The Cristian Byzantine reception history of the Greek versions of the Old Testament. A study of the general characteristics and a specific approach through the Commentary on Proverbs by Malachias the Monk (critial edition and study).

This project's research topic is the manner in which the various Greek versions (both Christian and Jewish) of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible were received in Christian Byzantine literature. Up to the present, the reception history of the Septuagint, its Jewish revisions and its Christian recensions has not been precisely identified. Whereas recent projects follow these versions' trail into Byzantine and Medieval Judaism, this one will offer a futher impulse by studying the specifically Christian reception history. The project's main focus lies on the question to what extent Byzantine literature can be useful for Septuagint studies. In order to answer this research question, both a broader contextual study of this Byzantine corpus and a throrough analysis of one specific work will be carried out. The work in question is the commentary on the Old Testament book of Proverbs by the virtually unknown Byzantine author Malachias the Monk (10th-11th century?). It will be critically edited and studied from an exegetical point of view. On the basis of a study of its sources, Malachias' text will be situated in the tradition of patristic and Byzantine exegesis of this Bible book. Above all, the text's position within the framework of the Byzantine reception history of the Old Testament will be determined.

Keywords:Patristic exegesis, Textual criticism, Byzantine studies, Septuagint

Disciplines:Language studies, Literary studies, Theology and religious studies