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Greek · Commentary · 0412–0451

Commentarius magnus in Psalmos

Hesychius of Jerusalem · pta

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 301 passages · 78,664 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Commentarius magnus in Psalmos (Great Commentary on the Psalms) attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem survives only in fragments, preserved chiefly in Byzantine catenae and florilegia. No complete manuscript is extant. The work offers christological and allegorical exegesis of the Psalter, drawing on earlier Alexandrian traditions. Its attribution to Hesychius (d. after 450) is traditional but not securely established, and the commentary may incorporate material from earlier sources. It was used extensively in later Byzantine psalm catenae and influenced medieval Greek exegetical compilations. The present edition lacks a critical apparatus for the fragmentary witnesses, requiring readers to consult cited sources for variant readings.

The Commentarius magnus in Psalmos is a key witness to the reception of Alexandrian exegesis in fifth-century Palestine and to the development of Byzantine psalm commentary. Its fragments preserve early christological interpretations of the Psalter that influenced later catenae and medieval Greek exegesis. The work also illustrates the fluidity of authorship in late antique Christian literature, where compilations were often attributed to authoritative figures.

Historical context

Hesychius of Jerusalem was a presbyter and exegete active in the first half of the fifth century, a period of intense christological controversy following the Council of Ephesus (431). Jerusalem was a major pilgrimage and intellectual center, with a vibrant monastic and liturgical tradition. The commentary reflects the allegorical and typological methods of the Alexandrian school, mediated through Palestinian monasticism. Its fragmentary survival is typical of many patristic works that were excerpted in catenae, a Byzantine genre of compiled biblical commentary that flourished from the sixth century onward. The work's attribution to Hesychius is plausible but not certain; it may represent a compilation of earlier exegetical material. The commentary was likely used in liturgical and catechetical settings, as suggested by its christological focus and pastoral tone.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

1783 commentary units 517 scripture309 background270 structure265 term158 reception114 caution100 sense42 parallel8 transmission 16 derived notes 493 open questions 301 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation is known: a language model asked twice could name none, and the source corpus records none. That is not proof — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: commentary in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 301 narrative.
  • caution12 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • scripture4 scriptural phrase match(es) noted: John 1:14; John 4:10; Luke 2:14; Psalm 81:3.
  • sourceSource edition: pta — CC BY-SA 4.0

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
pta0006.pta001:301 · narrativehigh
Source
Ἐξομολογεῖσθε αὐτῷ, αἰνεῖτε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ. Τῆς αἰνέσεως πάλιν προτέραν ἔταξε τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν, σαφέστερον ἡμῖν ἐκθέσθαι τὸ διὰ τῶν προτέρων στίχων εἰρημένον βουλόμενος. Πλὴν ἀλλ’ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι μὲν αὐτῷ προστάττει καθάπερ Θεῷ, αἰνεῖν δὲ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ Σωτήρ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡμῖν ἀφορμὴ σωτηρίας γεγένηται. Μαρτυρήσει δὲ ὁ Πέτρος ἅμα τῷ Ἰωάννῃ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις δημηγορῶν· Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν ὄνομα ἕτερον ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸ δεδομένον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς· ὥστε καὶ λίαν ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς ἀκολούθως ἐπήγαγεν· Καὶ ἕως γενεᾶς καὶ γενεᾶς ἡ ἀλήθεια αὐτοῦ· ὅτι Χριστὸς Κύριος, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς νῦν γενεᾶς ἀρξαμένη ἡ αὐτοῦ ἀλήθεια εἰς τὴν γενεὰν φανεροῦται τὴν μέλλουσαν, ὅταν ἀποδῷ ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἄμαχος καὶ ἀψευδὴς ἀλήθεια, ὅτι Χριστὸς Κύριος, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ. Ὡς γὰρ Χριστός, τουτέστιν, ὡς συμπαθής, ὡς φιλάνθρωπος, ἐν τῷ παρόντι αἰῶνι τὸ ἔλεος δέδωκεν, ἵνα κἂν πλανηθῶμεν ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστρέψωμεν.
English
Confess to him, praise his name. He placed confession before praise again, wishing to set forth more clearly for us what was said through the previous verses. Yet he commands to confess to him as to God, but to praise his name, which is Savior. For this has become for us an occasion of salvation. And Peter together with John will bear witness, speaking to the Jews: "For there is no other name under heaven given to men in which we must be saved." So that the psalmist very consistently added: "And his truth endures from generation to generation," because Christ is Lord; his mercy is forever. For his truth, beginning from the present generation, is manifested to the coming generation, when he will render to each according to his works. For this is the invincible and unerring truth: that Christ is Lord; his mercy is forever. For as Christ, that is, as compassionate, as philanthropic, he has given mercy in the present age, so that even if we go astray through negligence, yet through his philanthropy we may return to him.
Citation. Tergwame, “Commentarius magnus in Psalmos”, pta0006.pta001:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/pta0006.pta001#s1
Colophon. Source: pta · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.1515 · generated 2026-11-15.