Defining the Sacred Songs: Genre, Tradition, and the Post-Critical Interpretation of the Psalms

by Harry P. Nasuti

Publisher:

Sheffield Academic Press

, 1999

Overview

At a time when the focus of Psalms research has increasingly shifted from the form-critical concerns of Hermann Gunkel and his followers, Defining the Sacred Songs argues for the continued importance of genre as an interpretative category in the post-critical era. Drawing on insights from the Psalms' long interpretative tradition, Nasuti is able to bring a fresh perspective on the role that the genre definition of these texts plays in both contemporary scholarship and the life of the communities that use them. The result is a better appreciation of the peculiar power of the Psalms and a new understanding of the nature of genre analysis in modern biblical studies.

Contents

Top Highlights

“read individual biblical texts in accord with their genre” (Page 30)

“primacy of the lament as the interpretive key to the psalms” (Page 80)

Praise

This is a stimulating attempt at revising the content and usefulness of form critical interpretation in a post-Gunkel era.

—Theological Book Review

Product Details

• Title: Defining the Sacred Songs: Genre, Tradition, and the Post-Critical Interpretation of the Psalms
• Author: Harry P. Nasuti
• Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 231

About Harry P. Nasuti

Harry Nasuti is Professor of Biblical Studies, Fordham University, Bronx, New York.