PCBC Class – Salt & Light
The Movement and Message of the Hebrew Psalter
Salt and Light Institute
Peters Creek Baptist Church
Summer 2009
Welcome to the online resource list for the summer Salt and Light Institute elective class at Peters Creek! I’ve prepared several articles, outlines, charts, and other resources for your help in reading through the Psalter. You’ll also find written versions of the class material, visual aids, powerpoint slides, and mp3 copies of the class here as well. If you still have any questions or comments, be sure to send me an e-mail (andy@andywittonline.com) or visit my blog (www.andywittonline.com) where I’ll be writing posts on the Psalms for many months to come.
Class Handouts and Downloads
Week One
Syllabus
Psalm One-Month Reading Guide
Psalm Terminology
Poetic Analysis (a chapter from Tremper Longman’s book, Literary Interpretation)
Week Two
Psalm Headings in English and in Hebrew
Parallel Psalm 1-2
Week Three
Week Four
Outline for Class
Questions for Psalm Interpretation
Week Five
Outline for Class
Overview of the Message of the Book of the Psalms
Class Notes
| Week One (7/1): A Glimpse Back, A Vision Forward | |||
| Week Two (7/8): The Puzzling Psalter | |||
| Week Three (7/15): Books I-II | |||
| Week Four (7/22): Books III-IV | |||
| Week Five (7/29): Book V and Final Comments |
Important Scholarly Articles on the Psalter (for further study)
Brennan, Joseph P. “Psalms 1-8: Hidden Harmonies.” Biblical Theology Bulletin 10 (1980).
_____. “Some Hidden Harmonies in the Fifth Book of Psalms.” In R.F. McNamara, ed. Essays in Honor of Joseph P. Brennan (Rochester, NY: St. Bernards, 1976), 126-158.
Brueggemann, Walter. “Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon.” JSOT 50 (1991), 63-92.
Brueggemann, Walter, and Patrick D. Miller. “Psalm 73 as a Canonical Marker.” JSOT 72 (1996), 45-56.
Cole, Robert. “An Integrated Reading of Psalms 1 and 2.” JSOT 98 (2002), 75-88.
_____. “(Mis)Translating Psalm 1.” Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 10/2 (Fall 2005), 35-50.
_____. Review of Limburg, James, Psalms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000). JETS 45/1 (March 2002), 147-148.
Creach, Jerome F. D. “Like a Tree Planted by the Temple Stream: The Portrait of the Righteous in Psalm 1:3.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61/1 (Jan 1999), 34-46.
Gillingham, Sue. “Studies of the Psalms: Retrospect and Prospect.” Expository Times 119/5 (F 2008), 209-216.
Goldingay, John. “The Dynamic Cycle of Praise and Prayer in the Psalms.” JSOT 20 (Jl 1981), 85-90.
Grant, Jamie A. “Poetics,” in David G. Firth and Jamie A. Grant, eds., Words and the Word: Explorations in Biblical Interpretation and Literary Theory (IVP Academic, 2009).
Howard, David M., Jr. “Editorial Activity in the Psalter: A State-of-the-Field Survey.” Word & World 9/3 (Summer 1989), 274-285.
_____. “Psalm 94 among the Kingship-of-Yhwh Psalms.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61/4 (1999), 667-685.
_____. “Recent Trends in Psalms Study.” In The Face of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Contemporary Approaches (Grand Rapids, 1999), 329-368.
Mays, James L. “A Question of Identity: The Threefold Hermeneutic of Psalmody.” The Asbury Theological Journal 46.1 (1991), 87-94.
_____. “In a Vision: The Portrayal of the Messiah in the Psalms.” Ex Auditu 7 (1991), 1-8.
_____. “The David of the Psalms.” Interpretation 40/2 (April 1986), 143-155.
_____. “The Language of the Reign of God.” Interpretation 43/2 (1993), 117-126.
_____. “The Place of the Torah-Psalms in the Psalter.” JBL 106/1 (1987), 3-12.
McCann, J. Clinton, Jr. “Preaching on Psalms for Advent.” Unknown publication.
_____. “The Hermeneutics of Grace: Discerning the Bible’s Single Plot.” Interpretation 57/1 (Jan 2003), 5-15.
_____. “The Psalms as Instruction.” Interpretation 46/2 (April 1992), 117-128.
_____. Book Review of Robert L. Cole, “The Shape and Message of Book III.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 63 (2001), 311-312.
Miller, Patrick D., Jr. “Current Issues in Psalms Studies.” Word and World 5 (Spring 1985), 132-143.
_____. “Enthroned on the Praises of Israel: The Praise of God in Old Testament Theology.” Interpretation 39/1 (Jan 1985), 5-19.
_____. “The Beginning of the Psalter.” In J. Clinton McCann, ed., The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter, 83-92.
_____. “The End of the Psalter: A Response to Erich Zenger.” JSOT 80 (1998), 103-110.
_____. “Trouble and Woe: Interpreting the Biblical Laments.” Interpretation 37/1 (Jan 1983), 32-45.
Miller, Patrick, and Walter Brueggemann. “Psalm 73 as a Canonical Marker.” JSOT 72 (1996), 45-56.
Mitchell, David C. “Lord, Remember David: G. H. Wilson and the Message of the Psalter.” Vetus Testamentum 56/4 (2006), 526-548.
_____. “God Will Redeem My Soul from Sheol: The Psalms of the Sons of Korah.” JSOT 30/3 (Mar 2006), 365-384.
Murphy, S. Jonathan. “Is the Psalter a Book with a Single Message?” Bibliotheca Sacra 165 (July-September 2008), 283-293.
Talstra, Eep, and Carl J. Bosma. “Psalm 67: Blessing, Harvest, and History – A Proposal for Exegetical Methodology.” Calvin Theological Journal 36 (2001), 290-313.
Tate, Marvin E. “The Interpretation of the Psalms.” Review and Expositor 81/3 (Sum 1984), 363-375.
Waltke, Bruce. “Superscripts, Postscripts, or Both?” JBL 110/4 (Winter 1991), 583-596.
Walton, John H. “Psalms: A Cantata About the Davidic Covenant.” JETS 34/1 (March 1991), 21-31.
Willis, John T. “A Cry of Defiance – Psalm 2.” JSOT 47 (Je 1990), 33-50.
_____. “Psalm 1 – An Entity.” ZAW 91 (1979), 381-401.
Wilson, Gerald H. “Evidence of Editorial Divisions in the Hebrew Psalter.” Vetus Testamentum 34/3 (Jul 1984), 336-352.
_____. “The Shape of the Book of Psalms.” Interpretation 46/2 (April 1992), 129-142.
_____. “The Use of Royal Psalms at the ‘Seams’ of the Hebrew Psalter.” JSOT 35 (1986), 85-94.
_____. “The Use of ‘Untitled’ Psalms in the Hebrew Psalter.” ZAW 97/3 (1985), 404-413.
Zenger, Erich. “The Composition and Theology of the Fifth Book of Psalms, Psalms 107-145.” JSOT 80 (S 1998), 77-102.
Books for Further Study of the Psalter
Anderson, B. W. Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak For Us Today (Philadelphia, 2002)
Berlin, Adele. The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism: Revised and Expanded. Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 2008.
Cole, Robert L. The Shape and Message of Book III (Psalms 73-89). JSOTSup. 307. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
Dempster, Stephen G. Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible. Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press (Apollos), 2003.
Firth, David G. and Jamie A. Grant. Words and the Word: Explorations in Biblical Interpretation and Literary Theory (IVP Academic, 2009).
Flint, P.W., and P. D. Miller, The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception (Leiden-Boston, 2005)
Fokkelman, J. P. Reading Biblical Poetry: An Introductory Guide. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.
Grant, Jamie A. The King as Exemplar (Academia Biblica 17; Atlanta-Leiden, 2004).
Howard, David. The Structure of Pss. 93-100 (Winona Lake, 1997).
Johnston, P., and D. Firth, eds. Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches (Carlisle, 2005)
Longman, Tremper, III. Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.
Mays, James L. The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.
McCann, J. Clinton. A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.
_____. The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter. JSOTSupp 159 (1993)
Mitchell, David. The Message of the Psalter: An Eschatological Programme in the Book of Psalms. JSOTSup. 252, Sheffield, 1997.
Sailhamer, John. NIV Compact Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Terrien, Samuel. The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
Whybray, N. Reading the Psalms as a Book (JSOTSup 222; Sheffield, 1996).
Wilson, GH. The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 76. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985.
Other Online Resources for Psalter Study
Question on Ps. 72
The superscript “Of Solomon” and the postscript (?) or v. 20 “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.”
I read your comments here and wanted to ask further if you think that the psalm is messianic in that Solomon is looking ahead for the Davidic son, understanding that he was not the fulfillment. Is v. 20 a strategy to show that David’s prayers are ‘completed’ by his son Solomon also looking for the messianic king to come? Is this a theological commentary on 1 Kings 10 where Solomon does not measure up to the Deut 17 stipulations? I plan to draw up on Ps 72 in an upcoming sermon. And without getting too deep, I don’t want to be incorrectly simplistic.
Grateful for your ministry,
Jonathan Parnell
congratulations on Wycliffe!
Jonathan,
Thanks for the congrats! I’m really looking forward to starting up there in the fall.
Great question concerning Psalm 72. For those of us more inclined to understand the psalm eschatologically, I think there are a few good interpretive options. I’ll briefly give you three of them.
First, as you mentioned, many people think this might be a psalm written by Solomon, a psalm which “completes” or “brings to fulfillment” the prayers of his father, David. If that is the case, Solomon is here reflecting on what the messianic kingdom would be like and the type of king needed to rule over it – one fully righteous, just, and who lives forever. Clearly he was not that king.
Second, more people would understand this as a psalm of David written “for Solomon”. It would make much sense coming from his mouth and would echo many of David’s own words about Solomon from Kings and Chronicles. It seems like David thought Solomon was the promised Son. In either case of authorship it doesn’t seem like the interpretation of the psalm would be affected much, since both would be meditating on the messianic kingdom as a representation of David’s highest thoughts (his prayers in completion). Some however see the postscript as a leftover editorial mark from an early version of the Psalter. I don’t buy that, since the editor of the book doesn’t seem that sloppy, but quite ingenuius with the shaping and structure of the various psalms.
Lately I’ve been more inclined to understand the psalm in a different eschatological context, one that mirrors the message of the prophets more closely. If you notice, the description of the kingdom in Ps 72 is exactly the description of the kingdom given in Zechariah 9. In Zech 9 the messianic king is clearly in view, and I would argue the same for Psalm 72. Whether this refers to a temporary messianic kingdom established at some time in Israel’s future (from a post-exilic context), or to the final messiainic kingdom in view later on in the Psalter (Ps 110; 132) is still unclear (maybe both?), but either way I think you are safe to preach about this text as messianic and eschatological. Hope that helps!
Andy
PS…See my Psalm 102 paper and the appendix on the last page for more about the third option.
@Andy
Very helpful. Thanks, brother!