Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and the Interpretation of the Messianic Psalms

Abstract

Abstract For the majority of the patristic tradition, the Psalms are full of prophetic references to Christ, justified by New Testament citations and creative reading strategies. But for two writers from the so-called Antiochene school, Diodore of Tarsus and his student Theodore of Mopsuestia, this is not the case; New Testament use of the Old Testament is not prescriptive and allegory must be avoided at all costs. Diodore and Theodore only recognize four psalms as messianic: Ps 2, 8, 45, and 110. But not only do both theologians read Christ into these psalms, they do so in a manner that is unusual compared to how they approach the rest of the Psalter. This essay seeks to shed light on the reasons underlying these seeming exceptions. Pushing back against the now outdated paradigm of the Antiochene school as purely historical or literal exegesis, this essay will argue that both Diodore and Theodore are motivated not primarily by exegetical method, but more so by theological and textual concerns. More specifically, the readings of these four psalms are shaped by the Antiochene Christological vision found in Heb 1–2, which results in the prioritization of this text over the psalms in question.