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Homiliae in Genesim (Internet Archive (Lommatzsch))
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Latin / Greek
Trans. C. H. E. Lommatzsch (ed.) · 1838
The Genesis homilies, with the Greek fragments of the Exodus commentary, in Lommatzsch's collected Origen (Berlin, 1838).
Much harder than the work: Original Latin and Greek with no English translation; read alongside an English edition unless you have the language.
Homilies on Genesis
by Origen of Alexandria
For For students of early Christian preaching and of reading the Old Testament spiritually; there is no public-domain English translation, so it is reachable here only in Latin (and Greek where it survives).
Should I read this?
Sermons on Genesis preached at Caesarea, surviving in Rufinus's Latin: creation, Abraham and Isaac read as figures of Christ and of the soul's journey. A model of Origen's spiritual reading of the Old Testament.
How it proceeds
Independent intensities, 0–5 — what the work is made of, not how good it is.
Origen's Homilies on Genesis emerged from his regular preaching ministry in Caesarea during the 240s, where he delivered these expositions of the first book of Scripture to congregations that included both catechumens and the baptized faithful. These homilies represent Origen at his pastoral best, taking the foundational narratives of creation, fall, and covenant and unfolding their spiritual significance for Christian living. Unlike his more technical biblical commentaries written for scholarly audiences, these sermons were crafted for oral delivery to mixed congregations seeking practical spiritual guidance.
Origin approaches Genesis through his distinctive threefold hermeneutic, finding in each passage a literal, moral, and spiritual sense that corresponds to the body, soul, and spirit of Scripture. He reads the six days of creation as stages in the soul's journey toward God, interprets Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden as allegory for the spiritual exile experienced by every sinner, and discovers in the patriarchal narratives models for the soul's progressive sanctification. Throughout, Origen demonstrates his conviction that Scripture's deepest purpose is the transformation of the reader, not merely the communication of historical information. His allegorical method, while sometimes strained by modern standards, consistently serves this pastoral goal of spiritual formation.
These homilies established patterns of Genesis interpretation that would influence Christian preaching for centuries, particularly Origen's reading of creation as spiritual pedagogy and his treatment of the patriarchs as types of Christian virtue. His integration of philosophical reflection with pastoral concern created a model for intellectually serious yet spiritually nourishing biblical exposition. Students of early Christian biblical interpretation will find here Origen's hermeneutical principles in their most accessible form, while those interested in the development of Christian spirituality will discover foundational insights into Scripture as a tool for the soul's transformation. Readers uncomfortable with allegorical interpretation or seeking primarily historical-critical approaches to Genesis should look elsewhere.
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