Aquinas’s Exegesis of Ps. 51(50) as a Tool of Christian Education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2018.017

Keywords

Ps. 50, Psalm 50, psalms, Thomas Aquinas, Christian education, theology, the Bible

Abstract

The main hypothesis presented and examined in this paper is that St. Thomas Aquinas had written the commentary on Ps. 51(50) (“Have mercy on me, o God”, miserere mei, Deus) mainly for educational reasons. It is argued that he did it not only to collect useful notes to teach about the Psalm’s content and understanding, but also, above all, to have a well-designed tool to teach Christian theology. This argumentation is based on external (context) and internal (content) analysis of Ps. 50 conducted in this article. It is also shown that this hypothesis has an additional explanatory power, as it helps us to understand the strategy adopted by Aquinas when composing the commentary and sheds some light on his pedagogical practice.

References

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Ginther J.R., The Scholastic Psalms Commentary as a Textbook for Theology: the Case of Thomas Aquinas, in: Omnia disce: Medieval Studies in Memory of Leonard O. Boyle, OP, ed. A.J. Duggan, J. Greatrex and B. Bolton, Ashgate, Aldershot 2005, pp. 211–229.

Roszak P., Święty Tomasz z Akwinu – komentator Psalmów, in: Miserere mei, deus. Psalm 50 (51) w interpretacji św. Tomasza z Akwinu, ed. M. Mróz, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMK, Toruń 2010, pp. 21–40.

Roszak P., Dynamika chrystologiczno-partycypacyjna mądrości w świetle „Super Psalmos” św. Tomasza z Akwinu, Teologia w Polsce, 2: 2013, pp. 79–99.

Roszak P., Principios exegéticos de santo Tomás de Aquino. Claves hermenéuticas para la Lectura super Psalmos, in: Comentario al Libro de los Salmos (números 16 a 27): Santo Tomás de Aquino, Santiago de Chile 2016, pp. 9–27.

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Torrell J.-P., Tomasz z Akwinu – człowiek i dzieło, Marek Derewiecki, Instytut Tomistyczny, Kęty–Warszawa 2008. [Original title: Initiation à Saint Thomas d’Aquin. In English edition: Saint Thomas Aquinas: the person and his work.]

Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia

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Published

2018-09-30

How to Cite

1.
TREPCZYŃSKI, Marcin. Aquinas’s Exegesis of Ps. 51(50) as a Tool of Christian Education. Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia. Online. 30 September 2018. Vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 331-344. [Accessed 5 July 2025]. DOI 10.12775/BPTh.2018.017.

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2018): Biblical Thomism IV

Section

Articles

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