aftermath of the Chalcedonian christological controversy a few key leaders of the non-Chalcedonian tradition emerged as bishops, teachers and exegetes and helped form a new identity for this minority group. Jacob of Serug (d. 521 CE) was one of those leaders. It was not through his direct participation in christological debates that Jacob helped forge this identity; it was through his creative and imaginative exegesis. Jacob's literary activity is surpassed by few authors of the Syriac tradition, and his genius as an exegete is matched by none. In the present work, Philoxenos Dolabani provides a brief biographical introduction to Jacob, including a survey of his life and works. The volume concludes with a few samples of Jacob's metric exegetical works.