Reception of the Book of Jonah in the Exegesis of Theodore of Mopsuestia

Abstract

The first commentary on the Book of Jonah, which was preserved in its entirety, was compiled by Theodore of Mopsuestia (350–428). As a typical representative of the Antiochene tradition, Theodore insisted on the historical sense of the text. Reconstruction of a wider frame narrative is one of the key moments of Theodore’s Commentary. Reconstruction of context on the basis of the text is a further characteristics of Theodore’s exegesis. Almost in Kantian spirit, Theodore rationally limits the possibility of human cognition. He touches the limit human reason can reach with his exegesis. The analysis of the text ends where the power of reasoning ceases, but this opens a new perspective. That is the existential space for the faith.