Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches
The book of Psalms has been precious to countless people in many languages and countries over many centuries. It has expressed their hopes and fears, inspired their faith, and renewed their trust in God. Through the Psalms, the spiritual insight and religious heritage of ancient Israel have had a profound and lasting impact on the human race. The book of Psalms is also of great interest to biblical scholars, and 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.This volume will be a treasure to both students and scholars alike.
Save more when you purchase this book as part of the IVP Old Testament Studies Collection.
Key Features
- Bridges the gap between an introduction to the Psalms and specialized literature
- Offers insights from internationally recognized Old Testament scholars
- Presents an ideal text for students, professors, pastors, and lay readers
Contributors Abbreviations IntroductionA. Psalms Interpretation in Context 1. The Psalms and Current Study 2. The Psalms and Ancient Near Eastern Prayer GenresB. The Psalms and Key Themes 3. The Psalms and Distress 4. The Psalms and Praise 5. The Psalms and the King 6. The Psalms and the Cult 7. The Psalms and Cult Symbolism: The Case of the Cherubim-ArkC. The Psalms and Interpretation Issues 8. The Teaching of the Psalms 9. The Ethics of the Psalms 10. Body Idioms and the Psalms 11, Torah-Meditation and the Psalms: The Invitation of Psalm 1D. The Psalms and Interpretative Traditions 12. The Structure of the Psalter 13. Qumran and the Psalms 14. The Evangelists and the Psalms 15. The Targum of Psalms Appendices 1. Index of Form-Critical Categorizations 2. Index of Selective Psalm Commentaries Bibliography
Praise for the Print Edition
For those who treasure, love and pray the psalms, this book will be a sheer delight, and, if used in the classroom, it will offer up so much for lay people that they will . . . say ‘Hallelujah!’
—Reed Lessing, Concordia Journal
- Title: Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches
- Authors: David G. Firth, Philip S. Johnston
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2006
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 345
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. Psalms › Criticism, interpretation, etc
- ISBNs: 9780830884117, 0830884114
- Resource ID: LLS:NTRPRTNGPPPRCHS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:58:42Z
About the Editors
Philip S. Johnston is director of studies in theology and religious studies and senior tutor at Hughes Hall, Cambridge. He has taught at Belfast, St. Andrews, and Oxford. He has published studies of Israelite afterlife beliefs, and has an interest in Israel past and present—along with a commitment to reconciliation. He is the author of Shades Of Sheol.
David Firth is Old Testament Tutor at Cliff College, Derbyshire. His works include Surrendering Retribution in the Psalms: Responses to Violence in the Individual Complaints.
