Origen on Ezekiel: yet another translation has been made!

A correspondent writes:

Just wanted to alert you that John Sehorn successfully defended his PhD dissertation on Origen’s Homilies on Ezekiel 1–14 not long ago (link). Apparently it includes a translation of the text. He’s been at it for over three years now – I guess working parallel to you[1] and Scheck.[2]

I don’t know.  You wait four centuries for a translation of Origen’s homilies on Ezekiel, and then three come along in a period of 24 months!  But the more the merrier!

The Mischa Hooker translation, however, is more complete than either the Scheck or Sehorn versions, since these only translate the 14 homilies from the Latin version made by Rufinus, while Hooker also translates a vast array of Greek fragments from all the works of Origen on Ezekiel, and includes a facing Greek and Latin text.  But then, since I published this version, perhaps I am biased!

It is still my intention that Hooker’s text and translation will appear online, freely accessible, once sales trickle to nothing much.  I’d just like to recoup at least some of the investment first.

UPDATE: 5th Jan. 2018.  I find that there is a webpage at Notre Dame for John Selhorn’s translation here.  It’s open access, but not available for download; a curious combination.  I might write and see if I can get a copy!

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  1. [1]Mischa Hooker, Origen of Alexandria: Exegetical Works on Ezekiel, In: Ancient Texts in Translation 2, 2014.Amazon.  Please buy a copy!
  2. [2]Thomas P. Scheck, Origen: Homilies 1-14 on Ezekiel, in: Ancient Christian Writers 62, 2012. Amazon.

6 thoughts on “Origen on Ezekiel: yet another translation has been made!

  1. Very strange.
    Hopefully some people will be interested in getting the rest of the Origen material (including fragments) into English at some point.

  2. Agreed. Thomas Scheck has translated most of the homilies although sadly these are not online. The fragments seem to be on the radar of few.

  3. Dear Roger,
    I was able to use the Mischa Hooker translation of Origen’s Homilies on Ezek extensively in my new translation of St. Jerome’s Commentary on Ezekiel (forthcoming in Ancient Christian Writers (Newman Press)). I am most grateful for her and your work in that volume and have referred to it dozens of times in the footnotes. Hopefully, this will give it some deserved publicity. Her translation is better than mine, I think.
    Sincerely,
    Tom Scheck

  4. Dear Tom,

    That is a very kind and generous message, which I am sure will give Dr Hooker great pleasure. Sadly it has rather slipped under the radar.

    I’ve become aware since of your own enormous work on Origen and Jerome – you are doing a work of permanent value, and I was very grateful for it recently when I had occasion to consult quite a number of your translations.

    All the best,

    Roger Pearse

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