K voprosu o žanre tolkovoj palei

The paper analyses the formal features of the Paleya Tolkovaya with the aim of detecting its literary genre. The solution of such a question is considered essential in order to provide suitable responses for a lot of yet unsolved questions related to this important work of the ancient Russian literature, e. g. time and place of composition, original structure, and authorship. Taking into account the predominant exegetical content of the work, a special focus is devoted to the exegetical genres circulating in Late-Antiquity and Middle Ages, particularly to the scholia type commentaries and the biblical catenae and their late transformations. Such an examination allows making a conclusion that Paleya Tolkovaya is a biblical commentary derived from a catena type commentary, more exactly from a translation of a Byzantine post-catenarian commentary. It appears highly probable this translation was made in the 14th century in the East Slavic area, as a result of the quest for an exegetical synopsis suitable for the education of local clergy.