Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / Statement 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].

My thesis offers a comparison of the Minor Prophets commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria, isolating the role each assigns (1) the Twelve Prophets in their ministry to Old Testament Israel and (2) the texts of the Twelve as Christian scripture. While the two produce radically different commentaries in terms of quantity and detail of christological interpretation, the source of their divergence cannot be reduced to Cyril's admitting messianic prophecy whereas Theodore does not. Rather, I argue that Theodore does acknowledge christological prophecies, as distinct from both retrospective accommodation and typology. Further, a careful reading of Cyril's Commentary on the Twelve limits the prospective christological revelation he ascribes to the prophets and reveals the positive role he grants the Mosaic law prior to Christ's advent. My thesis secondly explores the Christian significance both Theodore and Cyril assign to Israel's exile and restoration, the pivotal event to which the Twelve bear witness. I here argue that Theodore's reading of the Twelve Prophets, while not attempting to be christocentric, is nevertheless self-consciously Christian. Cyril, unsurprisingly, offers a robust Christian reading of the Twelve, yet this too must be expanded by his focus on the church and concern to equip the church through the ethical paideusis provided by the plain sense of the prophetic text. Revised descriptions of each interpreter lead to the claim that the label “christocentric” obscures more than it clarifies and polarizes no less than earlier accounts of Antiochene/Alexandrian exegesis. I advocate rather for an approach that takes seriously Theodore's positive account of the unity and telos of the divine economy and the full range of Cyril's interpretation, in order to move beyond a zero-sum assessment and offer instead a positive account that appreciates the strengths of each Christian reading of the Twelve.