Psalms: Everyone's a Poet
When is it thought the Psalms were compiled?
Why were they important to the life of Israel?
Psalms compiled between 500-200 BCE
Remember BCE= Before the Common Era
These songs crucial to the life of the Israelites as they were a people without a homeland, often their lives were disrupted, this was a continuous thread, the singing of these songs
Connected them to Yahweh, as they sang these in worship to their Lord in a foreign land, like the Psalmist says, in Psalm 137, a Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[a] there
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
Ryken pp. 114-118
What's a prophet in the Hebrew Scriptures?
Is there a book of prophecy in the Greek New Testament?
prophet=Hebrew for nabi, nevi'm in Tanakh acronym, with the "n" with Torah (instruction) being the "T" and ketuvim (wisdom writings) being the "k"
prophets were moral innovators, they were seers and visionaries who carried about the whole community, in it for more than themselves
they often spoke with Yahweh, or had a theophany, or had a direct line with Yahweh in terms of what the people should do and how they should act
In Greek New Testament the Book of Revelation is considered a prophetic book
What's metonymy?
Why does it matter in study of the lit of the Bible?
metonymy = figure of speech in which a thing or concept isn't called by its own name but by the name of something it's associated with in meaning or conceptually
i.e. the King referred to as "the crown"
A shoot shall come up from the stump of Jesse, from his roots a Branch will bear fruit--Isaiah 11:1
Israel as the stump of Jesse (Jesse was King David's father)
Why study?
to understand poetic language in the Bible, to try to become clear about references, which helps with foreshadowing, etc.
Another example: When Yahweh gets angry, Yahweh's nostrils flare and Yahweh huffs and puffs,
so when we read references to this we know it's Yahweh's anger that the people Israel are messing up again
"With the blast of your nose the waters were gathered"-Exodus 15:8
"The foundations of the earth were exposed by your rebuke Yahweh at the blowing of the breath of your nostrils"-Psalm 18:16
This criticism looks at potential sources or writing that came before the text we have now, the analysis of those sources is called what?
Can you think of how you might use this type of criticism?
Source Criticism =looks at what is the source of the material that is the literature of the Bible, what writings came before that were sources for this writing we see before us today?
Example: JEDP theory of authorship known as the documentary hypothesis
Compare with other types of criticisms so you know these and how they are different from each other
What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Why are they important to this study of the Bible?
Found in 1948, the Dead Sea Scrolls, found in Qumran (see videos if you have forgotten these)
renewed interest in biblical studies because they contain both biblical and non-biblical manuscripts circulating at the time of the Second Temple 586 BCE-70 CE) The Second Temple period is marked by the return of Jews to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon in 538 BCE. They were allowed to return under an edict issued by Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. By 515 BCE the reinstated Jewish residents had completed building the Second Temple.
About 230 manuscripts found are referred to as biblical scrolls, copies of works found in the present day Hebrew Bible
These manuscripts already had a special status in the Second Temple period and were seen as vessels of divine communication. The idea of a closed biblical "canon" emerged later than this in history, so these manuscripts were not yet part of a "closed canon." It was still open as to what would be finally compiled together, remember these were scrolls, not books, and scrolls are still used in worship in Jewish synagogues.
What kind of Psalm is this?
If we had forgotten the name of our God,
or spread out our hands to a strange god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Because of you we are being killed all day long,
and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
a Psalm of Lament
(that was from Psalm 44)
lament=a genre of psalm, not the same as lamentation over the dead
In a lament Psalm, the Psalmist addresses God directly on the occasion of some calamity
Given Yahweh's history with Yahweh's people, the psalmist is comfortable charging God with being asleep at the wheel and calls out Yahweh to urge a favorable response from Yahweh
Which prophets spoke about getting too cozy with the Babylonians? Tried to remind Israel who they were?
A sample from chapter 50
The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by the prophet ______________:
2 Declare among the nations and proclaim,
set up a banner and proclaim,
do not conceal it, say:
Babylon is taken,
Bel is put to shame,
Merodach is dismayed.
Her images are put to shame,
her idols are dismayed.
3 For out of the north a nation has come up against her; it shall make her land a desolation, and no one shall live in it; both human beings and animals shall flee away.
4 In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the people of Israel shall come, they and the people of Judah together; they shall come weeping as they seek the Lord their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join[a] themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
6 My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold.
all 4 of the major prophets
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Later the Book of Revelation will mention Babylon in Revelation 17-18
Babylon is 60 miles from modern Baghdad, Iraq
Estimated it was the largest city in the world in 1770-1670 BCE, with a population of over 200,000
What's parallelism?
Where do we see it in the Hebrew Bible?
parallelism is repeated similarities for rhetorical effect, the lines say the same thing in similar grammatical form
the cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me-Psalm 18:4
parallelism is found in Psalms, in all the wisdom writings (Ketuvim), and in the prophets (Nevi'im)
found in Job, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, etc.
If you look at a text as a piece of finished writing, if you look at what you can learn from what's in the text itself, like we do in class, look at how it compares with other types of writing like it, what's it called?
Literary Criticism looks at the text as a finished literary work, a finished piece of writing, looks at genres and forms, and in a large piece of literature like the Holy Bible, looks at the mini genres within it, and the large narrative it contains
Literary criticism addresses the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature
Where do we see foreshadowing in the Torah?
Who was about warning of what is to come for the people if they don't obey Yahweh and keep from breaking divine covenants
foreshadowing is found throughout the Hebrew texts
the prophets served as an intermediary between people and Yahweh, giving warning
the coming of the messiah from the Davidic line is foreshadowed in the Torah
When were the Psalms compiled?
Why is it important to the people Israel?
500-200 BCE
Psalms = book of songs, ancient songs
Old songs, when compiled, were then heard in new contexts (they still are today!)
The temple was originally the site where the Psalms were intended to be sung in worship, but then in 587 BCE the first temple was destroyed (later so was the second), and these Psalms were a way to remember Yahweh while not in the planned place of worship, to recall God's mercy, compassion, justice, loving kindness, justice, power, and awe
What's metonymy?
Why study it?
metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept isn't called by its own name but by the name of something it's associated with in meaning or conceptually
i.e. the King referred to as "the crown"
"a stump of Jesse" to refer to the people with the Davidic line (Jesse was King David's father)
Yahweh snorting and huffing and puffing, metonymy for Yahweh's anger
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. -Exodus 15:8
What's a theophany?
What are the parts of a theophany, that came from Canaanite culture?
Give an example of someone who had a break with that 3-fold Canaanite pattern, in his encounter with Yahweh?
theophany = manifestation of God, God reveals Godself to humans, often in poetic accounts, often in holy places
Canaanite theophany pattern, we learn from historical criticism
1. the Lord appears as divine warrior or king, surrounded by fire or in splendor, sometimes on wind and/or clouds (Baal does this)
2. nature trembles or people respond with dread
3. as a result, nature becomes fertile or the divine saves or rules or the person is given a revelation or call
examples in Canaanite language: "Baal gives forth his holy voice," "Baal's voice shatters earth"
From Psalms
"The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare, and in Yahweh's temple all cry,'Glory!'"-Psalm 29:9
Elijah has a theophany that breaks with the 3 fold pattern because the Lord is not in the chaos--not in the wind, or earthquake, or fire, but in a "still small voice" (also translated as "the sound of sheer silence") in I Kings 19
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
What's redaction criticism?
Why is it important to the understanding of the literature found in the Holy Bible?
redaction criticism=the study of the theological perspective of a biblical text evident in its collection, arrangement, editing, and modification of sources, it's the study of biblical literature, the method of that examines the way the various pieces of the tradition have been assembled or layered into the final literary composition by an author or editor
understanding the editorial processes is important to the Holy Bible because the book serves as a central source of history, religion, and culture of ancient Israel, as well as for the understanding of the beginnings of Judaism as a tradition
By asking how a writer has edited or redacted their sources we can see their theological/religious viewpoints
If author A uses author B as a source but
makes a big change to the material they take from B (i.e. reordering material, adding or omitting material, changing words and phrases), we can gain insight into what they thought by seeing how they developed their source material
Who was Cyrus the Great, the Persian
Why is he important to the people Israel?
Many people are anointed in the Hebrew Bible, and many are referred to as the messiah or anointed one. The high priest is called the anointed priest (Lev 4:3). God tells Elijah to anoint two different men as kings of their people: Hazael as king of Aram (1Kgs 19:15) and Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel. God also instructs Elijah to anoint his own successor, Elisha son of Shaphat, as prophet (1Kgs 19:16). At this point, the term messiah or anointed one did not refer to the apocalyptic savior of humankind.
The Persian emperor Cyrus is the only foreigner in the Bible to be identified as the messiah or anointed one of Yahweh, the Israelite God. Isaiah tells us that Yahweh spoke “to his messiah, to Cyrus, whom I [Yahweh] took by his right hand to subdue nations before him” (Isa 45:1). The other people called messiah or anointed one in the Bible aren’t designated Yahweh’s messiah, as Cyrus is.
Cyrus the Great (559–530 B.C.E.), whom Isaiah 45 calls Yahweh’s anointed, was the Persian king of Fars, a southern province of present-day Iran. By 546 he had defeated the wealthy king Croesus of Lydia (in modern Turkey), and the Lydian capital of Sardis fell to him along with all the other cities of Asia Minor. Cyrus then turned his attention to the most powerful kingdom in Central Asia: Babylon. By the end of 539, he had taken Babylon and captured its king, Nabonidus. The Persian Empire founded by Cyrus extended from the Aegean to Central Asia.
Who is this prophet who identifies Cyrus as Yahweh’s shepherd and anointed?
Second Isaiah, author of Isa 40-65, probably lived in Babylon during the late exilic period (late sixth century B.C.E.). We know he wrote after 539 because Isa 40-65 mentions Cyrus the Great.
Factoid: Evangelicals have compared Donald Trump to Cyrus the Great.
Also, April 2018, the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said this, “I want to tell you that the Jewish people have a long memory, so we remember the proclamation of the great king, Cyrus the Great,” Netanyahu said at the White House. “And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.” Netanyahu has been joined by other prominent ministers in his right-wing coalition, including Minister of Education Naftali Bennett and Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, who tweeted, “Trump is in his generation as Cyrus was in his.” Yehuda Glick, the American-born rabbi who is a leader of the movement to build a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem, has said that anyone who does not see that Trump’s declaration resembles Cyrus’s “should buy himself a new pair of glasses.”
What sort of Psalm do you think this is?
Why is it in the biblical canon?
Which type of biblical criticism would you use to study it, to do an analysis of the pericope?
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.
Psalm of Complaint
It's in the biblical canon because it's part of the direct discourse between Yahweh and humanity, and humanity and Yahweh
What type of criticism?
Be able to argue whichever you choose of the 7:
1. Textual
2. Source
3. Historical
4. Form
5. Literary
6. Redaction
7. Canonical
What's parallelism?
Where do we see it in the lit of the Bible?
parallelism is repeated similarities for rhetorical effect, the lines say the same thing in similar grammatical form (or they can say opposite things in similar grammatical form)
"The cords of death encompassed me,
the torrents of destruction assailed me"-Psalm 18:4
or opposite things:
"For Yahweh takes care of the way the virtuous go,
but the way of the wicked is doomed."-Psalm 1:6
Parallelism is found in the Psalms, in all the wisdom literature and in the prophets (in Job, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, etc.)
What's a lament?
Why is it important in the study of lit of the Bible?
lament = passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, grief born out of mourning, a lament can be communal or individual
Example: Micah 1:8-16 begins
Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.
9 For Samaria’s plague is incurable;
it has spread to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.
The Book of Lamentations begins
How lonely sits the city
that once was full of people!
How like a widow she has become,
she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces
has become a vassal.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has no one to comfort her;
From Job, "Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?"
Amos 8:10 is another example
Laments are important as a genre because it's a way to express solidarity in pain, for the people to come together crying out to God in pain (think of people gathered in a sports bar after their team loses, the collective lament found there)
Individually it's for people to come before Yahweh, like Job, in their own pain
Factoid: Laments constitute some of the oldest writing forms across human cultures.
In Psalms of Lament: Psalmist directly confronts the Lord after a calamity or crisis
"Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Why do you forget our affliction?"-Psalm 44:23-24
What's a question you'd ask if you employed canonical criticism?
How would canonical criticism help you to get an answer?
canonical criticism=interested in the final canon
Remember canon means rule, which books met the mark to get compiled into the final book?
This criticism is interested in final forms, not earlier ones. The final forms used by the Jewish community for the Hebrew Scriptures, and the church/followers of Jesus Christ for the Greek New Testament
A question might be:
How does the Torah compare to the scrolls found in the Qumran caves (the Dead Sea Scrolls)?
Do they look like they are part of the same canon?
Do the Qumran scrolls assume the same texts in the canon? Is that assumption there?
What's a theocracy?
Who has one?
Why is it important to the long narrative of the Hebrew people?
theocracy = a government run by rule of a religion
i.e. the Vatican, the Islamic State of Iran
the people Israel have one, they then demand a monarchy, it fails, they go back to a theocracy
important because Israel has been given a moral code and covenants to follow and it could work, if they'd only follow Yahweh, it could be great for everyone, but they keep messing up
What imagery used in the lit of the Bible stands out to you?
What's an image that is used often in the lit of the Hebrew Bible that's been used in the books of the Bible we've studied so far?
Imagery: using words to paint pictures, evoke a concrete sensory experience of people, places, things
i.e. "He makes me lie down in green pastures"-Psalm 23
Example of image:
Jerusalem as a holy mountain, it appears 25 times in the Psalms and also in prophetic books
(Psalm 48:1, Isaiah 66:20, Zech 8:3)
This image is similar to the Canaanite belief of their god Baal residing on the mountain
Psalm 48:2 says, "Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King." and claims Baal's dwelling there for Israel's God's dwelling
also city of God, city of the Great King
Isaiah calls the city Ariel meaning "lion of God"
Ezekiel refers to the city as an altar to God
What's a theophany?
What are the parts of a theophany that came from Canaanite culture?
Who had a theophany that broke with this 3-fold pattern? Can you think of anyone in the Bible?
theophany= manifestation of God, God reveals Godself to humans, often told in poetic accounts, often takes place in holy places
Canaanite theophany pattern (think historical criticism and source criticism, looking at Canaanite culture)
a. the Lord appears as a divine warrior or king, surrounded by fire or in splendor, sometimes on wind and clouds (like Baal did)
b. nature trembles or people respond with dread, this is a big deal to encounter the Lord
c. nature becomes fertile, or God saves or rules or the person is given a revelation or call
In Canaanite literature, use of terms "Baal's holy voice," "holy voice shatters the earth"
"The voice of teh Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare, and in the Lord's temple all cry, 'Glory!'"-Psalm 29:9
What's a lawsuit oracle?
Where is it found?
a lawsuit oracle is a distinctive formula, an appeal to natural phenomenon in some way to hear the controversy between the divine and the people, in this case, between Yahweh and Israel
an oracle in the Hebrew Bible-an utterance by a prophet as a response from Yahweh to a question, it's the most common form of prophetic speech found
"Hear...give ear..." is often how it will show up
"
Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s crib;
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.
4 Ah, sinful nation,
people laden with iniquity,
offspring who do evil,
children who deal corruptly,
who have forsaken the Lord,
who have despised the Holy One of Israel,
who are utterly estranged!
5 Why do you seek further beatings?
Why do you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint. -Isaiah 2-5
prophetic oracles often use poetry rather than prose
Yahweh will then pronounce a sentence (like in a court of law)
5 Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
6 They did not say, “Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?”
7 I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers[a] transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.
9 Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
and I accuse your children’s children.-Jeremiah 2:5-9
When you hear courtroom language, "I accuse you," or a sentence given, you know you're in the realm of the prophetic lawsuit oracle
If you were to apply literary criticism to this pericope, Psalm 37, think of 5 questions you might ask using that form of criticism?
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrongdoers,
2 for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
literary criticism=the text as a finished piece of writing, look at genres and forms
1. Is this part of a larger narrative?
2. Who is the character speaking? Is that a narrator? A reliable narrator?
3. What type of poetry is this? Is it an acrostic?
4. I'd address the parallelism and similes apparent in it,
fade like the grass
wither like the green herb
(similes use "like" or "as" to compare things)
5. I'd classify it as to genre of Psalm, like the 6 types we studied (Royal, Complaint, Thanksgiving, Lament, Praise, Wisdom)
Who is a character that stands out to you from the Hebrew Scriptures that we've studied so far?
Why does this person stand out?
What role do they play in the long narrative of the life of the people Israel?
You've got a lot to choose from:
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob = the patriarchs
Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel=the matriarchs
Deborah the Judge
Ruth, Naomi, Esther, the prophets, Moses, Noah, Joseph, David, Daniel, etc.