Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter
Overview
The choice of Yahweh as refuge makes a unique and creative contribution to an emerging direction in Psalms study: the shape and shaping of the Psalter. Building especially on the work of Gerald Wilson, James Mays, Klaus Seybold and Gerald Sheppard, Creach provides an abundance of helpful data and advances the discussion significantly with his judicious interpretation of the root hsh (“to seek refuge”) and related Hebrew roots. He shows that the arrangement of Psalms 2–89 reflects an editorial interest in which ideas expressed by the hsh field are a foil for complaints of being cast off by Yahweh and that ideas expressed by the hsh field are also among the primary motifs in Psalms 90–106.
Top Highlights
“the Psalter contains a ‘refuge piety’, in which dependence upon Yahweh is the supreme virtue” (Page 48)
“Yahweh is the only reliable source of protection and that an attitude of dependence upon Yahweh is the most basic element of piety.” (Page 37)
“may indicate that ḥāsâ lost some of the sharp nuance of ‘seek shelter’ (in the temple?) in later usage” (Page 32)
“limited section of the book and (2) research on the shape of the entire work.” (Pages 13–14)
- Title: Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter
- Author: Jerome F. D. Creach
- Publisher: Sheffield Academic Press
- Publication Date: 1996
- Pages: 156