In recent weeks I’ve been spending a good deal of my free time reading the book of Isaiah and some of its commentaries. It has been quite an illuminating experience, and looking at the book as a whole has made it somewhat less daunting than I’d always imagined it. Today I noticed a connection that I thought was quite interesting that I’d like to share with you.
In the Gospel of Luke there is a scene where Jesus opens up the scroll of Isaiah and tells those in the synagogue that the Scripture he read was being fulfilled in their midst. What he read was from Isaiah 61.1-3, Read more... (851 words, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)
I recently had a great conversation with my former advisor, Dr. Robert Cole (prominent Psalm scholar), about the meaning of the opening psalms, and he raised some great points that I need to think through, and thought I might pass on for you to think through as well. As I’m recollecting a conversation in which I did not even take notes, I only hope that my memory serves me correct. Read more... (413 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)
In my last post I gave a glimpse into some of the discussions that have gone on in scholarly circles about the Book of Psalms over the last twenty or so years. It is a very important discussion that in many ways has yet to see its culmination. Time will tell if scholars are moving in the right direction or not, and in many ways it will be up to us to help put their research to work on the text itself. One part of their discussion that seems to be lasting is viewing Psalm 1 (and with some scholars, also Psalm 2) as an introduction to the Psalter as a whole book. I happen to ascribe to the view that Psalms 1 and 2 are to be taken together as the introduction. As such, the rest of the Psalter will be colored by these opening psalms. In more scholarly language, these psalms provide the hermeneutical lens through which the rest of the Psalter comes into view. They introduce the reader to the major characters of the book, the main topics of conversation, as well as to the role the reader plays in reading. I hope to show in the remainder of this post how all these elements come out of an integrated reading of Psalms 1 and 2. Read more... (1237 words, estimated 4:57 mins reading time)
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