Prónoia and Diodore of Tarsus’ Theological Exegesis of Psalms 1-50

Prónoia and Diodore of Tarsus’ Theological Exegesis of Psalms 1-50Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NLMMVQUH/tei

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Benjamin D.WaymanPrónoia and Diodore of Tarsus’ Theological Exegesis of Psalms 1-50http://syriaca.org/cbss/NLMMVQUHhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/NLMMVQUHhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/NLMMVQUH2013This study examines the relation between theology and exegesis in Diodore of Tarsus' commentary on Psalms 1-50. In the Prologue to his Commentary on the Psalms, Diodore identifies pronoia (providence) as the central doctrinal theme of the Psalms. For him, the theological focus and doctrinal concern of the Psalter is to provide a defense and account of God's pronoia. However, scholars have insufficiently treated Diodore's engagement with pronoia in his interpretation of the Psalms. This shortcoming impairs scholarly perspectives of the Commentary , which can be divided into two approaches: those that neglect its theological dimension and underline instead its grammatical-rhetorical method, and those that emphasize its theological character by way of Diodore's practice of theoria. I argue that a specific account of pronoia supplies Diodore's theological framework for interpreting the Psalms by generating the questions he asks of the text and shaping his view of other themes in the Psalms. Diodore's exegesis of Psalms 1-50 cannot be understood rightly without serious attention to pronoia. The nature of God's pronoia is for Diodore the main doctrinal question posed by the Psalter, to which his exegesis of the Psalms provides the answer. His answer is a view of pronoia which I describe as cooperative, reciprocal, and immanent. Diodore does not impose a systematic theory of pronoia onto the Psalms, but rather develops the doctrine in a circumstantial and piecemeal manner throughout his commentary on Psalms 1-50. A variety of factors contribute to Diodore's exegesis of the Psalms, and I orient these factors around his theological preoccupation with pronoia. This study accordingly makes sense of Diodore's discovery of the theme of pronoia by attending to his social contexts and his exegesis of Psalms 1-50. The study examines how Diodore's specific view of pronoia shapes his interpretation of the Psalms' inspiration, presentation of morality, and prophetic witness, all of which indicate Diodore's understanding of God's providential guidance of salvation history. Diodore's commentary on Psalms 1-50 is a theological undertaking that has been both misunderstood and underappreciated. Diodore is concerned to instruct his monastic community in the cooperative, reciprocal, and immanent nature of God's pronoia. Wayman, Benjamin D. “Prónoia and Diodore of Tarsus’ Theological Exegesis of Psalms 1-50.” Ph.D. dissertation, Saint Louis University, 2013. Benjamin D. Wayman, Prónoia and Diodore of Tarsus’ Theological Exegesis of Psalms 1-50 (Ph.D. dissertation, Saint Louis University, 2013).Antiochene schoolDiodore of TarsusIV CEIV-VII CEOld TestamentPsalmsexegesisprovidence