Theodore of Mopsuestia's critical methods in Old Testament study

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityStatement of the Problem Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca. 350-428) appeared at a time when traditional views concerning biblical interpretation were being challenged by the Antiochia scholars. Among the centers of biblical studies in the patristic Church, only the school of Antioch advocated an objective viewpoint and a critical investigation of the Old Testament. In their commentaries on the Bible, the Antiochian Fathers employed the historico-grammatical method of interpretation and defended it against the allegorical method which they termed "mythological." As the foremost theoretician of the school of Antioch, Theodore was severest in applying these critical views. It has been the purpose of this study: to present Theodore's biblical scholarship insofar as it has been preserved for us in the primary sources now available; to ascertain the literary methods by which he investigated and criticized Old Testament documents; to examine the hermeneutical principles which guided his exegesis in the interpretation of the scriptural texts; and, to evaluate his study of the Old Testament in the light of modern critical biblical scholarship [TRUNCATED]