D. Firth and P. Johnston: Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches (IVP; 2005)
Reflective Questions on Interpreting
the Psalms
By Ted Hildebrandt (
1A. What new methodologies are being employed in Psalms studies? (23)
2A. How does the addition of linguistic study of Hebrew poetry supplement
the literary and structural approaches? (23)
3A. What contribution has
4A. What is the difference between the “old method” of reading the Psalms as
diverse compositions, loosely collected and the “new method” which
focuses on Psalms as a literary unit and canonical entity? (24)
5A. What is “sitz im leben” where does this term come from and how does
it function in Psalms studies? (24)
6A. What is the chronological focus of canonical approaches to the Psalms
as opposed to the chronological focus if individual Psalms are examined?
(24)
7A. How does Howard distinguish between psalmic “macrostructural”
approaches and “microstructural” approaches? What kinds of results
will each approach yield? (24)
8A. Why did
9A. What does
“Wisdom Frame” (Ps. 1, 73, 90, 107, 145)? (25)
10A. What are books I, III, IV, V? (25)
11A. What tension does
(25)
12A. Which books focus on the Davidic King and which on the divine king?
Why the shift? (25)
13A. How does Zenger’s insight that the Psalms are not cultic or liturgically
based but wisdom related and a literary “sanctuary” itself shift our
understanding of Psalms? Does “sanctuary” go well with the notion of
“wisdom”? (26)
14A. What different approaches are there for the function of Psalm 1, 2 and
3 and the relationship between these three Psalms? (26) What difference
does it make as to how one views the whole of Psalms?
15A. What is the relationship of the human Davidic kingship in Psalms with
the divine kingship of Yahweh? (26) How does that manifest itself in
Ps. 144 as opposed to Ps. 145?
16A. How does Mitchell see the relationship between the Davidic king and
divine King in Psalms? (27)
17A. Are the Psalms to be tied to historical pre-exilic and post-exilic historical
situations or only seen as eschatological? What difference does it make?
(27)
18A. What methodology did David Howard use in establishing the micro-
structural relations between Psalms 93-100? (28) What does Howard
see in the next step needed to supplement his research?
19A. How does Creach’s semantic approach differ from Howard lexemic
approach? (28) How would www.mapmyword.com be useful in semantic
approaches?
20A. How does Michael O’Connor describe Hebrew poetry? (29) What were
his contributions? (30)
21A. What two features does Adele Berlin see as marking Hebrew poetry? (30)
What
three levels does
22A. How does Morris distinguish between syntactic, semantic and pragmatic
parallelistic features? (31) What is morphology, phonology and semantics
and what role does each play in the description of poetry? (31)
23A. What contribution does Kugel make to the discussion of parallelism? How
does he see the relationship of the two parallel poetic lines? (32)
24A. What contribution does Robert Alter make to the relationship between the
two parallel poetic lines? How do the catagories ot complementarity,
focusing, heightening, intensification, specification, consequentiality,
contrast and disjunction go beyond the simple “synonymous” relationship
used in the standard description (Lowth)? (32)
25A. What is the difference between analyse structurelle (surface) and
analyse structurale (deep-structural) approaches to a poetic text? (33)
Structuralists look for repeated patterns what are the pros and cons
of this approach?
26A. What are deconstructive and reader-response hermeneutical approaches
to texts? (34)
27A. When Howard says that Bellinger uses: form, canonical, rhetorical, reader-
response, theological analyses and later physiological readings of a psalm,
what are each of these and what contribution and problems are resident in
each? (34f)
28A. What contribution has Sanders and the Qumran Psalms Scroll played in
understanding the development of the canonical book of Psalms? (35f)
29A. What arguments have been fielded against the order and fluidity of books
IV
and V of the Psalter as manifest at
30A. What two scholars dominated Psalms study in the twentieth century?
What approach did each take? (36f)
31A. How does Eaton’s taking individual laments as royal psalms of the king
change how those Psalms are understood? (37)
32A. What is the distinction between Westermann’s descriptive praise and
narrative praise psalms? Is it helpful in interpreting the Psalms? (37)
33A. What social settings of the Psalms does Gerstenberger use and how does
that differ from the settings proposed by Gunkel and Mowinckel? What
difference does it make? How do all of these differ from the historic
way of looking at the settings of the psalms?
34A. What insights result from Broyles’ distinction between ‘psalms of plea’
and ‘psalms of complaint’? (38) How is God viewed differently in each of
these? When the complaint goes out against God who is seen as an aloof
bystander or antagonist what is the function of the Psalm?
35A. Jacobson looks at direct discourse in the Psalms of the enemies, psalmists
themselves and God. What benefit would isolating those sections have?
36A. What are Brueggemann’s three functions of Psalms? How are these
catagories beneficial? (39) What is the difference between Psalms of
Orientation and Reorientation? Are such categories a simple
multiplication of categories without benefit or are such classifications
useful?
1A. What are the two factors Longman sees as shaping the tone and tenor of
prayer? (41)
2A. What implications does Longman’s observation that “The majority of
psalms are prayers? (41)
3A. How does prayer in the Bible differ from polytheistic prayers in the
Ancient Near East? (41)
4A. Longman distinguishes the majority of prayers from written prayers.
What is the difference? What is the difference between prayers recorded
for literary versus prayers recorded for ritual purposes? (42)
5A. What does Longman note about the shift in person in the hymn to Enlil
from
6A. Longman points out the early Sumerian ‘Hymn to Ekur’ as a hymn to
a temple dedicated to Enlil. How is this similar and dissimilar to the
role of the temple in biblical psalms? (43)
7A. How does the Shulgi hymn which features neo-Sumerian kingship differ
from the way the king functions in the biblical psalms? (43f)
8A. What is an example of an author who authored Akkadian hymns of
love and war? Is the association of a name to a hymn only seen in
the biblical titles? (44)
9A. Lambert translates a hymn to Shamash the sun god. What role does
the sun play in the biblical psalms? (44)
10A. Sumerian lament psalms are embedded with what other type literature?
(45)
11A. What is “The balag” type of lament and in what historical periods does
it occur? What biblical book is close to this type of lament? (45) What
is the root meaning of the term “balag”?
12A. What shift in pragmatic usage takes place in the balag from its early
Sumerian origin to its later use? (46)
13A. What was an Ershemma lament? What is the root meaning of the term?
What three contexts did the Ershemma lament function in? (46f)
14A. What is the root meaning of a Sumerian Shuilla lament? (47)
15A. What was one of the basic motives for the Sumerians providing the
reason for their prayers? (47) How did one’s actions impact God in
the biblical prayers?
16A. What was the function of letter prayers? Are there manifestations of
similar
to that at the Western wall in
the similarities and differences?
17A. What is the function of the later ershaunga prayer? (48)
18A. What grows in significance in later Mesopotamian prayers that is similar
to biblical prayers? (49)
19A. In
arena in which the biblical psalms functioned? (49)
20A. What three periods and transitions are seen in the Egyptian hymns?
Who developed these hymns and what was their function? (49)
21A. What is unique about the hymn to Aten featured by pharaoh Akhenaten?
Who is the speaker in the hymn to Aten? (50f)
22A. Longman parallels the hymn to Aten with what biblical psalm? (51)
23A. In
How is that different than Israelite psalmity? (51)
24A. What are the three aspects of Hittite prayers (ca. 1500 BC)?
25A. What parallels are found in Israelite prayer with the Hittite arkwar?
How is the Hittite juridical and legal terminology similar and
dissimilar
to that of
26A. What role does the mugawar play in Hittite pray and are their parallels
in biblical prayers? (53)
27A. What is the Hittite walliyatar and how is
that paralleled in
(53)
28A. How does Ugaritic [Syro-Palestinian] prayers seem to differ from
the prayers of
missing?
29A. What is shared with the petition to Baal and several biblical Psalms?
(54)
30A. Why does Longman see “parallelomania” as a problem? How does
he seek to avoid this fallacy? What word does he use? What is it’s
significance? (55)
31A. What Psalm does Longman cite as describing Yahweh in the language
of Baal? (55)
32A. What do you think of Miller’s statement:
“when
Lord, it did so in the midst of peoples whose arms had long been raised
and whose heads had been bowed to the gods that directed their lives and
delivered them from disaster”? (56)
33A. What four areas does Van der Toorn see in the laments of the Ancient
the biblical laments? (56)
34A. What four areas does Longman see as parallel between the Mesopotamian
and biblical prayers? (56)
35A. What three areas of difference does Longman see between Mesopotamian
and biblical prayers? (57f)
36A. What hymn from
texts and what similarities and dissimilarities may be seen? (58)
37A. What do you think of Longman’s closing assessment: “The similarities
that we have seen above, in large measure, are born not from influence
and borrowing but from common concerns and similar experiences.” How
does this impact how we understand the psalms in their original settings?
(59)
38A. What is one major difference in the object of prayer in the ANE and
in the biblical prayers? (59)
1A. How does
you agree with his descriptions? (63)
2A. How do the enemies appear in the Psalms of distress? When does
God appear as the source of the distress in Psalms? (63)
3A. Are there more distress Psalms early in the Psalter and fewer at the
end? What does that say about the development of the Psalter as
a unified text? (63)
4A. How does the struggle to maintain faith in trying circumstances fit
the Psalmist’s situation to parallels today? (64)
5A.
Lament but also in thanksgivings, royal psalms and even wisdom. Is
distressed the same way in each of these very diverse genres? (64) Why
does giving such short quotes not really allow the reader to distinguish
how distress is manifest in each of these Psalms (cf. Ps. 73:2 and 129:3 in
their contexts)?
6A. What genre does distress not occur in? Why do you think that is? (65)
7A. In the descriptions of personal distress how are the parts of the body
described as participating in the distress? (65)
8A. How does the distress statement in Ps. 22:6 “I am a worm, and not human”
fit with the passages that talk about humans being made a little lower than
the angels (Ps. 8) and made in the image of God? (66)
9A. When describing personal isolation notice how birds are used to portray
that. How are animals used in the psalms? (67) Why are animals used?
10A. How does the communal lament differ from the personal lament? (67)
11A.
communal laments? (67)
12A. How do you tell where the Psalms of Lament (Individual and communal)
are in the Psalter? What use is the appendix pp. 296ff?
13A. How do you think about the blaming of God or the portraying of God as
enemy in certain of the Psalms? Is this to be faulted to the psalmist as
inadequate theologically or how are we to understand it? (67)
14A. How are the enemies portrayed in the Psalms? How frequent is the enemy
theme? Why is it so prevalent? (68f)
15A. How are the enemies as animals compared and contrasted with the use of
the animal themes in other ways in the Psalms? (69)
16A. How does the fact that the water image is both a sign of life and blessing
and also a source of distress shape the way we look at metaphors? Does
a metaphor always trigger the same concepts? (70)
17A. How is the underworld described in the Psalms (water, bars, gates...)? (71)
18A. What is the most negative feature of sheol and how doest the Psalmist use
it to argue for God’s deliverance from it? (71)
19A. What are some the implications of Brueggemann’s observation: “The
surprise
of
silence
or censor
second extravagance, the extravagance of complaint, lament, accusation,
petition, indignation, assault, and insistence.” (72)
20A. What was the point of Johnston’s comparison of Ps. 116:1f in the NRSV
and the NJPS? (tense) (73)
21A. How do the stereotypical stock phrases and images fit with the uniqueness
of each psalm and situation? (73)
22A. How comfortable are we with the expressions pointing to God as the
source of distress in prayer? How are such expressions suppressed today?
How does theology help or hinder such expressions? (74)
23A. In what senses does the petition for God not to hide, be silent, forsake or
cast
off the psalmist to be understood? While
petitions are they really solely petitions? (75)
24A. How do the enemies in communal psalms differ from those of the
individual psalms? (75)
25A. What developed form of expression does Westermann link to the
description of the enemy? (76)
26A. How to you handle the linking of sin and suffering in several psalms? (77)
27A. If, according to some, all humans are sinful at the core how do you explain
the protestations of innocence in the psalms? (78)
28A. What distinction does
lamentation? (78)
29A. How do communal laments differ to the individual laments?
30A. Why is Psalm 88 unique? (79) How does this psalm temper
Westermann’s statement that all psalms move beyond lament?
What is it about lament that bothers us?
31A. What three explanations are given from the movement beyond lament in
so many lament psalms? Is the cultic oracle supported by specific psalms?
How does a vow or the renewed trust in Yahwah as divine warrior supply
the answer for why the shift from lament to hope in many psalms? (80f)
32A. How strong is the divine Warrior motif in the Psalms and what
implications does that have for our view of war? Why is this metaphor not
developed in Christianity today? (81)
33A. What do you think about Weiser’s explanation that most laments are really
thanskgivings to which a powerful lament was tacked onto the beginning?
(82)
34A. Is Williamson’s suggestion that “laments should be seen as composed in
the perspective of their hopeful conclusion, not their sorrowful beginning”
worthy? (82)
35A. What do you think of the canonical shape reinforcing the movement from
lament to praise? (82)
36A.
genre analysis. Is there a typology of “distress” that could be developed
to better understand what is going on in Psalms? (83)
37A. How does
in the contexts of enthronement (Mowinckel), covenant renewal (Weiser)
or
38A. How would one go about organizing a study of “distress” in the Psalms?
What other disciplines such as psychology, literature etc. could be brought
to bear on these expressions? Does God himself ever express distress?
4.
1A. What is the
relationship of praise and selfishness?
Do the psalmists
“turn their thoughts away from themselves”
and onto God? (85)
How does that relate to the Psalms are human
response?
2A. What does the
fact that hll (hallelujah root) found in the Psalms 75
times tell about “praise” as a major theme in
Psalms? What is the
relationship between the various lexical
terms for praise? Does
seven parallel verbs? (86) How do thanking, glorifying, magnifying,
extolling, blessing, inoking and rejoicing
relate to each other and to
praise? (86)
3A. What are
several problems with tying the notion of praise to lexical
words?
What problem does Ps. 8:1 suggest? (87) What does
lexical analysis alone? What is wrong with
What lexical items does he isolate as
referring to praise and how
does he distinguish them? (not)
4A. How does
theologically? Is his argument solid using
the plural form to support
congregational praise and hence diminish the
value of praise of a
lone individual? (88) How does that relate to
modern worship?
5A. Is the
congregational nature of praise supported by the phrase “in the
midst of the congregation (Ps. 109:30; Ps.
26) as
suggests? (88)
6A. Does Ps. 136
support the notion of praise as “advertising” [not just
vertical but horizontal in its direction of
expression]? What is the
difference
of praise spoken about God and praise spoken to God?
(88)
7A. How does the
praise directed to God (Ps. 66:3; 92:4) undermine the
exclusive corporate nature of praise
develop? (89)
8A. What does
about God to praise to God? (89)
9A. Note the shift
in Psa. 118 between talking about God and to God? (89)
Is there and difference in the types of
things that are addressed in
one and not the other?
10A. What distinction does Westermann draw between
descriptive praise
and declarative praise? (89)
11A. What frequent
phrase indicates that sometimes it is difficult to
distinguish between descriptive and
declarative praise (Ps. 136:1;
118:1)? (90) ki leolam hasdo
12A. What two different ways can “ki” be taken? What difference does it
make (vid. Ps. 95:6-7)? (because, that) How does it give the motive
for praise in Ps. 100:5? (90)
13A. The grounds
for praise is God’s attributes [which ones in particular]
and also his marvelous deeds (salvation,
creation...). What are
example texts to support this observation?
(91)
14A. What three
levels of praise are seen in Ps. 103 and how does that
relate to
congregational form of expression of praise?
(91)
15A. What is
parataxis in Hebrew poetry? (91)
16A. How does
form and its relationship to the emotional
expression of praise? (92)
Is such a connection valid? Can one slide so easily from poetic form
to praise implication?
17A. How does
critical reason in the poetry of Psalms? (92)
18A. How does
grammatical and poetic approach to
praise? Do you agree with
underdeveloped straw men and then blowing
them away? (93)
19A. How does a
Gattung/genre approach help open the notion of praise in
the Psalms (cf. Ps. 8)? (93)
20A. What type of
praise does
thanksgiving type psalms to be? (94)
21A. What is
enthronement festival sitz im leben? (94)
22A. How does
embraced in the midst of crisis? Does that seem to be
comprehensive and valid? (95) What Psalms are cited in support of
this?
Do they really fit?
23A. How does
one’s very
existence? (95)
24A. What is
lacking from
95)
25A. How do each
of the five books of the Psalms conclude? (96)
26A. What is the
difference between form criticism and canon criticism?
(96)
27A. Where do the
sections of psalms of praise exist and what does that
suggest about the canonical shape of Psalms?
(96) Where is there a
concentration of praise psalms?
28A. What types of concerns are found in the psalms at
the “seams” of the
five books of the Psalms according to
29A. What event
cause some doubt to the continuity of the Davidic
covenant? What role does
play in the psalms? (96f)
30A. What is the relationship of the eschatological
vision and Davidic
covenantal expectations in the post-exilic
psalms? (97)
31A. What setting
does
32A. What is the role of the enemies and their demise in
relation to the
notion of praise? (98)
33A. How did
119) into the theme of praise? Did his argument work? (99)
34A. Do you buy
Lewis’ comment that praise is ‘inner health made
audible’? (99)
35A. Is praise to
be seen exclusively in relation to God manifesting his
covenant faithfulness? (100)
1A. Does the
Davidic superscriptions link Psalms into the kingship
motif? (101)
2A. Grant
acknowledges that kingship is not as big a theme as praise,
lament or the cult in the Psalms. Is this
correct? (102)
3A. Where are
the royal psalms found and what are their characteristics?
(102)
4A. What does
it mean that the royal Psalms are placed at the “seams”
canonically? (102)
5A. If the book
of Psalms came together long after the demise of the
monarchy why are they still in the psalter?
(102)
6A. Is there a
divergence between the way the historical and law sections
portray the kingship and the Psalms? Why the difference?
7A. Does a
“kingshp” reading really make any difference to how we read
the Psalms today? (102)
8A. How did
Gunkel define the “royal psalm” genre? What are some
examples of this genre? What faults with
“royal psalm” as a genre
have according to Grant? (102f)
9A. What are
characteristic marks of the “royal psalms” genre according
to Gunkel? (103)
10A. How do Ps.
101 and 110 show flaws in Gunkel’s thinking according
to Grant? Is Grant’s criticism valid? Has Grant really developed the
notion of the royal genre or is he simply
critical of it? (103f) How
does Grant seek to expand the notion of the
genre of kingship
Psalms?
11A. How does
Eaton seek to expand the “royal psalms” genre of Gunkel?
(105) What characteristics does Eaton take as
indicating a royal
background for a psalm? (105)
12A. Do the
Davidic superscriptions necessarily trigger a “royal” setting
and theme connection? (106) Are anonymous psalms to be
automatically understood as “royal”?
13A. What was the
major contribution of
impact how we understand the Psalms today
differently than what
Gunkel and Mowinckel proposed? (107)
14A. In
special significance for the book of Psalms
as a whole? (108) Do
you agree or disagree with such an approach
and what are its
strengths and weaknesses?
15A. Which
beginning/end/seam psalms highlight the royal or kingship
theme? (108)
16A. Why do you
think the royal psalms play a lesser role in the
collections of books IV-V? (109)
17A. What shift
does
(109)
18A. In which
adjacent psalms is an eschatological presentation of the
Davidic monarchy seen? What are some specific
examples
illustrating this within those psalms? (109)
19A. Why did the
editors of the Psalms keep the royal Psalms long after
the Davidic monarchy had collapsed?
(110) What techniques are
utilized in the hermeneutical understanding
to extend the royal or
kingship aspects of the psalms to a broader
audience? How does one
move from specific author and context to a
more universal
application?
20A. How would a
Davidic era reader read Ps. 2 differently than one from
the later-pre-exilic period, the post-exilic,
Christian and later Jewish
communities? (111f) What would be a possible connection between
the eschatological interpretation of the
kingly or royal psalms and
Messianic interpretation of those same
psalms? (112)
21A. How does the
view of the kingship presented in psalms differ from
that presented in the historical books? (113)
22A. Is the
problem that
real issue in the failure of
(cf. Deut. 17; pp. 113) Why is Grant wrong on
this point? (cf.
wisemen)
23A. How does
Grant use the fact that the psalms are “occasional”
literature to support the psalms uncritical
attitude toward the
institution of the kingship? (114)
24A. How does
Grant portray the royal psalms as developing an
eschatological expectation of a future
Davidic monarchy in line with
Deut. 17:14ff? What does this understanding suggest about a
possible relationship between the negative
historical portrayal of the
kingship and the psalmic portrayal? (114)
25A. Canonically
how does Grant see the psalter as highlighting the
connections between the kingship and the
torah? (115)
26A. If one were
to develop the psalter’s view of the kingship what would
be the key elements and passages? (116)
27A. How does
Grant see a shift in the kingship description from the
Messianic descriptions found in Ps. 2, 72,
110 and the now expanded
psalmic texts on kingship? (117)
28A. What two
psalms does Grant focus on as showing the king as an
exemplar of piety and being rooted in torah?
(117) What
connections can be drawn between the king and
the people?
29A. How does
Grant see the relationship between Ps. 1 and 2 related to
the kingship question? Does this approach do justice to Ps. 1?
30A. What aspects
of Jesus the King are featured by Grant’s kingship
understanding of the Psalms (118)
6. Jerome Creach: The Psalms and the cult
1A. Creach says
that the cultic approach is now being replaced by the
canonical approach to Psalms. How are these
two approaches
different? (119) Which critical approach was most closely
associated with the cult in Psalms research?
(120)
2A. On what
basis does Creach argue for retaining the connection
between the cult and psalms? (120) What are the pros and cons
of his view?
3A. When Gunkel
began his studies how were most people
understanding the setting of the psalms
before him? (120)
4A. What did
Gunkel believe about the date and authorship of the
psalms? (120f)
5A. What does
Gunkel argue on the basis of the connection between
2 Sam. 1:19-27 and the psalms of the psalter?
(121) Is his argument
cogent?
6A. What is the
strength and weakness of assigning all genres of psalms
to the same sitz im leben or original
setting? (121) Is it possible the
setting or origin and the setting of use may
be different?
7A. What was
the sole group of psalms that Gunkel viewed as outside
the cultic setting? Is such thinking between the wisdom
literature
and the cult still valid today (vid. Perdue’s
book on Wisdom and
the Cult)? (121)
8A. What
objections does Creach have to the cultic approach of Gunkel?
What two questions that Gunkel addressed are
still worthy of
investigation according to Creach? (121)
9A. How does
Creach define the “cult”? (122)
10A. What
passages does Gunkel cite as supporting the connection
between lyrics and the cult in historical
sections of the Old
Testament? (123f)
11A. What
connections between the historical account in Num. 11 and
the psalms does Gunkel make? Is it valid? (123)
12A. How does the
historical account in 2 Sam. 6 differ from the account
of the Chronicler (1 Chr. 16) differ in the
story of the bringing of the
ark to
(124f)
13A. How strong
is Creach’s connection between the verbalization of
thanks and the thanksgiving offering? (125)
14A. What does
Creach see as the “clearest indicator of the cultic use of
psalms”? (125f)
15A. What
indicators of cultic use does Creach find in the superscription
of the psalms? How does the mention of the types of
instruments
in a psalm heading support the cultic use?
(126)
16A. What types
of things are mentioned inside the psalms (not including
the superscriptions) that highlight the
connection of many psalms to
cultic expression? (127)
17A. How does
Creach use a shift in voice in the psalm to argue for a
cultic setting of the psalm? Is that valid?
(128)
18A. What did
Mowinckel use as a paradigm from
paralleled to and brought into his thinking
about Israelite worship?
(129)
What benefits and problems do you see with such an
approach?
19A. What psalms
and themes did Mowinckel highlight in his study of
the Psalms? (129)
20A. How did
Mowinckel’s paradigm change the way he interpreted
psalms particularly in how he understood the
“I” referred to
in many psalms? (129)
21A. What is
“corporate personality” and how did Mowinckel use it in
the psalms? (130)
22A. How did the
Myth-Ritual school push Mowinckel’s ideas too far?
Why do many see problems with Mowinckel’s and
his Akitu or New
Years’ cultic approach? (130)
23A. How did
Weiser tweak Mowinckel’s New Year festival setting for
the Psalms? What data does Weiser’s
redirection of the setting for
the psalm explain that Mowincel’s view was
unable to handle? (131)
24A. What are the
anti-cultic psalms and what themes do they relate?
(131)
25A. Do the
historical texts support the notion of a temple court judgment
situation which could then be a link between
psalms and the cult?
(133)
Do the psalms Beyerlin alleges fitting with a judicial process
and associated ordeal necessarily fit with a
cultic setting?
26A. Does the
ordeal described in Num. 5:11ff fit well with the psalms?
(134)
Is the ordeal process (e.g. river ordeals) really supported much
in the OT elsewhere?
27A. What three
cultic settings have been suggested by Gunkel and then
Mowinckel and now more recently? How would such differences in
cultic setting impact how these psalms are
understood? (136) What
contribution has Gerstenberger made to the
suggestion of a possible
cultic setting?
7. Psalms and Cult Symbolism: Cherubim
1A. What
shaping does liturgy and ritual do to a text that is
different from literary, thematic or
theological concerns? (139)
2A. How does
the statement: “Psalms were not simply to be read;
they were to be performed. Belief was expressed verbally and
visually” fit with a digital and other ways
of performing the
message of the psalm? What is Broyles
suggesting here?
3A. How does
Broyles link the cult and the king? (140)
4A. How
frequently are the cherubim and ark mentioned in the Psalms?
What does such data suggest for the hermeneutical
process?
5A. How was the
ark portrayed in the Pentateuchal narratives?
What is the “priestly strand of the
Pentateuch that Broyles
refers to? (140)
6A. How was the
ark used to “lead” the people in the wilderness? (141)
7A. How does the
taking of
portrayal of the ark’s function in ancient
8A. How was the
ark harnessed for battle? (141) How is
the name
Ichabod linked into the ark narrative in
Samuel at Aphek?
9A. How does 2
Samuel and Uriah manifest the presence of the ark
in battles and its use in warfare? (142)
10A. What was the
relationship of the cherubim, ark and the Solomonic
temple? (142)
11A. In Deut.
10:1-9 what does Broyles see as the main purpose of the
ark? Why does Broyles discuss Deut. 10 after
the Solomonic temple
placement of the ark? How does he use Deut. 8:8 to support this?
(143)
12A. What does
the Chronicler situate around the narrative of David’s
bringing the ark to
the carrying up of the ark in Chronicles?
(143)
13A. David refers
to which Psalm when talking of rest for the ark and
its being footstool of God (1 Chr.
28:2)? What does the reference
to that particular Psalm manifest of the
canonical formation of the
Psalms as a book? (143)
14A. How did the
role of the levites shift once the ark was placed in
the temple (2 Chr. 35:3)? (144)
15A. In what
prophetic book are the cherubim prominent?
16A. What
different aspects does Broyles see of the cherubim-ark
symbolically? (144) What does the ark symbolize?
17A. How does
Broyles understand the “ark of your might” in Ps. 132?
(145)
What is the appropriate response to this symbol of divine
presence?
18A. What does
Ps. 132:6-8 re-enact? To what does
historical events
does Ps. 132 refer? Why does Broyles say it is “probably
post-exilic
in its final form? What might this suggest
about the group known
as the songs of ascent?
19A. How is Psalm
78 linked to an historical narrative? (146)
20A. What are the
pros/cons of Broyles attempt to link Ps. 105 to the
ark? (146)
21A. What terms
does Broyles use to link Ps. 96 to the ark?
Is such
a linking legitimate do you think?—how strong
or weak is it? (146)
22A. How does
Broyles link Ps. 99 and 132? (147) The statement
of Yahweh’s kingship as seen as enthroned on
the cherubim
has what connection to the ark? What new
dimension does this
add to understanding the Yahweh melek (Yahweh
is king) psalms?
23A. In Psalm 80
Yahweh’s enthroning on the cherubim has to do
with his strength as a warrior. How is Yahweh portrayed as
a warrior in Psalms? What implications does that have for
us today? (147) What is the meaning of the phrase “Lord of
hosts” and how is it related to the warrior
theme and linked to
the ark?
24A. Where is the
song of the ark? What does it say? (148)
25A. What
contribution does Ps. 68 make to Broyles’ discussion of
the ark? (148) In Ps. 18 how did Yahweh ride the clouds?
(149)
What does Broyles conjecture the relationship
between the
ark below and the cherubim above?
26A. Upon what is
Yahweh said to sit enthroned? (149)
27A. What
accompanies the psalms of God’s ascent? (150)
28A. What does
Broyles see as personified in the cherubim figures
in Ps. 97?
How tight is such a linking? (150)
29A. How is Ps.
97:7 extend the understanding of “bow down” in
relation to the cherubim-ark? (151)
30A. What themes
and images does Broyles see as being pulled
together in Ps. 89? Do such “attribute themes” necessitate
references to ark and cherubim? (151)
31A. How does
Broyles get the ark into Ps. 24? Is it
legitimate?
What name was invoked over the ark? (152)
Does the use of
that title necessitate the presence of the
ark? Does the convergence
of warrior/worship themes necessitate the
presence of the ark as
Broyles alleges?
32A. How does
Broyles use “in the shadow of your wings” to link into
his ark-cherubim presence? (152f)
33A. In Ps. 36
are the references to the “heavens” and “rider of the
heavens” and righteousness/justice themes
enough to link this
psalm to the ark? (153)
34A. In Ps. 61
does the juxtaposition of “shelter of your wings” and
“abide in your tent forever” enough to locate
“wings” at the
sanctuary?
Are wings just bird metaphor or is it cherubim
metaphor? What difference does it make to our
understanding? (154)
35A. How does
Broyles use the ark-cherubim to solve the mystery of
the shift in laments from lament to praise?
(154) How does
Broyles understanding link the earthly and
heavenly in such
a way that actually helps us understand the
imagery of Ps. 57? (154)
36A. Who does
Broyles see as ending the ritual processions with the
ark? (155) How does Broyles’ understanding of
1 Kgs. 8:8 impact
how he sees the ritual ark procession?
37A. Broyles
poses the question: If the cherubim-ark was so prominent in
evident from the psalms themselves? Does his answer satisfy?
(155f).
What are the strengths and weaknesses of his answer?
38A. What shift
in understanding does Broyles see happening as the
ark was locked down in the temple with no
more processions?
Is such a shift warranted from the text?
(156) Does his dating
of Deuteronomy impact how he understands this
alleged “shift”?
39A. What do you
think of Broyles conclusion: “Instead of constructing
theology on the basis of ideas, concepts and
themes, it becomes
apparent that the psalms—as liturgies—often
presented their
theology by means of visual symbols, rituals
and their associated
traditions.” What implications does that have
for the digital
representation of the psalms? Must there always be a tension
between the propositional/thematic and the
visual? (156)
1A. What is
Firth’s critique of the Gunkel/Mowinckel form
critical approach? (159)
How does form critical work undermine
the teaching of the Psalms?
2A. How does
taking the psalms as prayers of human words to God
inhibit their being taught as the word of
God? (160) How often
have you heard sermons or teaching based on
the book of Psalms?
3A. How did
Child’s canonical approach impact the use of the Psalms
as Scripture?
4A. How does
the editorial shaping of the book of Psalms suggest a
didactic intention for the book? (161)
5A. What is the
difference between Whybray and
understanding of the editorial process by
which the book of Psalms
was put together and its impact on the book’s
didactic intent? (162)
6A. What
implications does canonical status have for the book’s teaching
role within
7A. What two
levels of didactic intent does Firth see in the book of
Psalms? (162)
How do these different levels interact?
8A. What does
Firth mean by the mimetic didactic function of each
individual psalm as a prayer or praise? (163)
9A. Which
psalms are most closely linked to original didactic intent?
(163)
10A. What three
teaching strategies are used in Psalms and what are
examples of each in action? (164)
11A. What
underlies each different teaching strategy?
Does experienced
based learning necessarily fit or is this a
modern construct Firth is
projecting back into the text of Psalms?(164)
12A. How does
“testimony” function didactically in the Psalms? (165)
In what senses is Ps. 73 an example of
counter-faith testimony? Is
the goal of Ps. 73 worship?
13A. How does the
testimony of Ps. 30 differ from that of Ps. 73?
What
implications are there from testimony as far
as how its teaching
value is accessed? (166f)
14A. Where are
the admonitional aspects of teaching most prevalent in
Scripture? (167) What are the characteristic marks of an
admonition and how does that differ from the
“testimony” form?
How does the admonition function in Ps. 130?
(168)
15A. How are the
educational goals of testimony, admonition and
observation different? (168) How does Ps. 1 fit an observational
didactic method?
16A. How does
“thematic modeling” function didactically in the Psalms?
(171)
17A. How do the
psalms as prayers of the accused, prayers for protection,
and prayers of the sick instruct? (172) How
do all of these respond
to violence in the same way? What is the lex
talionis and what role
does it play in the response to violence?
18A. How does the
intratextual dialogue function?
19A. What does
Firth suggest is missed in Brueggemann’s schema:
orientation-disorientation-new orientation?
(173)
20A. How does
Firth see Ps. 1 functioning in the intratextual dialogue of
the Psalter as a whole (particular with Ps.
3, for example)? (173)
How does that intratextual dialogue impact
how Ps. 1 is to be
understood? (174)
21A. How do the
royal psalms function eschatologically? (174)
22A. How do we
bring the teaching strategies of the Psalms into the
present? (174)
1A. How do our
hymns/praise songs teach us what to believe and
how to behave? How do our hymns/praise songs reflect our
theology? (176)
2A. What hymns
did Wenham find were unacceptable from an
older hymnbook to present day audiences? Is this going to
be even more pronounced with the Psalms of
Israel? (176)
3A. How does
Wenham see pray as a manifestation of our deepest
convictions? (177)
4A. What is lex
ordani and lex credendi? (177) What has
been lost
with the switching in modern hymnals away
from the psalms to
modern hymns?
5A. How does
Wenham understand the reference to meditation on the
“law” in Psalm 1? (178) What other psalm emphasizes the link
between the law and the psalms?
6A. What psalms
are usually selected for comments in treatments of
ethics in the psalms? (178)
7A. What do you
think of Wenham’s approach of focusing on the
Decalogue when discussing ethics in the
Psalms methodologically?
(178)
What would be an alternative methodology for getting at
the ethics of the book of Psalms? What types of things will a focus
on the Decalogue miss?
8A. What does
the fact that the law giving at Sinai is infrequently
mentioned in Psalms imply? (179) What do Ps. 68:8, 17 and 106:19
say about Sinai? Why do psalmic historical reviews like Ps.
78;
105-107 and 114 skip explicit references to
the law giving at Sinai?
Is the law giving at Sinai the only focal
point for ethical content
in the Mosaic law?
9A. Are
references to idols always to be seen as echoes or linked back
to the Decalogue? (182)
10A. Which
commandment of the ten is the only one that is ignored in
the Psalms? (183) How does that fit with a post-exilic
editorial
compilation date?
11A. How does
Wenham link the command about honoring ones parents
into the Psalms? (183)
12A. Wenham
acknowledges that the 4th and 5th commandments are not
highlighted in the psalms but then gives
cases where murder is
referred to in the references to the damage
and goals of the enemies.
Are the death threats of the enemies best
understood in a Decalogue
context? (184)
13A. How is
adultery mentioned and more broadly referred to in the
Psalms? (185)
14A. Where does
Wenham find adultery, theft and lying all in one
Psalm? (185)
How frequent is this? Does the
lack of frequency
prove the absence of the use of Psalms in
ethical scholarly work?
What other methodology might have given more
fruitful results
in elucidating the ethical contours of the
psalms?
15A. Which of the
ten commandments is most pronounced in the psalms?
Why this particular one? (186f) Why is the use of the tongue in
psalms so important?
16A. When Wenham
describes the righteous how does he do so? (188)
17A. What factors
of the righteous/wicked does Wenham focus on?
What other aspects might have been more
helpful in developing
an ethic of the psalms? (188)
18A. What divine
role is critical in understanding both the psalms and
its ethical quality? (190f)
19A. Besides
judgment what other divine references in Psalms would
interface with ethical topics? (190f)
20A. How does
Wenham treat the imprecations and rejoicing at God’s
judgment on the wicked by the Psalmists? (192)
Does this deserve
more development? How would you develop it?
21A. How does the
imitatio of the divine make a great connection with
the ethics of the Psalms? (193)
22A. Wenham views
his work as a beginning of ethical explorations in
the psalms.
What other directions, besides the Decalogue, could/
should/ought to be pursued? (194)
10. Body Idioms and the Psalms by Andy Warren-Rothlin
(195-212)
1A. How did the
translator misunderstand “nor stands in the way
of sinners”?
(195)
2A. How does
Warren-Rothlin counter the Mormon argument that
God has flesh and bones based on Ps. 130:22?
(196)
3A. How does
Warren-Rothlin counter feminist arguments that female
body parts/functions attributed to God proves
He is not male (Ps.
131:2)? (196)
4A. What is the
difference between a discourse analysis and a pragmatics
approach to the biblical text? (196) What lies between these two
disciplines?
5A. What does
the term “idiom” derive from? Does the
etymology of a
word determine its meaning? (196f) How does modern linguistics
define idiom?
6A. What is
rhetoric and how does it relate to pragmatics? (197)
7A. How are
idioms not the sum of their parts? (197)
Cite your own
examples.
8A. How do we
use idioms in politeness language? (198)
9A. What are
speech-acts and how do they function? (199)
What are
some examples in the psalms?
10A. What is the
difference between literary tropes and figures of speech?
(200)
What examples of such figures does Warren-Rothlin cite and
give examples of in the Psalms? How do metaphors function?
11A. How is a
metonymy different from a metaphor? What
are examples
of each? (200)
12A. What is a
synecdoche and how does it function? (200)
13A. What are
paranomasia and euphemism? (201)
14A. What four
stages of idiomatization does Warren-Rothlin trace? (202)
15A. What
different means does the Hebrew idiom “stand” have? (202)
How does the context function to define which
meaning is being
employed?
16A. What is the
difference between a synchronic understanding of an
idiom and a diachronic one? (203)
17A. What type of
meanings use body parts to express them? (204f) Give
examples.
18A. How
significant are body parts in the Psalms? (205)
19A. Who does
Warren-Rothlin see as the three main characters of the
Psalms? (206)
How would you modify this?
20A. What is
polysemy and how does it function in the Psalms? (207)
What does polysemy have to teach biblical
scholars?
21A. What is an
example of a “many-to-one” correspondence in some
idioms? (207)
How does such an understanding help us better
interpret Psalms texts?
22A. How does
Warren-Rothlin see the derivation of body idioms? (208)
23A. How does
Warren-Rothlin distinguish naive approaches to
interpreting/translating texts from more
sophisticated approaches?
(209)
24A. What example
of a double entendre does Warren-Rothlin give from
the Joseph narrative? (209)
25A. When is it
safe to assume an idiomatic meaning? (210)
26A. How does
Warren-Rothlin understand the connection between
idioms and anthropomorphisms when used in
reference
to God?
(210)
27A. What is one
way one may distinguish between a literal and idiomatic
meaning (211)
28A. How does
Warren-Rothlin see the cultic and body images relating to
each other in Psalms? (211)
29A. How does
Warren-Rothlin understand in two ways the “lifting of
one’s eyes” in Psalm 123:1 and 121:1? (211f)
30A. What
difference does Warren-Rothlin see between how scholars and
translators handle the biblical text
differently?
11. Torah-Meditation and the Psalms: The Invitation of Psalm 1 by Michael
LeFebvre. (213-225)
1A. How does
LeFebvre describe the recent movement of Psalms
scholarship? (213)
2A. Why was Ps.
1 considered a “left-over” in genre studies?
How has
its role changed in the new ‘shape’ or
canonical study of the Psalms?
(213f)
3A. What are
the characteristics of a wisdom psalm?
How may the
details of a psalm be distorted by
classifying its genre? (214)
4A. What
problems does the classification of Ps. 1 as a wisdom raise
for LeFebvre?
Is wisdom outside the cult or is LeFebvre’s way
of understanding wisdom not encorporating
Perdue’s work on
wisdom and the cult? (214f)
5A. What impact
does LeFebvre see the editors of the whole psalter
having on understanding it as having cultic
concern? (215) What
does such an observation manifest about
LeFebvre’s view of the
nexus between wisdom and the cult? How does LeFebvre’s wisdom
influence of the editors impact how he takes
the whole book of
Psalms?
6A. On what
basis does LeFebvre dismiss Psalm 1 as a wisdom Psalm?
What characteristics of wisdom does Psalm 1
manifest that LeFebvre
seems to overlook? (216)
7A. What other
psalms are “torah” psalms and how does Ps. 1 fit with
them? (216) Compare/contrast
8A. How does
Brueggemann use Ps. 1 and Ps. 150 to frame the psalter?
(216f)
How does LeFebvre shift Brueggemann’s observation? Is
much gained/lossed by this shift?
9A. How does
LeFebvre understand the Hebrew term hagah (meditate)?
(217f)
What evidence does he offer for his view? How does he
link hagah (mediate) with singing? (219)
10A. How does
Negoita understand hagah (meditate)? (219)
11A. With what
does LeFebvre correctly connect hagah (meditate)? (220)
12A. What
different options does LeFebvre suggest for understanding
“torah” in Ps. 1:2? (220) At Child’s suggestion what does LeFebvre
identify as the torah “meditated” on in Ps.
1:2? (221) How does that
fit with his canonical approach to the text
of the psalter? How does
such an understanding of “torah” shift the
understanding of Ps. 1 in
its relationship to the rest of the psalter?
13A. What does
LeFebvre use as confirming evidence for his comparison
and shift from torah=Pentateuch to the Psalms
in Ps. 1:2? (221)
14A. How does
LeFebvre brilliantly tie in Deut. 31 to his exposition of
‘torah-meditation’ in Ps. 1:2? Who were the different audiences
(222)
15A. What
similarities and contrasts does LeFebvre see between Ps. 1:2
and the torah-meditation of Josh. 1:8? (223)
16A. How does
LeFebvre see Ps. 1 as actually performing what Ps. 1:2
was talking about? (224)
Was his argument convincing?
17A. What great
insight has LeFebvre discovered in looking at Ps. 1 in
a new canonical positional manner which was
missed by former
wisdom approaches to this Psalm? (225)
1A. What does
what does he cite as the introduction and
conclusion? (229)
2A. What marks
the close of each of the five books of the Psalter? (229)
3A. What two
documents does
Psalter’s unique characteristics? (230)
How do these “versions”
of the Psalter differ?
4A. What does
(230)
5A. Why do some
suggest the Psalter was divided into five books? (230)
6A. Where are
the “hallelujah” psalms and how do they function
canonically? (231)
7A. What
characterizes the first three books of the Psalter and how do
those features differ from the last two
books? (231)
8A. To what
period does
books?
In what period does he date the collection of the last three
books? (231f)
9A. What does
collections?
Can that evidence be interpreted in a way leading to
different results? (232)
10A. How is Ps.
145 connected to the final hallelujah psalms (146-150)?
(232)
11A. What two
Psalms to some see as editorially joined?
What evidence
is there of such a “connection” between these
two psalms? (233)
12A. How did Ps.
2’s position impact how the first three books were
interpreted? (233) What does
reading?
13A. What has
of the Psalter? (233)
14A. What is the
post-script of the second book? (234)
15A. How does
16A. How are the
seams of the last two books different from the seams
of the first three books? (234) What new interests are revealed at
the seams of the fourth and fifth book as
seen in Ps. 1, 73, 90, 107?
17A. How would
you support
first three books (Pss. 2-89) is on the
demise of the Davidic
monarchy? (235)
18A. What impact
does
of the themes of the Psalter? (235)
19A. What is the
editor’s response to the demise of the Davidic
monarchy as seen in Ps. 93-99? (235)
20A. What is not
found in the last two books of the Psalter and how
does that support
demise of the Davidic monarchy to the
kingship of Yahweh? (236)
21A. How does the
delight in torah motif fit supported in the final
edited version of the Psalter reflecting a
sapiential flavoring? (236f)
22A. How does
23A. In what ways
does
What shifts does it introduce?
24A. How does Ps.
73 respond to the themes highlighted in Ps. 74 and 89?
(238f)
25A. How is the
land viewed and shifted in Ps. 74, 89 and especially 73
and also in light of the exile? (239) What ends up being enough
for the psalmist after the exile?
26A. What does
the seam Psalm 107 see as the only hope in restoration?
27A. How does the
LXX shift particularly the emphasis of book 4?
(241)
28A. What
“groups” are omitted in the Dead Sea Psalms scroll and what
inferences does
29A. What
perspective does the eleven new psalms added by the DSS
community have? (243)
30A. How does the
of
books 1-3? (243)
31A. What do both
the LXX and
minimize? (244)
32A. How does
33A. What does
exclusively on individual psalms and their emotional
content”? (245)
34A. What is the
downside of
shaping of the whole based approach? (245f)
35A. What shift
does
the psalms?
(245) In what sense are the psalms both human
response and at the same time divine
words? What tensions are
evident between these two perspectives?
36A. How does
What shift does
early part to the later part of the Psalter?
(246) What is the major
emphasis of the whole Psalter that he sees?
13.
1A. Of what
general importance are the Dead Sea Scrolls to
biblical scholars? (247)
2A. Why does
Swanson start off with such a critique of the diminished
use of the DSS in Psalms interpretation? Is it warranted? Does
his article prove his point that the DSS
should be brought into more
significant use by psalms scholars? (247)
3A. What are
the implications of
scrolls found in the
what is the significance and location of
4A. What two
DSS caves produced the most Psalms manuscripts?
(248)
5A. What is the
significance of the Psalms scrolls being 20% of
the manuscripts found at
and third?
(248)
6A. How many
psalms are contained on the largest Psalms scroll
from
psalms found in a single manuscript?
(249) How long is
the great Isaiah scroll? Where is the Isaiah scroll housed
currently? (249)
7A. What
conclusion is drawn from the fact that at
of the manuscripts (mss.) contain Psalms from
Ps. 1-89? (250)
How might that also fit the ethos of the
community at
8A. What does
the nomenclature 4QPse mean? (250)
9A. How does
Swanson use 4QPse and 11QPsb in relation with the
concluding statement of Ps. 72?
10A. What kinds
of conclusions and implications can be drawn from
the fact that 4QPsf has Ps. 107-109 followed
by three non-canonical
Psalms not known outside
fact that some manuscripts may be excerpted
texts? (251)
11A. What difference
does “selected texts” versus “psalters” make to
the discussion of canon formation of the
Psalter as reflected at
12A. What data
indicates the significance of Ps. 104 to the
community? What “affinities” are seen between
Ps. 104 and
the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QH)? (253)
13A. What is the
significance of 4QPsx and its relation to Ps.
89?
(253)
14A. The fact
that psalms may be excerpted from collections implies
what about their use at
15A. How do the
LXX and Syrian manuscripts provide evidence for
non-canonical psalms? What implication does that have for the
Palestinian psalter at the time of Jesus?
(255) How does the
text of Ps. 151 read (LXX/Syriac)? How do the texts of
the ‘Apostrophe to
(256)
16A. How should
one think canonically about the presence of
non-canonical psalms in “canonical” psalms
manuscripts
and also 4Q380 and 381 which are
non-canonical psalms
scrolls? While Swanson suggests such evidence
shows that
the canon was not yet fixed, is that the only
or best explanation?
(256f)
17A. How does
Swanson use 11QPsa to argue that the canonical
Psalter was still open in the middle of the
1st century A.D.?
(257)
18A. What
explanations for canonical closure are offered by Talmon
in reference to late rearranged psalm scroll
evidence? (257)
19A. Is it
possible the pluriformity of the order of the Psalms at
reflect canonical fixity at the time? (258)
20A. What three
Psalters are present in Second Temple Judaism?
(258)
What does this imply about the closing of the canon
in reference to the Psalms?
21A. How does
argue for the theology of the folks at
cogent?
Does his argument have any implications in a backward
direction as far as the closing of the Psalms
canon? (259)
22A. How does
Swanson summarize
to the five books of the psalms linking their
development with
theological themes? (260)
23A. What are
pesharim and how do they help us understand the place
of Psalms in the
24A. How did
Swanson link the
Testament writers understanding of messianic
psalms? (261)
How does that understanding shift how the
Psalms are/were
understood?
14. Evangelists and the
Psalms, by Dale Brueggemann.
1A. What text
does Brueggemann open with introducing the Psalms
in the New Testament? What is the significance of that text for
canonical studies? (263)
2A. What two
genres of Psalms are frequently quoted as Messianic
in the NT? (264)
3A. What are
the canonical implications of Jesus response in Jn. 10:28-
33?
How does Brueggemann extend our understanding of how
Jesus is using the term elohim in a lesser to
greater argument?
How does Jesus fulfill the Ps. 82:6
quote? (266)
4A. How did the
Psalmist originally intend this psalm?
How does one
connect the psalmist’s original intent with
the Messianic
interpretation of that text hundreds of years
later? (266)
5A. How do Ps.
110:1 and Ps. 2 connect in the person of Christ? How
do these psalms point beyond their original
settings to a greater
fulfillment? (267)
6A. How does
Watts understand the Psalmic reference and appropriation
of the “sitting at God’s right hand
reference”? Why was that so
upsetting to the Jewish leaders? (268) How did Watts connect the
enemies of Jesus and the motif of the enemies
in the Pslams?
7A. How was
Jesus’ life predicted by the Psalms? (269)
8A. In what
ways does Brueggemann connect Jesus and David via Ps.
41? (269)
9A. How is Ps.
69 and Christ’s crucifixion linked? In
what senses is
Jesus fulfilling the Davidic pattern of
suffering? (270)
10A. What do all
for Gospels record and what is the significance of Jesus’
garments not being torn? What did torn garments signify? (270f)
11A. What are two
passages possibly refer to the fact that Jesus’ bones
were not broken? What layers of meaning does each add? (271)
12A. How do
several see the connection of Ps. 16 and the resurrection of
Jesus?
What is the relationship of David speaking of himself and
also how does it get connected with
Jesus? (272)
13A. How did
Peter and Paul understand the connection of Ps. 16 and
Jesus? (272)
14A. How is a
Davidic imprecation fulfilled in Judas? (272f)
15A. How are the
temple cleansing, Jesus’ death and resurrection set on
a Davidic backdrop? (273)
16A. How is Jesus
reminiscent of the David of the historical narratives as
well as the imagined Davidic ruler of the
psalmist? (275)
17A. How does
Briggs understand the sufferings described in Ps. 22?
(275)
18A. How are the
sufferings of Jesus parallel with those of the sufferer in
the Psalms? (276)
19A. How is Ps.
118 connected to the parable of the ruthless tenants?
What is the
“reversal” motif in Ps. 118 and how would that
encourage those in the early church? (276)
20A. How does the
repayment for what one has done in the psalms
get applied to Jesus? (277)
21A. What
transformation does the statement Hosanna go through from
the Psalms to Jesus’ triumphal entry? (278)
22A. What three
ways does Brueggemann see the NT as using the psalter
in reference to Christ? (278)
14. Targum of Psalms by
Timothy Edwards
1A. What is a
targum? Why have Targum studies been
ignored? What
potential benefit do they offer? (279)
2A. Is Edward’s
correct in laying the blame for ignoring Targum studies
at the feet of those who seek the “original
meaning”? Is Edwards
denying such an “original meaning”? What is the relationship
between the “original meaning” and the
meanings proposed at
various stages of interpretation? What is the benefit of studying the
history of interpretation of a section of
Scripture? Is it only in terms
of “original meaning”? (280)
3A. How does
Edwards work with the “liturgical” function of the
targumim? (280) What benefits are gained by shifting it away
from
a liturgical to a pedagogical function? (281)
4A. What is the
significance of Edward’s construct that the targum is a
bridge between the written Torah and the oral
Torah (Mishnah and
Talmud)?
In what ways does he prove his case?
(281)
5A. What is the
relationship between reading, translating (targum) and
study (talmud) of the Psalms? (281)
6A. Does
Edwards see the targumim as translations done because folks
no longer understood Hebrew? How does his response to this
further his pedagogical or didactic function
of the Targum of
Psalms? (281f)
7A. How does
Edwards model the coordinated reading of the Hebrew
text and the targum? Does such a reading prove useful? (282)
8A. Would many
of Edward’s arguments also prove work in the
context of the LXX? What would the difference
be? (282f)
9A. How does
Edwards illustrate his point with the Hebrew term nwp?
(282f)
Does this make his point?
10A. What is the
date of the targumim? (283f)
11A. What does
Kugel mean in his description of rabbinic interpretation
as being “omnisignificance”? What are the benefits and problems
with such an approach? (285)
12A. How does the
targum actually help us with exploring other meanings
in the text? (286)
13A. How does the
targum loose it raison d’etre if not
connected to the
Hebrew text?
(286)
14A. What are
your thoughts about Edwards’ three levels of interpreting
psalms texts relating Christian and Jewish
interpretation? (287)
Are his categories useful?
15A. How does the
Targum of Ps. 81 differ from the NRSV (Hebrew
Text)? (288)
16A. How did the
Targum feature the Joseph story in Ps. 81? (289f)
17A. What
connection is made between Joseph and Rosh HaShanah?
(290)
What should be made of the Syrian Father and the Joseph
link with Ps. 81? As Christians should we also be concerned
about
the history of interpretation of the Psalms
within the early church
as well as early Judaism? What similarities and differences would
you expect?
18A. How does
Edwards see creativity in the targums?
(294)
19A. Why is the
term “original meaning” foreign to the exegete
responsible for the Targum of the
Psalms? What are the pros and
cons of such “foreignness”? (294)