The Psalter as a source of knowledge in Origen’s and Basil’s exegesis on the Psalms

Abstract

By comparing Origen’s and Basil’s homilies on the psalms, this article aims to demonstrate how both authors conceived of the literary and theological unity of the Psalter. Both exegetes incorporate Christian spiritual progress—as presented, according to them, in the divine music—into the dichotomy of praxis and theoria. To this end, they use a set of specific images. For instance, they both contrast the practical life of moral preparation, depicted as the “psalm” and a kind of instrumental music, with the contemplative life as the “canticle” and a kind of vocal music. In this way, drawing on the superiority of the body over the mind, Basil and Origen present the human body as a musical instrument and the virtuous life as harmonious song. I suggest that the recurring stress on this philosophical structure in the exegesis of the Psalter is explained by a desire to present this scriptural book as adapted for every Christian from the simplest to the more advanced ones, whatever spiritual preparation they have. The conception of the Psalter as an universal text embracing the content of the whole Bible developed by Basil, Athanasius and possibly Origen also leads to this approach. My research focuses primarily on Origen’s and Basil’s Homilies on the Psalms, but also establishes some relevant connections with other commentaries on the psalms.