Review of Deliverance in the Psalms : Messages of Hope for Today

This paper is a summary of my dissertation. I presented the paper at the Institute for Biblical Research Emerging Scholar Session at The Society of Biblical Literature meeting in November, 2016. In it, I investigate the shape and message of Psalms 15-24 by developing a methodology for identifying distinctive relationships between psalms with increased objectivity and precision. I analyze various literary links among Psalms 15-24 and find that these psalms form a chiastic collection of the following sets of parallel psalms: 15 and 24; 16 and 23; 17 and 22; and 18, 20, and 21. Psalm 19 stands at the center of the collection, and is also closely linked with Psalms 15 and 24. This study is also founded on the idea that parallel psalms involve not only repetition, but also movement. An assessment of the movement between each set of parallel psalms in this collection yields a storyline that progresses toward the kingdom of YHWH and the inclusion of the wider community. This movement toward the kingdom is initiated by YHWH’s deliverance of the faithful Davidic king at the center of the collection (Psalms 18-21). In addition to the progression toward the kingdom, this collection also exhibits an alternation between the ideal vision of the kingdom presented in the frame of the collection (Psalms 15, 19, and 24), and the realities of human experience and suffering presented in the intervening psalms. The effect is that until YHWH’s arrival at the consummation of this kingdom, life is depicted as a journey involving suffering, yet confidence, in the kingship of YHWH.

This presentation draws upon the canonical shape of the Psalms (B. S. Childs, 1979; J. A. Sanders, 1987) and follows the scholarly trend of reading the Psalter with Psalms 1-2 as the ‘introduction’ and Psalms 146-150 as the ‘conclusion’ of the Psalter (e.g. G. Sheppard, 1980; G. H. Wilson, 1985) and seeks to propose and argue the following bases for exegeting the Psalms today: 1) That Psalms 1-2 portray an ‘eschatological’ framework which can be projected to the general shape of the Davidic narrative in 1-2 Samuel; 2) On the basis of this interface between the eschatological framework conveyed by Psalms 1-2 and the Davidic narrative, it is proposed that there are three basic categories which can be used to classify each individual psalms, namely, psalms of enthronement (or messianic psalms); psalms of struggle with an enemy and psalms of restoration. This proposal about the classification of the psalms is somewhat like what W. Brueggemann has observed in his Spirituality of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002). However, I argue, that the proposed way of classification is grounded on the various life stages David went through in accordance with the narrative of 1-2 Samuel; 3) I want to show how the proposed classifications of the Psalter form an interpretive ‘lens’ which a contemporary reader in the Pacific (a person born and raised in the Pacific cultural context) can use to apply the Psalms in their worshipping community. In conclusion, I shall make some recommendations to the work of translating the Psalter.

2020

. The Interpreting Biblical Texts series have focused on the engagement of the text with readers in light of two aspects: textual and contextual consideration. Brown's work seems to fulfill the main goal of the series in that "the book proceeds from poetry to theory, from the most narrow to the most integrative, from the lively micro world of interacting poetic segments to the Psalter's complex macrostructure and theological framework" (p. ix).

A written report on the Book of Psalms

Studies in the Psalms, 1911

JOSEPH BRYANT ROTHERHAM - STUDIES IN THE PSALMS, TRANSLATOR OF " THE EMPHASISED BIBLE." LONDON : H. R. ALLENSON, Ltd., Racquet Court, Fleet Street, E.C. J. GEORGE ROTHERHAM, 29, Ardoch Road, Catford, S.E. 1911.

Trinity Journal 42:1, 2021

In Discovering the Psalms, Jerome Creach adheres to the purpose of Eerdmans's Discovering Biblical Text series: To provide a comprehensive, upto-date, and student-friendly introduction to the Psalms that emphasizes content, structure, theology, interpretive debates, and major turning points through its reception history. The book's main body consists of ten chapters divided into three parts: Part One covers Issues in Reading the Psalms and the Psalter, Part Two looks at Reading the Psalms Together, and Part Three develops The Psalms as Prayers. It also includes a brief introduction titled The role of the Psalms in the life of the Church and a brief conclusion titled The Psalms and Jesus Christ. The author writes from the perspective of a Christian biblical scholar and is concerned with reading the Psalms as "Christian Scripture" (p. 5). Chapter 1 ("What is a psalm?") provides a general introduction to basic features of the Psalms, such as the general structure of the division of the Psalms into five books, each closing with doxologies, with Pss 1-2 serving as an introduction and Pss 146-50 as a conclusion. The author writes, "The arrangement of the psalms is one key to the meaning and purpose of its individual parts, and as a whole, the book has a meaning that transcends its parts (p. 24). Chapter 2 ("It's poetry!") deals with poetic features, such as progress in the study of parallelism and an introductory discussion of "the LORD is king" and "refuge" as metaphors in the Psalms. Chapter 3 ("Did David write the Psalms?") deals with the perennial question of authorship and its complexity. The author affirms, questions, and clarifies what Davidic authorship is and is not for the Psalms. He espouses "the Levites" as a group to be a more likely candidate for the authorship and compilation of the Psalms, a group who looked upon David as a "prime example of how to pray in times of trouble" (p. 58). Creach maintains that the link between David and the Psalter is an essential theological connection (pp. 59-60). Chapter 4 ("A Psalm for every occasion: types of psalms") surveys the Psalms as a genre and the developments therein following a discussion of Gunkel, and it affirms the limits of genre labels, noting that often psalms combine features of more than one genre (p. 79). Chapter 5 ("Settings for the performance of the Psalms") acknowledges Gunkel's insight that the Psalms originated in an Israelite worship setting or the cult, which at face value, though having complex understandings among authors, shows that psalms "grew out of real-life problems and celebrations" (p. 80). The author notably argues that the proposed setting for Israelite worship is not decisive and reliable for interpreting the Psalms, given that "Israelite worship underwent changes as the Israelites reread and re-used" the Psalms (pp. 96-97). This concludes Part One of the book, paving the way for a new direction in the study of the Psalms, focusing on its present form and function within an immediate literary context, especially in reading the Psalter as a whole. The second part envisages the Psalter as a book with "a theologically significant 'shape' that provides a context in which to read and interpret individual psalms" (p. 102). This new direction in the study of the Psalms affirms that "as the various psalms came together to form the present book, they took on a different context from their original context in Israel's cult" (p. 102). Chapter 6 ("Going by the book: The Psalter as a guide to reading the psalms") provides justification and elaboration for reading the Psalms together. This includes textual evidence for coherence and further elaboration

Foreword To many people the Book of Psalms is a collection of hymns or lyric poems providing instruction and inspiration to the reader. Some are Psalms of penitence (eg 6; 32; 38; 51; 143); some ethical (eg 1, 8); others are of praise (eg 19); ceremonial (eg 30, 90); messianic (16, 22, 45, 69, 110); prayer to defeat one's enemies (35, 37, 69; 109); and historical (eg 105). However, the Book of Psalms, like so much of the Bible, contains duality and is multi-layered. In this regard I possessed a copy of Bullinger's Companion Bible since a young man and soon there after came into possession of Ernest Martin's thesis An Outline of the Design and Development of the Holy Scripture (1965, 1971, Ambassador College, Pasadena, California) which was later upgraded to a full book Restoring the Original Bible (ASK, Portland, Oregon). These works are eye-openers to the real structure of Psalms upon which the chart below is based. If properly understood, the Psalms throw further light upon God's Plan-they overlay or expand upon our understanding of His Plan. How to use this chart as a study guide Understand that Psalms is divided into five books. Each of these books are based on one of the books of the Pentateuch as well as the Holy Days and the Festival Scrolls. In addition, these five books picture the Church and people of God throughout the ages. With that in mind, Psalms will take on a much deeper meaning for you, provide you with further understanding of the Plan of God and open your mind to a greater appreciation of His Word! No more will Psalms appear to be hymns only and a choice of inspirational chapters. Instead, in accordance with God's great and interesting mind, it will now be demonstrated to be a most fascinating book.

2009

the customary matters such as the historical setting of the Psalms, the collection of the Psalms, and the nature of Hebrew poetry. Alter gives special attention to the difficulty of translating Hebrew poetry into English and to matters related to the textual traditions behind the current text of Psalms. Although the book lacks bibliographic footnotes, Alter's translation shows considerable evidence of engagement with recent research in the Psalms. The book closes with a slender bibliography of suggested readings.

“Mit meinem Gott überspringe ich eine Mauer”/“By my God I can leap over a wall”: Interreligiöse Horizonte in den Psalmen und Psalmenstudien/Interreligious Horizons in Psalms and Psalms Studies, Christian Frevel, ed. (Herders Biblische Studien 96; Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder), 2020

In diesem Aufsatz wird die Stellung der Psalmen im jüdischen Leben und in der jüdischen Liturgie dargestellt. Fragen der Beziehung der Psalmen zur Tora und der Zuschreibung zu König David werden im ersten Teil behandelt. Im zweiten Teil geht es zuerst um den Gebrauch der Psalmen im Rahmen des täglichen jüdischen Gebets. Danach wird das Rezitieren von Psalmen zu besonderen Angelegenheiten im jüdischen Leben kurz angesprochen. Schließlich wird die Frage der aus moderner Sicht schwierigen Stellen in den Psalmen, die in der Liturgie vorkommen, erörtert.

Women in Judaism a Multidisciplinary Journal, 2011

For me, one of the delights of Jewish religious experience is its resemblance to theatre, with all of us as the actors. Jewish spiritual practise provides the opportunity to enact drama, to take on the roles within our narrative. The easiest examples to access are those in the Passover Haggadah, where we are explicitly invited to see ourselves as having personally gone out from Egypt. The Jewish calendar has days that ask us to truly feel joy, truly feel mourning, truly feel awe. Our texts also provide chances to enter into exciting dramas. The book of Psalms is praised for its wide range of emotions, its scope of narrative from creation through exile to redemption, and the vividness of the many voices-individual, collective, and divine-that appear within its poetry. Psalms are recited for healing and comfort. They are studied and simply read and enjoyed. And they have become an integral part of Jewish liturgy. Miriyam Glazer, a rabbi and professor of literature, has written a book guiding the reader through the psalms that are included in full in the liturgy, approaching prayer in a way that I consider drama-personal, emotional, explored in real time. Psalms of the Jewish Liturgy is a lovely, clear, easy to read book. Its small size and straightforward organization make it a good companion for services and for private contemplation. Especially helpful is the inclusion of entire psalms rather than excerpts, in Hebrew and the author's own translation. I enjoyed it at my bedside and carried it with me to read on my way. Glazer spells out her goals early and restates them at intervals. She encourages the reader not only to read and study the psalms, not only to pray the psalms as part of a service, but to find ways to experience the psalms in order to find personal self-understanding, meditative practise, and approaches to God. She looks at the psalms that appear in Conservative Jewish liturgy. In each chapter, she provides a psalm or group of psalms in Hebrew, then in her own translation, and then presents a potential use for the psalm. The author suggests two main contexts in which to experience the psalms: during prayer with groups, that is, the liturgical context of these psalms, and in slow private