The retreat to the desert and growth of monasticism in fourth-century Egypt has long been recognized as one of the most significant moments in early Christianity. In the withdrawal to the stark solitude of the desert, a vibrant and original spirituality was born which was to wield great influence on both contemporaries and succeeding generations.

Douglas Burton-Christie sheds fresh light on this early Christian ascetic movement by focusing on the way the desert saints interpret and appropriate the Scriptures. Drawing extensively on stories and sayings from the vast body of monastic literature, he shows that the Scriptures were a primary source of inspiration for the founders of early monasticism, and the shaping force in the development of a new `school' of holiness in the desert. Burton-Christie goes on to discuss how this biblical spirituality developed, what substantive issues defined its growth, what hermeneutical approaches were used in shaping it, and how it came to its mature expression. He contends that, through the use of contemporary hermeneutical categories, the 'desert hermeneutic' can become not only intelligible to the modern interpreter, but engaging and challenging as well.