Biblical Prolegomena in the Medieval Armenian Tradition

The Armenian tradition preserves a remarkable corpus of biblical prolegomena —texts known as “causes”, “beginnings”, “exhortations”, or “proemia”— which appear both independently and in collections called the Book of Causes. The most complete example, compiled by Grigor Abasean in the twelfth century, is preserved in the Matenadaran (MS 1879).Although often treated as brief commentaries, these writings are in fact isagogical texts —introductions to Scripture addressing questions of authorship, title, content, purpose, authenticity, and sequence of study. Many follow the schema isagogicum, the Neoplatonic “introductory scheme”, demonstrating the close interaction between philosophical and theological traditions in Armenia. The Armenian evidence reveals that this method, long assumed marginal in patristic exegesis, was widely used and creatively adapted. Some prolegomena even survive only in Armenian, testifying to a distinctive local transmission. As paratextual aids, these writings illuminate the structure and interpretation of Scripture, offering valuable insights into the Armenian biblical translation and the reconstruction of its textus receptus.