Eusebius of Emesa and the Jews (Constantinian Christian privilege and 4th-century anti-Jewish polemic)

In this article Eusebius of Emesa's attitude towards Judaism is questioned. In his commentaries Eusebius compares different textual traditions of the Old Testament including the "Hebrew" and takes Jewish exegetical traditions into consideration. But no theological statement concerning the Jews is to be found in this scholarly genre. On the other hand Eusebius uses the Christian understanding of the history of salvation to mark the border between the "people of god" i.e. the Church and the rejected Jewish people. Between his sermons and the commentaries there are some connections which is demonstrated by the connections between "homily xviii" and the "commentary on Genesis". The privilege of Christianity in the time of emperor Constantine has not yet led to a suppression of Jews in Emesa and its surrounding. The still influential Jewish communities are an irritating factor for the triumphant church. Eusebius tries to immunize his congregation against these irritations while preaching that salvation can not be gained through the observation of the "Jewish" law. In general Eusebius uses the Old Testament as his basis disputing with the Jews. Therefore he needs exegetical knowledge, which implies that he has to contact Jews for gaining information concerning the Old Testament and its interpretation. In his anti-Jewish polemic Eusebius is more moderate than John Chrysostom but more fervent than his teacher Eusebius of Caesarea.