Matthew Crawford: “Assessing the Authenticity of the Fragments on Psalm 22 (LXX) Attributed to Cyril of Alexandria”

Among the vast amount of exegetical literature to come from the pen of Cyril of Alexandria was a commentary on the psalter. Although this commentary is no longer extant in its full form, numerous fragments from the catenae exist which are attributed to Cyril. Thus far, very little work has been done on these fragments, either in confirming Cyrilline authorship or in assessing their exegetical and theological significance. This paper is a study of the supposedly Cyrilline fragments on Psalm 22 (LXX) collected in Patrologia Graeca 69.840-844. I will argue that these fragments are indeed from Cyril, with one possible exception. I make this claim on the basis of two observations. First, several uniquely Cyrilline words and phrases occur in the fragments. Second, the theology and exegesis presented in the fragments are in keeping with that found in Cyril’s other works. He presents the psalm as a metaphor for the way that Christ, the Shepherd, feeds the Church with the Scriptures by the Spirit, a theme that he returns to in his other exegetical writings.