Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament: Psalms

In this three-volume commentary, Old Testament scholar John Goldingay provides fresh insights on the Book of Psalms. He considers the literary, historical, and grammatical dimensions of the text as well as its theological implications.

Contents: Hilary's commentary and the Psalms -- Hilary's principles of exegesis -- The first transformation : baptismum -- The christological foundation for transformation -- The last transformation : demutatio

Contents: The origins of psalmody in Israel -- The compilation of the psalter -- Psalm titles -- The psalms and the problem of authorship -- Hebrew poetry and music -- Theological perspectives on the Book of Psalms -- The place of the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament -- Chapter and verse numbers in the psalms -- The psalms in recent research -- The psalms and Ugaritic studies -- An introductory psalm of wisdom (1:1-6) -- A coronation psalm (2:1-12) -- A psalm of protection (3:1-9) -- A psalm of confidence (4:1-9) -- A psalm of sickness (6:1-11) -- A psalm of protection (7:1-18) -- A hymn in praise of creation (8:1-10) -- An acrostic psalm (9:1-10:18) -- A psalm of confidence (11:1-7) -- A lament (12:1-9) -- An individual lament (13:1-6) -- A wisdom psalm (14:1-7) -- A psalm of preparation for worship (15:1-5) -- A psalm of confidence (16:1-11) -- A prayer for deliverance (17:1-5) -- A royal thanksgiving psalm (18:1-51) -- A wisdom hymn (19:1-15) -- A royal liturgy (20:1-10) -- A royal liturgy (21:1-14) -- A liturgy for one threatened with death (22:1-32) -- The shepherd psalm (23:1-6) -- A hymn to the king of glory (24:1-10) -- A prayer of trust (25:1-22) -- Preparation for admission to the temple (26:1-12) -- A royal ritual (27:1-14) -- A liturgy of supplication (28:1-9) -- A hymn to God's glory (29:1-11) -- Praise for deliverance from the danger of death (30:1-13) -- Prayer and thanksgiving (31:1-25) -- The blessing of forgiveness (32:1-11) -- A hymn to the creator (33:1-22) -- An acrostic psalm (34:1-23) -- A royal psalm for international crisis (35:1-28) -- A meditation (36:1-13) -- An acrostic psalm of wisdom (37:1-40) -- A sick person's prayer (38:1-23) -- A meditation on the transitory nature of life (39:1-14) -- A royal liturgy of supplication (40:1-18) -- A liturgy for the sick (41:1-14) -- The lament of an individual (42:1-43:5) -- A national lament after defeat in battle (44:1-27) -- A royal wedding song (45:1-18) -- A psalm of confidence (46:1-12) -- A psalm of God's kingship (47:1-10) -- A hymn of Zion (48:1-15) -- A wisdom psalm (49:1-21) -- A prophetic covenant liturgy (50:1-13) -- The meaning of selah -- The translation of tenses -- Acrostic psalms in the psalter.

The church fathers employed the Psalms widely. In liturgy they used them both as hymns and as Scripture readings. Within them they found pointers to Jesus both as Son of God and Messiah. They also employed the Psalms widely as support for other New Testament teachings, as counsel on morals and as forms of prayer. But the church fathers found more than pastoral insight in the Psalms. They found apologetic and doctrinal insight as well, as is attested by the more than 65 authors and more than 160 works excerpted in this commentary.

Commentary on Psalms 60-150 by Continental Commentary series.

Contents: The importance of the Psalms -- The authors -- Psalm music -- The poetry of the Psalms -- The ancient situations of psalmody -- The experience of the Holy -- The Psalms down the ages -- Commentary

Craig Broyles examines the Psalms as a diverse collection of poems whose main roots are in Jerusalem's worship services. Both in the past and in the present, they provide dynamic liturgies though which the worshipper encounters God--often with vigorous dialogue--and finds meaning for life. Broyles makes the best of contemporary scholarship on the Psalms accessible to both general readers and serious students.

This commentary on the book of Psalms by Robert Davidson seeks to show how a knowledge of the place the psalms originally had in the worship of ancient Israel enables them to come alive in worship within believing communities today.

On title page: "Comentarios basados en los siguentes libros: A. Aparicio, 'Los salmos, oración de la comunidad'; Cardenal Gomá, 'El nuevo salterio'; A. Shökel, 'Los salmos del breviario'; P. Farnés, 'Moniciones Sálmicas'; M. Mannati, 'Orar con los salmos'; E. Nacar, 'El libro de los salmos.'

Contents: Introduction -- Why a Christian Handbook to the Psalms? -- Recurrent Themes -- A Golden Treasury of Religious Poetry -- Those Headings and Closures -- Psalms 1-41 -- Psalms 42-72 -- Psalms 73-89 -- Psalms 90-106 -- Psalms 107-150

Contents: Part One: Office in Choir -- Chanting the Psalms -- The Need for a Plan -- A New Mentality -- Is the Shout Mentality Always Possible? -- Never Grow Weary, Never Give In -- Part Two: Background to the Psalms -- What Are the Psalms? -- Classification of the Psalms -- The Psalms as Poetry -- The Psalms and Salvation History -- The Psalms and the New Covenant -- The Setting of the Psalms -- The "Enemy" in the Psalms -- Messianic Psalms -- The Psalms Show Forth Christ -- Part Three: Themes of the Psalms

In many cases, Psalms plays an important role in the worship life of the Christian community. However, the Book of Psalms is one of the most difficult to translate because of the poetic form of the original. This Handbook, like others in the series, concentrates on exegetical information important for translators, and it attempts to indicate possible solutions for translational problems related to language or culture.

The nineteenth century rendered the service of rediscovering the long-forgotten world of ancient Egypt and the ancient empires of Mesopotamia ... In consequence of these discoveries the Bible, once thought to be 'mankind's oldest book, ' has proved to be a relatively recent phenomenon. The bulk of its content is as far removed from the beginnings of the high cultures of the ancient Near East as it is from us (ca. 2,500 years). We now see the Bible imbedded in a broad stream of traditions of the most diverse kind and provenance. Only when this rich environment has been systematically included in the study of the OT do OT conventionalities and originalities clearly emerge.

Three volume set from the Anchor Bible series: V. 16, Psalms 1-50; v.17, Psalms 51-100; v.17A, Psalms 101-150.

The book's clearly written introduction treats such subjects as the longevity and ecumenicity of the psalms, their Near Eastern background, the Hebrew text and ancient versions, their music, their strophic structure, their literary genre, and their relations to the New Testament. In the commentary itself Terrien freshly elucidates the theological significance of these collected poems by putting readers in touch with the formal versatility and religious passion of the psalmists themselves. While Terrien always engages in scientific exegesis before drawing theological conclusions, he is careful to allow full expression to the theological - and, especially, the doxological - voice of these unmatched spiritual songs. The result is a commentary that provides a link between the archaic language of Psalms and the intellectual demands of modern thinking and spirituality.

The Psalms have a double identity. They are scripture and liturgy. They compose a book of the Bible and are found in our hymnals and books of worship and prayer. When we think of them in historical perspective, another identity emerges. They are the liturgical poetry of ancient Israel, texts with a history of composition and use before they became scripture. A commentary in this Interpretation series needs to keep all three identities in view. That puts some strain on the commentator's task. The attempt to interpret the Psalms in awareness of the depth in their identity explains some things about the commentary and its writing.

This volume completes the commentary on all the Psalms written by Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, in the decade before the Council of Chalcedon held in 451 CE. He writes as a teacher, rather than a preacher in his pulpit, with the purpose simply of dispelling ignorance.

A monumental project which brings the English-speaking work key selections from the remarkable literature of early Christianity -- veritable treasures of Christian faith and theology in superb translations.

Contents: INTRODUCTION -- Title, text, and translation -- Authorship, superscriptions, and date -- Form criticism and historical approaches to interpretation -- The canonical shape of the psalter -- The poetry of the psalter -- Themes and theology -- Analysis of contents -- Select bibliography --
TEXT AND COMMENTARY -- Book one of the psalter: Psalms 1-41 -- Book two of the psalter: Psalms 42-72 -- Book three of the psalter: Psalms 73-89 -- Book four of the psalter: Psalms 90-106 -- Book five of the psalter: Psalms 107-150 -- The songs of the ascents: Psalms 120-134 -- Index of authors -- Index of names and subjects -- Index of scripture and other ancient literature

Originally published in Spanish: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, SA, 2001 with a commentary by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre.

2 volume set: V. 1. Psalm 4-13, 44-50 --
v. 2. Psalm 109-118, 120-150.

Provides an introduction to the literary, historical, and theological background of psalmody. Examines the psalms through liturgy and prayer, study and preaching, translation and imitation, and musical composition and artistic illustration. Includes illustrations of significant psalms, helpful maps, and an extensive bibliography.

In this volume, the author studies each psalm and shows how they confront the issues of our contemporary culture, transcending time, and transforming our faith and experience.

This commentary helps a modern 'pray-er' of the psalms to understand the connections of each psalm to the rest of the Bible, and to discern how the great theological themes of covenant, divine mercy and justice, and human response play out through the psalms in prayer.

Contents: Part One: General approaches -- Current issues in the interpretation of the Psalms -- Interpreting the Psalms: Some clues from their history and content -- Poetry and interpretation -- Trouble and woe: Interpreting the biblical laments -- Enthroned on the praises of Israel: Interpreting the biblical hymns -- Part Two: Exposition of selected Psalms -- Psalm 1 -- Psalm 2 -- Psalm 14 -- Psalm 22 -- Psalm 23 -- Psalm 82 -- Psalm 90 -- Psalm 127 -- Psalm 130 -- Psalm 139

The many introductions to the psalms available to readers tend to focus on various types and forms of psalms but overlook different theological approaches to the Psalter. This volume brings together leading psalms scholars from Catholic and Protestant traditions and takes into account recent scholarship on the shape and shaping of the Psalter and on the rhetorical interpretation of the Psalms

C.J.A. Vos explores the beauty of the Psalms and examines their meaning. He traces the ways in which they continue to be relevant to contemporary readers and to modern worship, and provides not only a verse-by-verse analysis but also a contextual history. Vos outlines a comprehensive homiletic theory for preaching the Psalms; and concludes with a study of the Psalms in liturgy.

Scholarly study of the Psalms is in the midst of a sea change. A generation ago, the dominant tendency was to study individual psalms in relation to their literary forms and cultural functions. However, in recent years, studies have increasingly emphasized Hebrew poetry, the structure of the entire Psalter, and its development from earlier collections to a unified canonical book. In exploring these and other facets, this volume aims to bridge the gap between general introductions to the study of the Psalms and specialized literature. Written by members and guests of the Tyndale Fellowship Old Testament Study Group, it offers the insights of internationally recognized Old Testament scholars into the world of the Psalms.

Contents: A book of praises -- The Psalms of David -- The five books of David -- The Psalter takes shape -- A setting in life -- The songs of Zion -- Psalms that ask, where is God in all of this? -- The Psalms as poetry -- The Psalms in Judaism at the time of Jesus -- How the early Christians heard the Psalms -- Jesus, the new David, prays the Psalms -- Words to put on Easter faith -- Violence in the Psalter -- Grappling with lament -- The Psalms in Christian worship -- The Psalms in the liturgy today

Contents: 1. The genres of the Psalms -- 2. Hymns -- The linguistic form -- The manner of performance -- The religion of the hymns -- The relationship of hymns to other genres -- The internal history of the hymns -- 3. Songs about YHWH's enthronement -- Form and content -- The cultic situation and history of the enthronement songs -- 4. Communal complaint songs -- 5. Royal Psalms -- 6. Individual complaint songs -- 7. Individual thanksgiving songs. -- 8. Smaller genres -- Sayings of blessing and curse -- The pilgrimage song -- The victory song -- The thanksgiving song of Israel -- Legends -- The Torah -- 9. Prophetic elements in the Psalms -- The eschatological material of the Psalms -- The forms of the eschatological contents -- Eschatology's penetration of the Psalms -- Eschatological Psalms in relation to the eschatology of the prophetic books -- Other prophetic genres in the Psalms -- The situation of the prophetic Psalms -- The purely intellectual influence of the prophets on the Psalms -- The time of the prophetic Psalms. -- 10. Wisdom poetry in the Psalms -- 11. Mixtures, antiphonal poems, and liturgies -- Mixtures -- Antiphonal poetry -- Liturgies -- 12. The history of psalmody -- 13. The collection of Psalms -- 14. The superscriptions of the Psalms

Contents: Metaphors in the Psalms: An Introduction / Pierre Van Hecke -- Es gibt mehr Felsen in Israel / Christiane de Vos -- Metaphorical Landscapes in the Psalms / Goran Eidevall -- Metaphors of God, Nature and Birth in Psalm 90,2 and Psalm 110,3 / Marianne Grohmann -- Bull-Leaping in Psalm 18 / Philippe Guillaume -- Zur Sprachwelt von Psalm 121 / Jutta Hausmann -- Where is the Lord? The Extended Great Chain of Being as a Source Domain for Conceptual Metaphor in the Egyptian Hallel, Psalms 113-118 / Elizabeth Hayes -- "...ad fontes aquarum": God as Water in the Psalms? / Else K. Holt -- Das Licht des Lebens: Zur Lichtmetaphorik in den Psalmen / Bernd Janowski -- Metaphors that Travel and (Almost) Vanish: Mapping Diachronic Changes in the Intertextual Usage of the Heavenly Warrior Metaphor in Psalms 18 and 144 / Martin G. Klingbeil -- Symbol as Conceptual Metaphor for the Evil Eye in Psalm 35,19 / Zacharias Kotze -- Under YHWH's Wings / Gert Kwakkel -- Von der Gottesferne zur Gottesnahe: Zur Todes- und Lebens- metaphorik in den Psalmen / Kathrin Liess -- Metaphorical Language and Theophany in Psalm 18 / Kirsten Nielsen -- ..Doch du erhohtest wie einem Wildstier mein Horn: Zur Metaphorik in Psalm 92,11 / Peter Riede -- ..Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch: Zum Tischmotiv in den Psalmen 23 und 69 / Peter Riede -- Metaphern fur Leben und Tod in den Psalmen 23 und 88 / Johannes Schnocks -- ..Die Gottlosen gedeihen wie Gras: Zu einigen Pflanzenmetaphern in den Psalmen. Eine kanonische Lekture / Claudia Sticher -- Zorn JHWHs im Psalter - eine Metaphor des Leidens? / Stefan Walchli -- Israels Erwartungen an Jahwe als Konig: Zum Gottesbild im Psalter / Bernd Willmes

The first chapter in the book of Psalms promises that the righteous will be secure and prosperous, "like trees planted by streams of water" (Ps. 1:3). In this thorough analysis of the book of Psalms, Jerome Creach expounds on his proposal that the book of Psalms is centrally concerned with the destiny of the righteous.

Contents: 1. The Theological Context: The New Relationship Between the Church and Israel -- 2. The Concept of "Covenant" in Biblical Theology / Norbert Lohfink -- 3. Covenant and Torah in the Pilgrimage of the Nations (The Book of Isaiah and Psalm 25) / Norbert Lohfink -- 4. The Covenant Formula in Psalm 33 / Norbert Lohfink -- 5. Zion as Mother of the Nations in Psalm 87 / Erich Zenger -- 6. The God of Israel's Reign over the World (Psalms 91-106) / Erich Zenger -- 7. Theological Relevance: The Drama of Covenant History

Contents: Psalm 127: sermon to the preachers' seminar -- Psalm 62: sermon to the German-speaking congregation -- Psalm 63: harvest festival sermon -- Psalm 85: morning address during an ecumenical conference -- Psalm 58: sermon on God's righteous anger -- Psalms 41; 104; 25; 20; 71: meditations from the Losungen -- Psalm 74: Kristallnacht (Crystal night) -- Psalm 119: with eyes wide open meditations -- Psalms 9; 107; 148: selections from ethics -- Psalm 100: letter to the Brethren at Finkenwalde -- Psalm 47: the prisoner -- Psalm 94: meditation from the Losungen for May 29, 1944 -- Psalms 54; 34: meditations from the Losungen for June 7 and 8, 1944 -- Various Psalms: the plot that failed : letters to Eberhard and Renate Bethge -- Psalms 3; 47; 70: the Psalms echoed in Bonhoeffer's poetry -- Psalm 22: the end and a beginning; more poetry

Arguing for the realistic dimension of the biblical claim that God acts in history, this volume provides a new interpretation of Isaiah's prophetic commission in Isa 6:9-10 and of the psalmist's change of mood in Psalms 3, 6, and 7.

The book of Psalms, NSRV version, arranged with a prosaic explanation of each psalm alongside the text of the psalm. Includes questions for reflection and suggestions for prayer. Not exclusively Catholic. Makes the psalms accessible for personal prayer.

Contents: The community sings : Out of the depth ; By the rivers of Babylon we wept ; My soul thirst for you ; You turned my lament into dancing ; You renew the face of the earth ; They who do justice -- The royal sphere : A scepter of equity ; Who puts an end to wars ; The Lord sits enthroned -- History, wisdom, prophecy : So that a later generation might know ; Forever at ease, they increase their wealth ; Arise, God! Judge the earth ; The Psalms arranged by literary genre

This research investigates the character of the Peshitta in Psalms 90-150 in order to facilitate the proper use of this version in textual criticism. It identifies the Peshitta's translation techniques (such as harmonization and assimilation) and it discusses the version's interpretation of difficult passages in the Hebrew text. This text is designed as a tool for scholars who, when confronted by critical questions in the Psalter, seek to understand the readings preserved in the Peshitta.

This massive and comprehensive volume, which brought together Mowinckel's lifelong researches on the Psalms, at its first publication in 1951 attracted the attention of those scholars to whom it was available in Norwegian. Urged to make this basic and important work accessible to a wider circle of world scholarship, the author entrusted the writing of an English version to D.R. Ap-Thomas. The Psalms in Israel's Worship is more than a mere translation, however. Many sections were entirely rewritten or rearranged by the author, and later insights replace some earlier material.

Contents: Psalmenexegese und Psalterexegese : eine Forschungsskizze / Erich Zenger -- Le Psautier comme livre biblique : édition, rédaction, fonction / Jean-Marie Auwers -- The Levitical singers and the editing of the Hebrew Psalter / Susan E. Gillingham -- Dimensionen und Intentionen der Davidisierung der Psalmen : die Rolle Davids nach den Psalmenüberschriften und nach dem Septuagintapsalm 151 / Klaus Seybold -- Le psautier messianique : une approche sémantique / Hans Ulrich Steymans -- Der elohistische Psalter Ps 42-83 : Entstehung und Programm / Frank-Lothar Hossfeld -- The interpretative significance of the sequence of Psalms 111-112.113-118.119 / Yair Zakovitch -- "Schaffe mir Recht, JHWH!" (Psalm 7,9) : zum theologischen und anthropologischen Profil der Teilkomposition Psalm 3-14 / Friedhelm Hartenstein -- "Here comes the sun!" : the metaphorical theology of Psalms 15-24 / William P. Brown -- Ein Tempel aus Worten : zur theologischen Architektur des Psalters / Bernd Janowski -- David and his chasidim : place and function of Psalms 138-145 / Harm Van Grol -- Approche canonique des Psaumes du Hallel / Jacques Trublet -- Where is God when you need him most? : the divine metaphor of absence and presence as a binding element in the composition of the Book of Psalms / Brian Doyle -- Die "Kleine Biblia" : Theologien im Psalter / Erhard S. Gerstenberger -- Die Einladung zu einem "glücklichen" Leben : Tora als Lebensraum nach Ps 119,1-3 / Tina Arnold -- Establishing connections between Pss 49 and 50 within the context of Pss 49-52 : a synchronic analysis / Stefan Attard -- The Greek Psalms in the New Testament / Mario Cimosa -- Amalgamator or faithful translator? : a translation-technical assessment of Psalm 151 / Hans Debel -- Composition des Psaumes 84-88 / Marcello Fidanzio -- Jeremia und die Psalmen / Georg Fischer -- The Torah in Psalm 106 : interpretations of JHWH's saving act at the Red Sea / Judith Gärtner -- "Like olive shoots around your table" : images of space in the psalms of ascent / Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher -- The ethical "way" of Psalm 16 / Alphonso Groenewald -- The imagery of the "weaned child" in Psalm 131 / Marianne Grohmann -- "From exile to Zion" : ethical perspectives from the sîrē hamaʻalôt Psalm 127 / Dirk Johannes Human -- "O Israel I will testify against you" : intensification and narrativity in the lament-lawsuit of the "unsilent" God in Psalm 50 / Ma. Maricel S. Ibita -- Der Psalter im Neuen Testament / Stefan Koch -- Text and context : Ps 91 and 11QPsApa / Corinna Körting -- The Psalter as a structured theological story with the aid of subscripts and superscripts / Hendrik Koorevaar -- Der matthäische Gebrauch des Psalters im Kontext seiner Parabelüberlieferung / Beate Kowalski -- Psalm 104 und der Grosse Amarnahymnus : eine neue Perspektive / Annette Krüger -- Significant sub-groups in the Book of Psalms : a new approach to the compositional structure of the Psalter / Casper Labuschagne -- "--und ein zweischneidiges Schwert in ihrer Hand" (Ps 149,6) : Beobachtungen zur theologiegeschichtlichen Verortung von Ps 149 / Martin Leuenberger -- The mathematical centre and its meaning in the psalms / Pieter van der Lugt -- Israel und die Völker auf dem Weg zum Gottesberg : Komposition und Intention der ersten Korachpsalmensammlung (Ps 42-49) / Michael P. Maier -- The origin of the Zion Hymns / Robert D. Miller II -- Five books of psalms? / Paul Sanders -- Die theologische Funktion der Königspsalmen innerhalb der Komposition des Psalters / Markus Saur -- The end of the Psalter / Donatella Scaiola -- The snares laid for the faithful lips : Hellenistic apostasy in Psalm 141 / Marco Settembrini -- Empires and enemies in Book V of the Psalter / Dennis Tucker, Jr. -- Von der Psaltergenese zur Psaltertheologie : der nächste Schritt der Psalterexegese?! : einige grundsätzliche Überlegungen zum Psalter als Buch und Kanonteil / Beat Weber -- Psalm 122 : syntax and the position of the I-figure and the text-immanent reader / Archibald van Wieringen -- On Psalms 103-106 as a closure to Book IV of the Psalter / Lindsay Wilson

Contents: Ch. 1. Appropriate terminology -- Ch. 2. A survey of the Psalms Scrolls -- Ch. 3. Psalms variants listed by manuscript -- Ch. 4. Variants listed by Psalm and verse -- Ch. 5. Synopsis of superscriptions, postscripts and doxologies in the MT, the Scrolls, and the LXX -- Ch. 6. Stabilization of the Psalter -- Ch. 7. Textual affiliations and editions -- Ch. 8. David's solar Psalter : the structure and provenance of 11QPs[superscript a] -- Ch. 9. True Psalter Or secondary collection? -- Ch. 10. The Psalms Scrolls and the LXX Psalter

More than a mere commentary on the Psalter, it is a profoundly Christian look at each and every Psalm, revealing in the Word written the living presence of God the Word Himself.