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Journal ArticleDOI

David and Yahweh in Psalms 23 and 24

01 Jun 2006-Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 30, Iss: 4, pp 463-473
TL;DR: In this paper, the author challenges the common understanding of Psalm 23 as being the song of an individual faithful Israelite, and suggests that the singer is a national leader, perhaps the king, rather than a lay person.
Abstract: This article challenges the common understanding of Psalm 23 as being the song of an individual faithful Israelite. With so many expressions having national overtones, it seems more likely that the singer is a national leader, perhaps the king, rather than a lay person. The psalm belongs together with Psalm 24; these two psalms may well have formed part of a liturgy going back to David's reign. The annual autumn festival was an opportunity to celebrate Yahweh's kingship, with a ritual procession of the ark up to the Temple. But it was also an opportunity to confirm and celebrate the human kingship of David and his dynasty, which was not quite so secure.
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Dissertation
09 Aug 2016
TL;DR: The relationship between verbs of motion and emotion and the language of death in the Psalms is investigated in this paper, where it is shown that motion vocabulary in the psalms is often found in the vicinity of emotion words.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine what relationship, if any, exists between the verbs of motion and emotion and the language of death in the Psalms Such motionemotion verbal pair we describe as motion-emotion axis This will endorse that motion vocabulary in the Psalter is often found in the vicinity of emotion words The principal premise of this thesis is that death is one of the chief motifs in the Psalter, while we distinguish between the idea of motif and that of a theme Subsequently we maintain that death motif is underlined by thanatophobic emotional predicaments of the psalmist The following questions and issues arise in the examinations of this work One of the important investigations is exploring some of the key issues in psalmodic studies, particularly in relation to the inquiries of the identity of the psalmist as a private individual; and that in the context of his personal experience of distress, in face of death threats This will be some kind of referential points, as we develop our central thesis objectives Secondly, we will investigate questions and issues of religious language and prayer as one of the focal points in expressions of the psalmist’s experience and emotions Thirdly, an ever-present and an intriguing question of the psalmist’s sudden mood changes, which often appear within a single Psalm, can hardly be avoid, and this issue will be followed up throughout the dissertation Fourthly and finally, the central subject we examine here is motion as a concept relative to motional vocabulary and how it relates to the psalmist’s experiential and emotional dimension The end of the thesis is broader examination of the realms of death and incorporates four aspects of death in biblical context (grave, silence, name, dust and depths) The plan of investigation begins with describing the thesis objectives with the scope of psalmodic texts; giving an overview of previous studies, particularly of Form-critical traditions This follows with surveying relevant psalmodic texts, in accordance to the following general criteria we ought to: (1) pay attention to thanatophobic motifs in the Psalter, observing the fact that death motif in the Psalter is associated with not only the lamental and complaint Psalms, as one might expect, (2) examine the relationship in the motion-emotion axis in the psalmist’s experience of the spatial dimension (motion in conceptual space, heaven-Sheol) The following general conclusions and contributions are indicated The verbs of motion in general, are very sparsely investigated in the biblical literature, hardly at all in the context of the Psalms; and not at all as the motion-emotion axis in the thanatophobic experiences of the psalmist The work has shown that in literary and linguistic terms (grammar of death) there is an exceptional presence of motional vocabulary and phraseology associated with the Psalmist's emotional turmoils in thanatophobic situations The last chapter is assigned to examine five suggested realms of death in bibliucal texts which are most commonly found (grave, silence, name, dust and depths)

46 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the author read Psalms 23 Africentrically, that is, as God to a human, for the purpose of protection, provision, healing and success in all aspects of life, which are the main concerns of African people.
Abstract: The book of Psalms is the best known, most discussed and most cited book of the Old Testament. Psalm 23 especially is the most loved book of the Psalms. That must have been the reason why it was named ‘an American icon’ and the ‘nightingale of the Psalms’. Two major ways of reading this Psalm are: as a shepherd to a sheep and as God to a human. The author of this article reads Psalms 23 Africentrically, that is, as God to a human. This means that Psalms 23 is read for the purpose of protection, provision, healing and success in all aspects of life, which are the main concerns of African people. It means reading Psalm 23 existentially with African life interest. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article is concerned with biblical studies, African Traditional Religion and culture and African Biblical Hermeneutics. It seeks to challenge the traditional Eurocentric approaches for its methodological approaches that do not make biblical studies adequately relevant to African Christianity. The book of Psalms is used as a perfect example of how it can be interpreted relevantly in Africa. Further implication is that there will be reduction of the Bible and Christianity looking like a foreign book and religion.

8 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the probable dating of the psalm in order to determine the question of the authorship and intended audience of the text in question and reconstruct the situation of the addressees of Ps 23.
Abstract: No doubt, Psalm 23 has stimulated a variety of scholarly conversations in OT studies. However, the bearing that this text has on the interpretation of the HB in South Africa is a rarely researched area in scholarship. First, in this article the author considers the probable dating of Ps 23 in order to determine the question of the authorship and intended audience of the text in question. Second, the author attempts to reconstruct the situation of the addressees of Ps 23, and argues that the situation of the psalmist mirrors that of the addressees of the psalm, both in the late exilic and postexilic period. Third, this article draws striking parallels between the context(s) from which the text of Ps 23 emerged and the context of the modern reader of the HB in South Africa. It investigates how a dialogue between the context(s) of the production of Ps 23 and that of the modern reader of the Bible may be established, and more importantly, it submits that the Sitz-im-Leben of the psalm in question could also have positive implications for South Africa.

6 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, a poetic and rhetorical analysis of the psalm in which it is argued that the questions rather serve a rhetorical function in the present form of Ps 24 is presented.
Abstract: Psalm 24 seems to consist mainly of a hymnic introduction (vv. 1-2), a so-called “entrance torah” (vv. 3-5), and a liturgical piece once used at the temple gates (vv. 7-10), to which a post-exilic identification of the true Israel was added (v. 6). It contains four questions which are almost universally interpreted as dialectical or antiphonal questions formulated for the purpose of regulating entrance to the temple within some or other liturgy. This paper consists of a poetic and rhetorical analysis of the psalm in which it is argued that the questions rather serve a rhetorical function in the present form of Ps 24. The purpose of the questions is to highlight the profile of a true worshipper of YHWH on the one hand, and to highlight the military might and splendour of YHWH on the other. It probably sought to outline the religious profile of the worshipping community in the post-exilic period more clearly, and to reconfirm the consensus that they would be vindicated as the true Israel when YHWH would reveal his true power and glory. The psalm is also contextualised as part of the post-exilic composition Pss 15-24. A INTRODUCTION

5 citations

01 Mar 2010
TL;DR: The role of the various locations within which the personal care and attention is provided, as well as the changing spatial positions between the Shepherd and the psalmist in the Psalm is investigated in this paper.
Abstract: Interpreters have rightly put the immensely comforting power of Psalm 23 to its depiction of the personal care and attention that Yahweh, the Shepherd provides His people. It is also widely accepted that the movement and pilgrimage theme in the psalm adds to the effect of encouraging the weary, fearful or dispirited believer. One aspect of the Psalm, whose contribution remains to be investigated however, is the role of the various locations within which the personal care and attention is provided, as well as the changing spatial positions between the Shepherd and the psalmist. Using the Bible Study method of rhetography, this paper delineates how these spatial dimensions in Psalm 23 contribute to its celebrated effect. It concludes by encouraging song writers and worship leaders to include the rhetographic aspects of the psalm in their song writing.

5 citations


Cites background from "David and Yahweh in Psalms 23 and 2..."

  • ...Interpreters have often wondered about the role of this piece in the stanza, since it appears to interrupt the enumeration of material blessings by the psalmist (cf. Goulder 2006:466)....

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  • ...Other interpreters draw parallels of this abundant provision with the description of Boaz’s benevolence towards Naomi in Ruth 4:15 (e.g. Goulder 2006:469)....

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  • ...He explains, ‘Goodness and mercy are thought of here as angelic beings, such as formed the base of Yahweh's throne over the ark in the Temple: ‘Righteousness and judgement are the foundation of your throne; mercy and truth go before you’ (Ps. 89:15; cf. 96.6)’ (Goulder 2006:465)....

    [...]

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What is the context of Psalm 43?

This article challenges the common understanding of Psalm 23 as being the song of an individual faithful Israelite.