The two sessions at which most of the 11 papers were presented, sought to lay a foundation for a new critical examination of the biblical scholarship that was established and developed in the earlier centuries of Christianity within the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox tradition. The topics include the Adamic creation tradition in the 17th Demonstration of Aphrahat, the exegesis of Exodus by Ephrem the Syrian, the Book of Revelation in Orthodox lectionary traditions, Ezekiel's temple and Mary's virginity as illustrations of a peculiar strand in Eastern Orthodox interpretations of Old Testament sanctuary motifs, ascetic exegesis in Shenoute's Abraham Our Father, and a medieval Armenian Scholion on the Catholic epistles. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)