Psalms 101-150, Volume 21: Revised Edition

By Leslie C. Allen

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Overview of Commentary Organization

• Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology.
• Each section of the commentary includes:
• Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.
• Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.
• Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.
• Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.
• Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.
• Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.
  • General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Apr 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9780310588443

Leslie C. Allen

Leslie C. Allen is Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. Formerly he was Lecturer in Hebrew, Aramaic and Judaism at London Bible College. He holds the MA degree from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in Classics and Oriental Studies. His PhD is from the University College of London, In Hebrew. Among his publications are The Greek Chronicles Parts 1 and 2 (supplements to Vetus Testamentum) and The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah for The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, as well as the section on Psalms 101-150 in the Word Biblical Commentary and Psalms in the Word Biblical Themes series.

Book preview

General Editors

Bruce M. Metzger

David A. Hubbard †

Glenn W. Barker †

Old Testament Editor

John D. W. Watts

New Testament Editor

Ralph P. Martin

Associate Editors

James W. Watts, Old Testament

Lynn Allan Losie, New Testament

Word Biblical Commentary

Volume 21

Psalms 101–150, revised

Leslie C. Allen

NASHVILLE DALLAS MEXICO CITY RIO DE JANEIRO

To

my daughter, Miriam

Word Biblical Commentary

Psalms 101–150: revised

Copyright © 2002 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

ePub edition April 2018: ISBN 978-0-310-58844-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Main entry under title:

Word biblical commentary.

Includes bibliographies.

1. Bible—Commentaries—Collected works.

BS491.2.W67 220.7’7 81-71768

ISBN 0-7852-4773-4 (v. 21) AACR2

Scripture quotations in the body of the commentary, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946 (renewed 1973), 1956, and © 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and are used by permission. The author’s own translation of the text appears in italic type under the heading Translation.

Alfred A. Knopf, a Division of Random House, Inc., has generously granted permission for the use of the quotation from Original Sin by P. D. James in the Explanation for Ps 137 of this commentary.

Contents

Editorial Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

Main Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Text and Commentary

Book IV of the Psalter (Pss 90–106)

The King’s Duty Done (101:1–8)

Through Tears to Praise (102:1–29)

Grace That Forgives (103:1–22)

How Great Thou Art! (104:1–35)

God’s Faithfulness (105:1–45)

Penitential Prayer (106:1–48)

Book V of the Psalter (Pss 107–50)

Manifold Mercies (107:1–43)

Old, Yet Ever New (108:1–14)

Not Guilty (109:1–31)

God’s King and Priest (110:1–7)

God at Work (111:1–10)

Godliness at Work (112:1–10)

Glory and Grace (113:1–9)

The Relevance of Sacred History (114:1–8)

A Help and Shield (115:1–18)

God Saved Me! (116:1–19)

A Thousand Tongues (117:1–2)

God-given Victory (118:1–29)

A Light for My Path (119:1–176)

Processional Songs (Pss 120–34)

The Irksomeness of Life (120:1–7)

Able to Keep (121:1–8)

Jerusalem the Golden (122:1–9)

Grace to Help (123:1–4)

The Broken Trap (124:1–8)

Immovable as the Mountains (125:1–5)

A Prayer for Full Salvation (126:1–6)

The Secret of Human Achievement (127:1–5)

God Is Nobody’s Debtor (128:1–6)

The Resilience of Faith (129:1–8)

The Riches of God’s Grace (130:1–8)

Childlikeness (131:1–3)

The King’s Heritage of Blessing (132:1–18)

The Family of Faith (133:1–3)

The Circle of Blessing (134:1–3)

Sovereign Grace (135:1–21)

Ever Faithful, Ever Sure (136:1–26)

Living with the Pain of the Past (137:1–9)

God’s Hand in My Life (138:1–8)

Honest to God (139:1–24)

The Power of Prayer (140:1–14)

Temptations Within and Without (141:1–10)

Nobody Cares (142:1–8)

My Only Hope (143:1–12)

Laying Claim to Theological Traditions (144:1–15)

Tell of His Might, Sing of His Grace! (145:1–21)

God Our Help and Hope (146:1–10)

God of Stars and Broken Hearts (147:1–20)

A Universal Choir (148:1–14)

The Final Victory (149:1–9)

A Crescendo of Praise (150:1–6)

Indexes

Editorial Preface

The launching of the Word Biblical Commentary brings to fulfillment an enterprise of several years’ planning. The publishers and the members of the editorial board met in 1977 to explore the possibility of a new commentary on the books of the Bible that would incorporate several distinctive features. Prospective readers of these volumes are entitled to know what such features were intended to be; whether the aims of the commentary have been fully achieved time alone will tell.

First, we have tried to cast a wide net to include as contributors a number of scholars from around the world who not only share our aims, but are in the main engaged in the ministry of teaching in university, college, and seminary. They represent a rich diversity of denominational allegiance. The broad stance of our contributors can rightly be called evangelical, and this term is to be understood in its positive, historic sense of a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation, and to the truth and power of the Christian gospel.

Then, the commentaries in our series are all commissioned and written for the purpose of inclusion in the Word Biblical Commentary. Unlike several of our distinguished counterparts in the field of commentary writing, there are no translated works, originally written in a non-English language. Also, our commentators were asked to prepare their own rendering of the original biblical text and to use those languages as the basis of their own comments and exegesis. What may be claimed as distinctive with this series is that it is based on the biblical languages, yet it seeks to make the technical and scholarly approach to a theological understanding of Scripture understandable by—and useful to—the fledgling student, the working minister, and colleagues in the guild of professional scholars and teachers as well.

Finally, a word must be said about the format of the series. The layout, in clearly defined sections, has been consciously devised to assist readers at different levels. Those wishing to learn about the textual witnesses on which the translation is offered are invited to consult the section headed Notes. If the readers’ concern is with the state of modern scholarship on any given portion of Scripture, they should turn to the sections on Bibliography and Form/Structure/Setting. For a clear exposition of the passage’s meaning and its relevance to the ongoing biblical revelation, the Comment and concluding Explanation are designed expressly to meet that need. There is therefore something for everyone who may pick up and use these volumes.

If these aims come anywhere near realization, the intention of the editors will have been met, and the labor of our team of contributors rewarded.

General Editors: Bruce M. Metzger

David A. Hubbard†

Glenn W. Barker†

Old Testament: John D. W. Watts

New Testament: Ralph P. Martin

Author’s Preface

Nearly twenty years have elapsed since I prepared the first edition of this commentary, and a lot of water has by now flowed under the Psalms bridge. It has been a time of deep inquiry and consolidation, evidenced for example in the publication of many dissertations and monographs on single psalms. And a number of revisions of English translations have appeared, engaging afresh with the text. It has also been a time of broad rethinking, as scholars have looked at larger groupings of the Psalms and even at the Psalter as a whole and grappled with ancient and modern hermeneutical issues. My own experience of trauma, and the consequent addition to my life of a few hours per week working as a hospital chaplain, have underlined for me the ongoing value of the Psalter in relating believers to their God. So these past two years have been a good opportunity for me to learn from and reflect upon my psalms, in order to bring out of my store things new and old in this revised edition.

Revision has permitted me to restore the missing section of Comment on each psalm, in line with the rest of the series. And inclusive language has been used where it does not misrepresent the ancient culture of the text. Despite the attribution of a hymn to Hannah in 1 Sam 1, cultural factors suggest that men authored the psalms, even Psalm 131. In psalms of the individual, where a predicative participle or adjective refers to the speaking voice, it is consistently masculine.

Writing a commentary is never a lone venture. Fuller Theological Seminary, where I teach, has provided encouragement and time to write. Its well-stocked library contains a remarkable number of relevant books and articles, and Gail Frederick is to be thanked for procuring more by interlibrary loan as necessary. Curtis McNeil, my former doctoral student, gave research assistance by compiling an invaluable initial bibliography for me. In the faculty publications office Terry Larm and Alex Pak scanned and proofread the first edition for me to work from and the latter helped me at a later stage. Susan Carlson Wood changed the Hebrew font and put the finishing touches on the document. And what would I have done without Mrs. Melanie McQuere, WBC copy editor, to cast her expert eye over the manuscript—or rather diskette—and make it meet her rigorous standards?

LESLIE C. ALLEN

Pasadena, September 2000

Abbreviations

A. Periodicals, Serials, and Reference Works

B. Biblical and Apocryphal Books

Old Testament

Apocrypha

New Testament

C. Modern Translations

D. Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Texts

E. Rabbinic Works

F. Textual Notes

G. Hebrew Grammar

H. Miscellaneous

In identifying precise portions of material within verses, the standard system of punctuation used in MT has been used as a basis. The Hebrew text carefully uses accents to divide a verse or sentence into two major divisions and each of the main divisions into smaller subdivisions. In the commentary, English letters refer to the major divisions and Greek letters to the subdivisions. Thus v 9a refers to the first half of the Hebrew sentence and v 9aα to the first subdivision of the first half.

Main Bibliography

1. Commentaries (cited by author’s last name hereafter)

Alexander, J. A. The Psalms. Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1864.

Allen, L. C. Psalms 101–150. WBC 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983.

Alonso Schökel, L., and C. Carnitti. Salmos. 2 vols. Nueva Biblia Española. Navarra: Editorial Verbo Divino, 1992, 1993.

Anderson, A. A. The Book of Psalms. 2 vols. NCB. London: Oliphants, 1972.

Brande, W. G. The Midrash on Psalms. Yale Judaica Series 13. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1959.

Briggs, C. A., and E. G. Briggs. A Commentary on the Book of Psalms. 2 vols. ICC. New York: Charles Scribners’ Sons, 1907.

Broyles, C. C. Psalms. NIBCOT 11. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson; Carlisle: Paternoster, 1999.

Brueggemann, W. The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984.

Buttenwieser, M. The Psalms Chronologically Treated with a New Translation. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1938.

Cohen, A. The Psalms: Hebrew Text, English Translation and Commentary. Hindhead, Surrey: Soncino, 1945.

Dahood, M. Psalms I: 1–50, Psalms II: 51–100, Psalms III: 101–150. AB 16, 17, 17A. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966, 1968, 1970.

Davidson, R. The Vitality of Worship: A Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Edinburgh: Hansel, 1998.

Deissler, A. Die Psalmen. Die Welt der Bibel. Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1963.

Delitzsch, F. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms. Tr. D. Eaton. 3 vols. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1887–89.

Duhm, B. Die Psalmen. 2d ed. KHC. Leipzig, Tübingen: Mohr (Siebeck), 1922.

Eaton, J. H. Psalms: Introduction and Commentary. Torch Bible Commentaries. London: SCM Press, 1967.

Ehrlich, A. B. Die Psalmen neu übersetzt und erklärt. Berlin: Poppelauer, 1905.

Goulder, M. D. The Psalms of the Return: Book V, Psalms 107–150. JSOTSup 258. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998.

Gunkel, H. Die Psalmen. KHC 2.2. 4th ed. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1926.

Jacquet, L. Les Psaumes et le coeur de l’homme: Étude textuelle, littéraire et doctrinale. 3 vols. Gembloux: Duculot, 1975–79.

Kidner, D. Psalms 73–150: A Commentary on Books 3–5 of the Psalms. TOTC. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975.

Kirkpatrick, A. F. The Book of Psalms. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1902.

Kissane, E. J. The Book of Psalms. 2 vols. Dublin: Browne and Nolan, 1953–54.

Kraus, H.-J. Psalmen. BKAT 15.1–3. 5th ed. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1978 [hereafter Kraus [1978]).

———. Psalms 1–59; Psalms 60–150. Tr. H. C. Oswald. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1988, 1989 [hereafter Kraus [1988] or [1989]).

———. Theology of the Psalms. Tr. K. Crim. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1986, 1988.

Loretz, O. Die Psalmen II: Beitrag der Ugarit-Texte zum Verständnis der Psalmen: Psalm 90–150. AOAT 207. Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 1979.

Mays, J. L. Psalms. Interpretation. Louisville: John Knox, 1994.

McCann, J. C., Jr. The Book of Psalms. NIB. Vol. 4. Nashville: Abingdon. 634–1287.

Oesterley, W. O. E. The Psalms. 2 vols. London: SPCK, 1939.

Rogerson, J. W., and J. W. McKay. Psalms 101–150. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1977.

Sabourin, L. The Psalms: Their Origin and Meaning. 2d ed. New York: Alba House, 1974.

Schmidt, H. Die Psalmen. HAT 1.15. Mohr (Siebeck), 1934.

Seybold, K. Die Psalmen. HAT 1.15. Tübingen: Mohr (Siebeck), 1996.

Stuhlmueller, C. Psalms. 2 vols. OT Message 21–22. Wilmington, DE: Glazier, 1983.

Taylor, W. R., and W. S. McCullough. The Book of Psalms. IB. Vol. 4. New York: Abingdon, 1955. 3–763.

Weiser, A. The Psalms: A Commentary. Tr. H. Hartnell. OTL. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962.

Williams, D. M. Psalms 73–150. The Communicator’s Commentary. Dallas: Word Books, 1989.

2. Texts, Ancient Versions, and Textual Studies

Baars, W. The Old Testament, Peshitta Version. Part 4, fasc. 6. Leiden: Brill, 1972.

Bardtke, H. Liber Psalmorum. In Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Ed. K. Elliger and W. Rudolph. Stuttgart: Würtembergische Bibelanstalt, 1969.

Barnes, W. E. The Peshitta Psalter according to the West Syrian Text. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 1904.

Barthélemy, D., et al. Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. Vol. 3, Poetic Books. Stuttgart: United Bible Societies, 1977.

Brockington, L. H. The Hebrew Text of the Old Testament: The Readings Adopted by the Translators of the NEB. Oxford: Oxford UP; Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1973.

Budde, K. Zum Text der Psalmen. ZAW 35 (1915) 175–95.

Buhl, F. Psalmi. In Biblia Hebraica. Ed. R. Kittel. 3d ed. Stuttgart: Würtembergische Bibelanstalt, 1937.

Driver, G. R. Notes on the Psalms. JTS 36 (1935) 147–56.

———. Notes on the Psalms: 2.73–150. JTS 44 (1943) 12–23.

———. Textual and Linguistic Problems in the Book of Psalms. HTR 29 (1936) 171–95.

Field, F. Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt. Vol. 2, Jobus-Malachias. Oxford: Clarendon, 1875.

Flint, P. W. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Psalms. STDJ 17. Leiden: Brill, 1997.

García Martínez, F., ed. Qumran Cave 11. DJD 23. Oxford: Clarendon, 1998.

Ginsberg, H. L. Some Emendations in the Psalms. HUCA 23 (1950–51) 97–104.

Kennicott, B. Vetus Testamentum hebraicum cum variis lectionibus. Vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon, 1780.

Lagarde, P. de. Hagiographa chaldaice. Leipzig: Teubner, 1873.

Mowinckel, S. Notes on the Psalms. ST 13 (1959) 134–65.

Rahlfs, A. Psalmi cum Odis: Septuaginta. Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Academiae Litterarum Gottingensis editum. Vol. 10. 3d ed. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1979.

Sanders, J. A. The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1967.

———. The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (11QPsa). DJD 4. Oxford: Clarendon, 1965.

Scott, M. Textual Discoveries in Proverbs, the Psalms and Isaiah. London: SPCK, 1927.

Skehan, P. W. Gleanings from Psalm Texts from Qumrân. In Mélanges bibliques et orientaux. FS H. Cazelles, ed. A. Caquot and M. Delcor. AOAT 212. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1981. 439–52.

Thomas, D. W. The Text of the Revised Psalter. London: SPCK, 1963.

Vogel, A. "Studien zum Pešittā Psalter." Bib 32 (1951) 32–56, 198–231, 336–63, 481–502.

Walter, D. M. The Old Testament in Syriac according to the Peshitta Version: II/3. The Book of Psalms. Leiden: Brill, 1980.

Weber, R. Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatum versionem 1: Genesis-Psalmi. 2d ed. Stuttgart: Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1975.

———. Le Psautier Romain et les autres anciens psautiers latins. Rome: Libreria Vaticana, 1953.

3. Poetic and Structural Studies

Alden, R. L. Psalms (III): A Study in the Mechanics of Semitic Poetry in Psalms 101–50. JETS 21 (1978) 199–210.

Alter, R. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic Books, 1985.

Auffret, P. Hymnes d’Égypte et d’Israel: Études de structures littéraires. OBO 34. Fribourg: University Press; Göttingen: Ruprecht & Vandenhoeck, 1981.

———. Merveilles à nos yeux: Étude structurelle de vingt psaumes dont celui de 1 Ch 16, 8–36. BZAW 235. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1995.

———. La sagesse a bâti sa maison: Études de structures littéraires dans l’Ancien Testament et spécialement dans les Psaumes. OBO 49. Fribourg: University Press; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1982.

———. Voyez de nos yeux: Étude structurelle de vingt Psaumes, dont le Psaume 119. VTSup 48. Leiden: Brill, 1993.

Baumann, E. Struktur-Untersuchungen im Psalter. 2. ZAW 62 (1949–50) 115–52.

Beaucamp, E. Structure strophique des Psaumes. RSR 56 (1968) 199–223.

Berlin, A. The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1985.

Girard, M. Les Psaumes redécouverts: De la structure au sens. Vol. 3 (Pss 101–150). Montreal: Bellarmin, 1994.

Houk, C. B. Syllables and Psalms: A Statistical Linguistic Analysis. JSOT 14 (1979) 55–62.

Krašovec, J. Der Merismus im Biblisch-Hebräischen und Nordwestsemitischen. BibOr 33. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1977.

Kuntz, J. K. The Canonical Wisdom Psalms of Ancient Israel: Their Rhetorical, Thematic and Formal Dimensions. In Rhetorical Criticism. FS J. Muilenburg, ed. J. J. Jackson and M. Kessler. Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1974. 186–222.

Lugt, P. van der. Strofische structuren in de bijbels-hebreeuwse poëzie. Kampen: Kok, 1980.

Magne, J. Répétitions de mots et exégèse dans quelques Psaumes et le Pater. Bib 39 (1958) 177–97.

Meynet, R. Rhetorical Analysis: An Introduction to Biblical Rhetoric. JSOTSup 256. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998.

Montgomery, J. A. Stanza Formation in Hebrew Poetry. JBL 64 (1945) 379–84.

Mowinckel, S. Psalm Criticism between 1900 and 1935. VT 5 (1955) 13–33.

———. Real and Apparent Tricola in Hebrew Psalm Poetry. Oslo: Aschehoug, 1957.

O’Connor, M. Hebrew Verse Structure. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1980.

Robertson, D. A. Linguistic Evidence in Dating Early Hebrew Poetry. SBLDS 3. Missoula, MT: SBL, 1972.

Schildenberger, J. Bemerkungen zum Strophenbau der Psalmen. EstEcl 34 (1960) 673–87.

Trublet, J., and J.-N. Aletti. Approche poétique et théologique des Psaumes: Analyses et methodes. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1983.

Watson, W. G. E. Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to Its Techniques. JSOTSup 26. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984.

———. Traditional Techniques in Classical Hebrew Verse. JSOTSup 170. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994.

Willis, J. T. Alternating (ABA’B’) Parallelism in the Old Testament: Psalms and Prophets. In Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry. Ed. E. R. Follis. JSOTSup 40. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1987. 49–76.

4. Other Major Monographs and Articles

Barth, C. Die Erretung vom Tode in den individuellen Klage—und Dankliedern des Alten Testaments. Zollikon: Evangelische Verlag, 1947.

Becker, J. Gottesfurcht im Alten Testament. AnBib 25. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1965.

———. Israel deutet seine Psalmen: Urform und Neuinterpretation in den Psalmen. SBS 18. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1966.

Beyerlin, W. Die Rettung der Bedrängten in den Feindpsalmen der Einzelnen auf institutionelle Zusammenhänge untersucht. FRLANT 99. Göttingen: Vanderhoeck und Ruprecht, 1970.

Broyles, C. C. The Conflict of Faith and Experience in the Psalms: A Form-Critical and Theological Study. JSOTSup 52. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1989.

Brueggemann, W. Israel’s Praise: Doxology against Idolatry and Ideology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988.

———. Praying the Psalms. Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press, 1993.

———. The Psalms and the Life of Faith. Ed. P. D. Miller. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.

Childs, B. S. Memory and Tradition in Israel. SBT 37. London: SCM Press, 1962.

Croft, S. J. L. The Identity of the Individual in the Psalms. JSOTSup 44. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1987.

Cross, F. M. Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1973.

Crow, L. D. The Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134): Their Place in Israelite History and Religion. SBLDS 148. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996.

Crüsemann, F. Studien zur Formgeschichte von Hymnus und Danklied in Israel. WMANT 32. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1969.

Eaton, J. H. Kingship and the Psalms. SBT 2.32. Naperville, IL: Allenson, 1976.

Fishbane, M. Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel. Oxford: Clarendon, 1985.

Fohrer, G. Psalmen. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1993.

Gerstenberger, E. Psalms. In Old Testament Form Criticism. Ed. J. H. Hayes. TUMSR 2. San Antonio: Trinity UP, 1974. 179–223.

Gibson, J. C. L., ed. Canaanite Myths and Legends. 2d ed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1978.

Gunkel, H., and J. Begrich. Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel. Tr. J. D. Nogalski. Macon, GA: Mercer UP, 1998.

Haag, E., and F.-L. Hossfeld, eds. Freude an der Weisung des Herrn: Beiträge zur Theologie der Psalmen. FS H. Gross. 2d ed. SBB 13. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1987.

Haglund, E. Historical Motifs in the Psalms. ConBOT 23. Lund: GWK Gleerup, 1984. 22–29.

Hermisson, H.-J. Sprache und Ritus im altisraelitischen Kult: Zur Spiritualisierung der Kultbegriffe im Alten Testament. WMANT 19. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1965.

Johnson, A. R. The Cultic Prophet and Israel’s Psalmody. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1979.

———. Sacral Kingship in Ancient Israel. 2d ed. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1967.

Kaufmann, Y. The Religion of Israel from Its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile. Tr. M. Greenberg. London: Allen and Unwin, 1960.

Keel, O. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. New York: Seabury, 1978.

Keet, C. C. A Study of the Psalms of Ascents: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary upon Psalms 120–134. London: Mitre, 1969.

Lauha, A. Die Geschichtsmotive in den alttestamentlichen Psalmen. Annales Academiae Scientiarum, Fennicae B 56.1. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1945.

Lindhagen, C. The Servant Motif in the Old Testament. Uppsala: Lundequistka Bokhandeln, 1950.

Martin-Achard, R. Approche des Psaumes. Neuchâtel: Delachaux et Niestlé, 1969.

Mathias, D. Die Geschichtstheologie der Geschichtssummarien in den Psalmen. BEATAJ 35. Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 1993. 112–56.

Mathys, H.-P. Dichter und Beter: Theologen aus spätalttestamentlicher Zeit. OBO 132. Fribourg: University Press; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994.

Mays, J. L. The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994.

McCann, J. C., Jr. A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville: Abingdon, 1993.

———, ed. The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter. JSOTSup 159. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Michel, D. Tempora und Satzstellung in den Psalmen. Abhandlungen zur evangelischen Theologie 1. Bonn: Bouvier, 1960.

Miller, P. D., Jr. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986.

Mitchell, D. C. The Message of the Psalter: An Eschatological Programme in the Book of Psalms. JSOTSup 252. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.

Mowinckel, S. Psalmenstudien. 6 vols. in 2. Amsterdam: Schippers, 1966.

———. Psalms and Wisdom. In Wisdom in Israel and the Ancient Near East. FS H. H. Rowley, ed. M. Noth and D. W. Thomas. VTSup 3. Leiden: Brill, 1969. 205–24.

———. The Psalms in Israel’s Worship. Tr. D. R. Ap-Thomas. 2 vols. New York: Abingdon, 1962.

Murphy, R. E. A Consideration of the Classification ‘Wisdom Psalms.’  In Congress Volume Bonn 1962. VTSup 9. Leiden: Brill, 1963. 156–67.

Neubauer, K. W. Der Stamm CH N N im Sprachgebrauch des AT. Diss., Kirchlichen Hochschule, Berlin, 1964.

Overholt, T. W. The Threat of Falsehood. SBT 2:16. London: SCM Press, 1970.

Perdue, L. G. Wisdom and Cult: A Critical Analysis of the Views of Cult in the Wisdom Literatures of Israel and the Ancient Near East. SBLDS 30. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1977.

Rad, G. von. Wisdom in Israel. Tr. J. D. Martin. Nashville: Abingdon, 1972.

Riede, P. Im Netz des Jägers: Studien zur Feindmetaphorik der Individualpsalmen. WMANT 85. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 2000.

Riesener, I. Der Stamm im Alten Testament: Eine Wortuntersuchung unter Berücksichtigung neuer sprachwissenschaftlicher Methoden. BZAW 149. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1979.

Sakenfeld, K. D. The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible: A New Enquiry. HSM 17. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1978.

Schottroff, W. ‘Gedenken’ im alten Orient und im Alten Testament: Die Wurzel zakar im semitischen Sprachkreis. WMANT 15. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1964.

Seybold, K. Introducing the Psalms. Tr. R. G. Dunphy. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1990.

———. Das Gebet des Kranken im Alten Testament: Untersuchung zur Bestimmung und Zuordnung der Krankheits- und Heilungspsalmen. BWANT 5.19. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1973.

———. Die Wallfahrtspsalmen: Studien zur Entstehungsgeschichte von Psalmen 120–134. Biblische-Theologische Studien 3. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1978.

——— and E. Zenger, eds. Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung. FS W. Beyerlin. Freiburg: Herder, 1994.

Slomovic, E. Toward an Understanding of the Formation of Historical Titles in the Book of Psalms. ZAW 91 (1979) 350–80.

Spieckermann, H. Heilsgegenwart: Eine Theologie der Psalmen. FRLANT 148. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989.

Starbuck, S. R. A. Court Oracles in the Psalms: The So-Called Royal Psalms in Their Ancient Near Eastern Context. SBLDS 172. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999.

Szörenyi, A. Psalmen und Kult im Alten Testament: Zur Formgeschichte der Psalmen. Budapest: Sankt Stephans Gesellschaft, 1961.

Tromp, N. J. Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Nether World. BibOr 21. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969.

Vosberg, L. Studien zum Rede vom Schöpfer in den Psalmen. BEvT 69. Munich: Kaiser, 1975.

Westermann, C. Praise and Lament in the Psalms. Tr. K. R. Crim and R. N. Soulen. 2d ed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1981.

Wilson, G. H. The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985.

Wolff, H. W. Anthropology of the Old Testament. Tr. M. Kohl. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974.

Introduction

Bibliography

Allen, L. C. David as Example of Spirituality: The Redactional Function of Psalm 19. Bib 67 (1986) 544–46. ———. Review of The Message of the Psalms, by W. Brueggemann. JBL 105 (1986) 710–11. Anderson, G. W. Israel’s Creed: Sung, Not Signed. SJT 16 (1963) 277–85. Broyles, C. C. Conflict of Faith and Experience in the Psalms. Brueggemann, W. Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon. JSOT 50 (1991) 63–92. ———. Psalms and the Life of Faith: A Suggested Typology of Function. JSOT 17 (1980) 3–32 (= The Psalms and the Life of Faith. 3–32). Childs, B. S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979. Claissé-Walford, N. L. de. Reading from the Beginning: The Shaping of the Hebrew Psalter. Macon: Mercer UP, 1997. Cole, R. L. The Shape and Message of Book III (Psalms 73–89). JSOTSup 307. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. Creach, J. F. D. Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. JSOTSup 217. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Fretheim, T. E. Old Testament Commentaries: Their Selection and Use. Int 36 (1982) 356–71. Füglister, N. Die Verwendung und das Verständnis der Psalmen und des Psalters um die Zeitenwende. In Beiträge zum Psalmenforschung: Psalm 2 und 22. Ed. J. Schreiner. FB 60. Wurzburg: Echter, 1988. 319–84. Gerstenberger, E. S. Der Psalter als Buch und als Sammlung. In Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung. FS W. Beyerlin, ed. K. Seybold and E. Zenger. Freiburg: Herder, 1994. 3–13. Goldingay, J. The Dynamic Cycle of Praise and Prayer in the Psalms. JSOT 20 (1981) 85–90. Howard, D. M., Jr. The Structure of Psalms 93–100. BJS 5. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1977. Koch, K. Der Psalter und seine Redaktionsgeschichte. In Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung. FS W. Beyerlin, ed. K. Seybold and E. Zenger. Freiburg: Herder, 1994. 243–77. Kratz, R. G. Die Tora Davids: Psalm 1 und die doxologische Fünfteilung des Psalters. ZTK 93 (1996) 1–34. Mays, J. L. The Place of the Torah Psalms in the Psalter. JBL 106 (1987) 3–12. McCann, J. C., Jr. The Psalms as Instruction. Int 46 (1992) 117–28. ———. A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms. Millard, M. Die Komposition des Psalters: Ein formgeschichtlicher Ansatz. FAT 9. Tübingen: Mohr, 1994. Mitchell, D. C. The Message of the Psalter: An Eschatological Programme in the Book of Psalms. JSOTSup 252. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997. Nasuti, H. P. Defining the Sacred Songs: Genre, Tradition and the Post-Critical Interpretation of the Psalms. JSOTSup 218. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. Reindl, J. Weisheitliche Bearbeitung von Psalmen: Ein Beitrag zum Verständnis der Sammlung des Psalters. In Congress Volume Vienna 1980. VTSup 32. Leiden: Brill, 1981. 333–56. Westermann, C. Zur Sammlung des Psalters. ThViat 8 (1972) 278–84 (= Praise and Lament. 250–58). Whybray, N. Reading the Psalms as a Book. JSOTSup 222. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Willis, J. T. Psalm 1: An Entity. ZAW 91 (1979) 381–401. Wilson, G. H. The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985. ———. The Shape of the Book of Psalms. Int 46 (1992) 129–42. ——— Shaping the Psalter: A Consideration of Editorial Linkage in the Book of Psalms. In The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter. Ed. J. C. McCann. JSOTSup 159. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993. 72–82. ———. "The Qumran Psalms Scroll (11QPsa) and the Canonical Psalter: Comparison of Editorial Shaping." CBQ 59 (1997) 448–64. ———. The Use of the Royal Psalms at the ‘Seams’ of the Hebrew Psalter. JSOT 35 (1986) 85–94. Zenger, E. Der Psalter als Wegweiser und Wegbegleiter: Ps 1–2 als Proömium des Psalmenbuchs. In Sie wandern von Kraft zu Kraft: Aufbrüche, Wege, Begegnungen. FS R. Lettmann, ed. A. Angenendt and H. Vorgrimler. Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 1993. 29–47.

T. E. Fretheim once wrote of the need for an introduction to a commentary: Because of the sectional treatment of the text an introduction is crucial if one wishes to establish and convey the perspectival coherence of the book as a whole (Int 36 [1982] 362). What, however, is the role of an introduction to the last of three differently authored volumes on the Book of Psalms? Apart from considering Pss 101–50 individually in the commentary, introductory sections will be supplied for the collection Pss 120–34 and for Books IV and V of the Psalter. In the section on Book IV (Pss 90–106!), an unwillingness to stray too far from the assigned bailiwick and to claim competence in psalms not studied in depth is embarrassingly obvious. Nevertheless, I consider it desirable to tentatively present here the coherence of the Psalms as a whole, or rather the different types of coherence that emerge from the book, since to a greater or lesser extent they have each influenced my approach to the text at lower levels.

1. A theological trajectory. Readers of the Psalms get used to its diversity and soon learn to distinguish various types of psalm, which at a sophisticated form-critical level Hermann Gunkel categorized as the big five: laments, thanksgiving songs, hymns, royal psalms, and wisdom poems. Laments predominate in the first half of the book and, to even things up, hymns in the second. Two attempts to iron out the diversity are attested in the present form of the book that has come down to us in MT—the Qumran evidence would require separate consideration (cf. G. H. Wilson, CBQ 59 [1997] 448–64; P. W. Flint, Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Psalms, 172–98), but does not seem to me to be making canonical claims. The first attempt is the major one, having been carried out more comprehensively than the other one. It first impacts the reader in the Hebrew title of the book, , praises, or, to give a form-critical rendering, hymns (cf. H. P. Nasuti, Defining the Sacred Songs, 194–96). The title is borrowed from the heading to Ps 145, an important psalm in its literary context. The LXX understandably preferred another, non–form-critical title, the most common term found in the psalm headings, which has survived as the traditional Christian title, Psalms. There was consistency in calling the book hymns, since the title marks the climax of a widespread editorial concern. The book was divided into five smaller books as reading units. The first four books conclude with two-part doxologies; the doxology in Ps 106:48 is already presupposed in 1 Chr 16:36. The second part of each doxology is a response to the first part, which corresponds to the first element of a hymn, a call to praise God. What is missing is the standard second element of a hymn, which gives grounds for praise. The missing element is meant to be gleaned from the psalms that precede the doxology in a particular book. At the end of the Psalter a whole psalm, Ps 150, seems to correspond to the doxologies. Though it is formulated differently, it too is a series of calls to praise. What these doxologies and the final equivalent psalm signify is that the psalms en masse have been transposed into a literary medium of theological praise. From this perspective each psalm, whatever its original form-critical function, is to be read for its content of praise. Late evidence of this editorial process at work can be seen in the case of Ps 106, where a communal lament has been first capped by the book doxology and subsequently given a literary frame of hallelujahs, so that the whole composition is interpreted as a hymn.

A keen interest in theology is manifest in this editorial approach. It turns the Psalms into Israel’s creed, sung not signed, in G. W. Anderson’s apt wording (SJT 16 [1963] 277), though at this stage the book was read and studied as a continuous document, rather than sung. The Introduction to Book IV of the Psalter (Pss 90–106) and the more complete Introduction to Book V of the Psalter (Pss 107–50) will reveal the range of theological concepts that make up Israel’s creed. Actually Book V is the best resource for identifying it, since that book encompasses so much late material that is primarily hymnic.

Evidence of this theological trajectory lies in the positioning of royal psalms at key structural points. Ps 2 is given pride of place (for Ps 1 see below), while Pss 72 and 89 close Books II and III respectively (Wilson, Editing, 207–8; JSOT 35 [1986] 85–94). By this stage, in a historical period without a Jewish monarchy, such psalms have an eschatological role, affirming that God’s purposes for Israel’s future are centered in the Davidic dynasty (C. Westermann, Zur Sammlung des Psalters, 257–58; B. S. Childs, Introduction, 515–17). Wilson’s thesis that Ps 89 marks the eclipse of the dynasty, which is replaced by the direct rule of Yahweh in the light of the divine kingship hymns, Pss 93, 96–99 (Editing, 209–15; id., JSOT 35 [1986] 85–94), does not satisfy as a program for the completed Psalter. It ignores the presence of royal psalms in the ensuing material (D. M. Howard, Structure of Psalms 93–100, 201–2, 204–6; cf. N. Whybray, Reading the Psalms, 94). The democratized Ps 144 might fit this scenario, but the others, such as Pss 110 and 132, do not. Moreover, it ignores the selective and transforming character of the editorial process. Like Ps 106, Ps 89 was changed in form-critical function from an ugly duckling to a swan, close as it is to the book doxology (Ps 89:53 [52]). In fact,

Amen [in the doxology] is built upon the same root used in describing Yahweh’s faithfulness to David . . . throughout 89. . . . Clearly the root continues and is consistent with the body of 89, being an amen of confidence in divine faithfulness to the Davidic covenant. (R. L. Cole, Shape and Message, 181)

Editorially, Ps 89 was prized for its hymnic and oracular content. The immediacy of its pain was drowned out by its theological message of ultimate assurance. Its readers had now learned to cope with a historical hiccup (like Christians with the delay of the second coming), though they still prayed yearningly How long, Yahweh? (Ps 89:47 [46]).

2. An ethical trajectory. This is a minor trajectory by comparison with the theological one, but it has left some distinctive marks on the Psalter. The most obvious piece of evidence for it is Ps 1. Associating it too closely with Ps 2 is a red herring that has misled scholarship (see J. T. Willis, ZAW 91 [1979] 381–401). It stands in solitary splendor as a preface to the Psalter, commending it as veritable Torah, written revelation that would guide readers into ethical truth (cf. Childs, Introduction, 513–14; compare R. G. Kratz, ZTK 93 [1996] 11–12, for whom Ps 1 gathers together references to the Torah of Pentateuch and Prophets scattered through the Psalter). This editorial process creates another form-critical transformation. In terms of function it turns each psalm into a wisdom poem yielding clues for ethical behavior. The purpose of Ps 1 aligns strikingly with that of Hosea 14:9, which attests a wisdom redaction of the prophetic book, urging readers to ransack it to find the ways of Yahweh in which the upright are to walk. In that example the hermeneutical key is set at the end of the text, but here it appears at its beginning. Ps 1 counsels that the Psalter be studied, not as a theoretical end in itself but for a practical purpose, as an ethical travel guide concerning the way of the righteous (v 6).

This trajectory takes its cue from the ethical teaching of wisdom psalms. It exploits such material as confessions of innocence and descriptions of wicked enemies in laments, and wisdom elements that conclude late hymns (Pss 107:42–43; 111:10; 145:20). It is hard to tell how much this editorial interpretation took over earlier material of this nature already in place and how much adaptation of the Psalter was involved (cf. J. Reindl, Weisheitliche Bearbeitung von Psalmen, 342–56; Whybray, Reading the Psalms, 86–87). Insertions that match Ps 1 are Ps 19, which interrupts a run of royal psalms and in its second half applies David’s qualities in Ps 18 to the believer (L. C. Allen, Bib 67 [1986] 544–46), and Ps 112, which is very like Ps 1 in form and makes Yahweh, as delineated in Ps 111, a model for believers to follow. In the light of the echo of Ps 18 in Ps 19, this trajectory prized David in the Psalter as an ethical role model rather than as a figure of eschatological import. The historicizing Davidic headings to laments and to the thanksgiving song of Ps 18 were obvious grist for this ethical mill (cf. Childs, Introduction, 520–21). The placement of the wisdom-related Ps 73 at the head of Book III lent weight to the wisdom agenda (Wilson, Int 46 [1992] 134–35). Was the massive Ps 119 inserted at the heart of the last book in order to further this agenda? It easily assumes an overall hymnic role, but that may have been secondary to the ethical one.

The theological and ethical trajectories pursue different traditions and represent separate editorial ventures to glean coherent meaning from the diverse book of Psalms. Wilson has spoken of competing editorial frames (Int 46 [1992] 133–34), though in a more limited sense of a royal covenantal frame over against a wisdom one. The edition of Psalms incorporated in MT has preserved both ventures. Theology and ethics are appropriate ideals to pursue, and the same combination as the Psalter exhibits reappears in the Pauline tradition that the OT as a whole is to be used to learn what to believe and what not to believe, and how not to behave and how to behave (2 Tim 3:16).

3. A spiritual wardrobe. There is a further way to find coherence in the Psalms. W. Brueggemann has taught us to distinguish between psalms in terms of broader life settings than form critics have envisioned, namely, the different seasons of life that the psalms represent, whether of orientation, disorientation, or reorientation (JSOT 17 [1980] 3–32). He later realized that this paradigm is set out consecutively in an actual psalm, 30:7–12 (6–11) (Brueggemann, 127). In form-critical terms, disorientation is experienced in the lament, reorientation in the thanksgiving song, and evidently orientation in the remaining genres. The latter’s signature is the formulation of stability that is conducive to progress in life—will never (or not) be moved (Allen, JBL 105 [1986] 711)—which, apart from Ps 30:7 (6) in a description of the orientation season, occurs in hymns (Pss 46:6 [5]; 93:1; 96:1; 104:5), an affirmation of confidence (Ps 16:8), priestly liturgies (Pss 15:5; 121:3), a relevant royal psalm (Ps 21:8 [7]), and a normative wisdom psalm (Ps 112:6). The sequence of seasons, in which reorientation is eventually followed by more mature orientation and so on, constitutes a spiral of development in human experience (J. Goldingay, JSOT 20 [1981] 85–90).

This existential paradigm that Brueggemann has uncovered for the Psalms embraces their basic form-critical heterogeneity and allows their untidy diversity to relate believers to God in a natural range of human experiences. Its range has been enhanced by C. C. Broyles’s discovery of two kinds of lament, a milder one and a more vehement complaint (Conflict of Faith, passim). The paradigm brings to light in the Psalter a spiritual wardrobe in which readers may rummage to select items to fit their particular life season, whether crisis or calm, excitement or ordinariness. Since this approach respects and builds upon the primary genre of each psalm, an effort has been made in this second edition to incorporate it into the commentary as a pastoral dimension of exegesis.

Psalms 101–150

Book IV: Psalms 90–106

Bibliography

Auffret, P. Essai sur la structure littéraire du Psaume 103. FO 23 (1985–86) 197–225. ———. Merveilles à nos yeux. Brunert, G. Psalm 102 im Kontext des Vierten Psalmenbuches. SBB 30. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1996. Gerstenberger, E. S. Der Psalter als Buch und als Sammlung. In Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung. FS W. Beyerlin, ed. K. Seybold and E. Zenger. Freiburg: Herder, 1994. 3–13. Goulder, M. The Fourth Book of the Psalter. JTS n.s. 26 (1975) 269–89. Howard, D. M., Jr. The Structure of Psalms 93–100. BJS 5. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997. Koch, K. Der Psalter und seine Redaktionsgeschichte. In Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung. FS W. Beyerlin, ed. K. Seybold and E. Zenger. Freiburg: Herder, 1994. 243–77. Koenen, K. Jahwe wird kommen, zu herrschen über die Erde. BBB 101. Weinhelm: Beltz Athenäum, 1995. Krüger, T. Psalm 90 und die ‘Verganglichhkeit des Menschen.’  Bib 75 (1994) 191–219. Millard, M. Die Komposition des Psalters. 147–52, 200–203. Wilson, G. H. The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1985. Zenger, E. Israel und Kirche im gemeinsämen Gottesbund: Beobachtungen zum theologischen Programm des 4. Psalmenbuchs. In Israel und Kirche heute. FS E. L. Ehrlich, ed. M. Marcus et al. Freiburg: Herder, 1991. 236–54. ———. Das Weltenkönigtum des Gottes Israel (Ps 90–106). In Der Gott Israels und die Völker. Untersuchungen zum Jesajabuch und zu den Psalmen. Ed. N. Lohfink and E. Zenger. SBS 154. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1994. 151–78. Zimmerli, W. Zwillungspsalmen. In Wort, Lied und Gottesspruch. FS J. Ziegler, ed. J. Schreiner. FB 2. Würzburg: Echter, 1972. 105–13.

Introduction

This commentary series, like the Anchor Bible and the Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible, has split the canonical book into three parts for editorial and publishing convenience. However, the book itself has its own traditional division into five smaller books, and this volume of the commentary spans part of Book IV, consisting of Pss 90–106, and Book V, consisting of Pss 107–50. The following commentary will concentrate on single psalms, primarily from a diachronic perspective. Academic study of the Psalms is at an interim stage of moving from old approaches to new, but the task of a commentator should respect each layer of the text. The final form of the book or indeed of a particular psalm should not be our sole guide in interpreting it; the earlier stages that led up to it are also significant. A wider lens inevitably causes the blurring of features that stand out in a close-up view. Moreover, an element of speculation attends the investigation of the synchronic significance of a heterogeneous group of psalms, as the range of interpretations found in academic treatments indicates. Indeed, the value of such an enterprise has been denied (E. S. Gerstenberger, Der Psalter als Buch und als Sammlung, 7–12). Yet the text has come down to us as a comprehensive whole, and this ancient perspective does deserve attention. Is there an intentionality that brands Pss 90–106 as a collection? Necessarily our attempt to answer this question will pay special attention to Pss 101–6.

The separate books of the Psalter are marked by a closing doxology, which in Book IV appears at 106:48. It gives the reader a perspective on the previous psalms in the book. They are to be used to stimulate praise of God, to sharpen appreciation of aspects of God’s ways with Israel that appear in these psalms. This highlighting of the theological themes for praise transformed Ps 106 from a lament into a hymn, as its redactional framework of hallelujahs attest by embracing the doxology within their scope. Confession serves to bring glory to God (see Josh 7:19). It has been shown that the hallelujahs that end Pss 104–6 give a sense of closure and so reinforce the doxology (G. H. Wilson, Editing, 24–29, 186–87). At an earlier stage Pss 105 and 106 may have been placed together as a dialectical contrast between God’s praise and purposes on the one hand and Israel’s perversity on the other (Mays, 340), and to a limited extent they still function like that at the canonical level. They certainly compose a twin pair (Zimmerli, Zwillungspsalmen, 109–11). Both are introduced by the praising formula Give Yahweh thanks and cover archetypal events in Israel’s history that shaped its theology forever. Within the collection they both function as hymns. Moving back, Ps 104 is a hymn that praises God for creating and sustaining the world. It fleshes out a theology of praise by prefacing God’s work in history (Pss 105–6) with that in creation. This reflects a conventional association within Israel’s hymns: Pss 33, 95:1–7 and 136, for example, cover the same double ground in individual compositions. But Pss 103 and 104 are also placed side by side as an intentional pair, in view of their common opening and close, Bless Yahweh, I tell myself. In context, Ps 103 recedes from its individual role as a hymn for the thanksgiving service and takes on a general hymnic aspect. It anticipates Ps 105 in celebrating God’s self-revelation in history but pinpoints the divine attribute of grace for a backsliding people, as attested in Exod 34:6 (103:8). Although , loyal love, is not specifically mentioned in Ps 104, in later psalmody the same term was used for God’s universal goodness in creation as well as for covenant grace, as a glance at Ps 136 shows. Each psalm glories in different aspects of Yahweh’s loving care, for Israel and for all creatures. They share a differently nuanced perception of divine blessing, in terms of being filled with good and finding renewal (103:5; 104:28, 30; P. Auffret, FO 23 [1985–86] 220). They also overlap in a duet of praise to the heavenly king, at the end of one psalm and the beginning of the next (103:19–21; 104:1–4). Such kingship was a key ingredient of both creation and covenant theologies. At first sight Pss 102 and 103 have crisis in common. Ps 102 is a lament appealing for deliverance, while Ps 103 is a thanksgiving hymn celebrating the gift of deliverance from crisis, so that the two psalms stand back to back. But the editorial process did not work that way here. We have already observed that Ps 103 has lost its form-critical particularity in its wider setting. In Ps 102, as in Ps 106, lament now loses its distinctiveness and is valued for the elements of praise it generally contains (despite M. Millard, Komposition, 147–52, 200–203, who builds redactional significance around basic form-critical factors). Its theology of hope in vv 13–23, 25b–29 (12–22, 24b–28) comes to the fore. The future of God’s covenant people is assured, grounded in God’s everlasting reign that outlasts creation itself. From this perspective Ps 103 adds that the basis of the covenant relationship is also guaranteed by God’s transcendent reign (103:19). Both psalms use as a foil to divine grace the natural weakness of humanity, as short-lived as grass (Pss 102:5, 12 [4, 11]; 103:15; cf. too Ps 104:29; Auffret, Merveilles à nos yeux, 102, 104). Accordingly, they both set a premium on divine compassion (Pss 102:15 [14]; 103:8, 13). In a joint tribute of praise the two psalms magnify the , name, of Yahweh and explore its ramifications with the same extensive wordplay, as will be observed in the commentary.

Ps 101 is a royal psalm, as the heading , Davidic, was in this case meant to remind readers. Throughout the Psalter royal psalms have the canonical role of keeping alive Israel’s future hope. Here the righteous rule of the messianic king is in view, through which the kingdom of God is to be realized. So Ps 101 aligns with the theology of hope set out in Ps 102 and defines it in a particular way. Little need be said here about Pss 90–100: they fall outside the purview of this commentary and Pss 93–100 have recently been extensively studied by D. M. Howard, Jr., in The Structure of Psalms 93–100 (see also Wilson, Editing, 214–19). According to Howard, Book IV falls into three groups of psalms, Pss 90–94, 95–100, and 101–6. Pss 102 and 103 resume many motifs of Ps 90 (see Wilson, Editing, 218), and so give the impression of a fresh beginning in the collection, to which the mandatory royal psalm, Ps 101, has been prefixed, as the royal Ps 2 was prefixed to the Davidic collection that begins with Ps 3.

The coherence of the whole of Book IV is outside the scope of this commentary, but a couple of observations may be made in closing. The theme of divine kingship that pervades the middle group (also Ps 93) is echoed in Pss 102, 103, 104, and by implication in Ps 101 (cf. E. Zenger, Israel und Kirche, 242–44). The note of eschatological hope sounded in Pss 90, 96, and 98 is struck again in Pss 102, 105 (at v 8), and 106 and also from a redactional perspective in Ps 101. Book IV of the Psalms is a rich celebration of Israel’s variegated theology.

The King’s Duty Done (101:1–8)

Bibliography

Auffret, P. Essai sur la structure littéraire du Psaume 101. In La sagesse. 303–19. ———. Au milieu de ma maison: Étude structurelle du Psaume 101. SJOT 11 (1997) 124–37. Bauer, J. B.  ‘Incedam in via immaculate, quando venias ad me?’ (Ps. 100 [101]:2). VD 30 (1952) 219–24. Booij, Th. Psalm ci 2—‘When Wilt Thou Come to Me?’  VT 38 (1985) 458–61. Brueggemann, W. A Neglected Sapiential Word Pair. ZAW 89 (1977) 234–58. Galling, K. Der Beichtspiegel: Eine gattungsgeschichtliche Studie. ZAW 6 (1929) 125–30. Kaiser, O. Erwägungen zu Psalm 101. ZAW 74 (1962) 195–205. Keel, O. Feinde und Gottesleugner: Studien zum Image der Widersacher in den Individualpsalmen. SBM 7. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1969. Kenik, H. A. Code of Conduct for a King: Psalm 101. JBL 95 (1976) 391–403. Klopfenstein, M. A. Die Luge nach dem Alten Testament. Zurich: Gotthelf, 1964. Kselman, J. S. Psalm 101: Royal Confession and Divine Oracle. JSOT 33 (1985) 45–62. Overholt, T. W. The Threat of Falsehood. SBT 2:16. London: SCM Press, 1970. Thomas, D. W. in the Old Testament. In Biblical and Patristic Studies. FS R. C. Casey, ed. J. N. Birdsall and R. W. Thomson.