Jacob of Sarug's Homily on Christ's Entrance to Sheol - Daniel L. McConaughy

On the Entrance of Our Lord into Sheol tells with great power the invincibility of Sheol and how Christ gave His life to enter into Sheol like any other dead human so that He might conquer it.  With matchless imagery Jacob impresses on the reader how Death and Sheol dominated mankind and the utter helplessness of the Sheol-bound human race. He tells of the necessity of Christ's death that allowed Him to enter Sheol the only way possible - as any other dead human.  Christ's power over life allowed Him to trick and destroy Sheol and Death and liberate the dead.  This homily displays Jacob of Serugh's masterful rhetorical skill with the 12-syllable line.  The translation is based on the critical text of Akhrass and Syryany, and it contains an introduction and indices.  The extensive footnotes to the translation explain the Syriac text to assist the reader interested in translating the Syriac and understanding the homily.