A Nexus of Commentatorson the Twelve

Chapter 1, “A Nexus of Commentators on the Twelve: Theodore and Cyril’s Defense of Historia,” compares Theodore’s and Cyril’s Minor Prophets commentaries with those of Didymus (on Zechariah only) and Jerome. The direct comparison afforded by these extant commentaries reveals Theodore and Cyril’s shared interest in, and commitment to the historicity of, events depicted and predicted by the Twelve Prophets. A shared commitment to the unfolding divine economy leads Theodore and Cyril to write commentaries on the Minor Prophets in which both root the prophets firmly in Israel’s history and in turn situate Israel’s history within broader narratives of salvation history. On this basis, the chapter advocates for the ongoing validity of asserting a patristic interest in “history” against recent overcorrections.