Abstract
1. Christian literature (continued)
1.1. The supremacy of the Bible (continued)
1.1.1. TheOld Testament
According to the papyri, theOld Testament was more widely read than the New, but this success was perhaps misleading, since it resulted from the immense popularity of the Psalms alone.
1.1.1.1. The popularity of the Psalms
The Psalms are not only the most widely read and most frequently cited book in papyrus book lists, they may also be the first biblical book to appear in papyrological sources. The success of this book is not, however, a phenomenon peculiar to Egypt.
(1) The Psalms in exegetical literature
The popularity of the Psalms can be measured first and foremost by the exegetical output they generated : in Egypt, Origen was the first great commentator, before other great figures of Egyptian Christianity, such as Athanasius and Didymus the Blind, took up the task. But this exegetical activity, which reinforced the popularity of the Psalms, was above all a consequence of them.
(2) The Psalms in liturgy and private devotion
The large number of psalm papyri is explained above all by the importance of the psalms in the lives of Christians : from the very beginning, the psalms shaped the Christian liturgy because of the importance of the sung parts. In addition, psalmody was an exercise practised throughout the day in monastic communities : in particular, it was an ideal remedy against the " demon de midi "(Ps. 90, 6). One of the most eloquent examples of the importance of the Psalms in the lives of ascetics is provided by the finds from the Naqlun monastery presented here.
(3) The influence of the Psalms on prayers
The Psalms also served as a formative matrix for prayers, and even led some Christians to expand the repertoire by composing their own psalms (Hieracas of Leontopolis), or transposing them into Greek verse (Apollinaris of Laodicea).
(4) Psalms and practices
More than just prayers of praise or contrition, psalms are also poetic texts with magical powers. Amulets, for example, explicitly link Christian use of Ps. 90 - by far the most widely copied - to much older Egyptian magical traditions, showing that Christians have not cut their ties with certain pagan customs when it comes to apotropaic magic.
