Chapter 1
What term do we use in the Psalms for a unit of poetry normally made up of two or more lines?
Verse
what is the short simple answer to the question, what is a psalm?
A psalm is a biblical poem
What are the royal and enthronement psalms?
Royal have to do with Israel's human king
Enthronement have to do with God as Israel's king.
What is a psalmist?
term used generically to talk about the author of a psalm or of a collection of psalms
In the psalms what do the authors use metaphors for?
To help the readerpaint a picture and understand many different aspects of the life of faith
What is synonymous parallelism?
The second line basically says the same thing as the first line
Are modern readers first or secondary audiences when they overhear the prayers of the psalmist?
secondary
What are the wisdom and creation psalms?
Wisdom psalms draw on Israel's wisdom tradition and seek to teach something to the reader (or audience)
Creation psalms speak of God as creator and the earth as God's creation
What do the Psalms resonate in someones everyday life?
What is required to understand a metaphor?
imagination
The second line basically says the opposite of the first line
What type of prayer is this?
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" (13:1-2)
Complaint (Lament)
What are the historcal and zion psalms?
Historical retell a part of israels history
Zion speak about Jerusalem as the place where God abides
Thinking about the life situation of the psalm requires what?
imagination
What are the psalms about?
The psalms are about life/ life of faith
What is synthetic parallelism?
The second line says neither the same thing or the opposite of the first line
What type of prayer is this?
"Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give me light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say "I have prevailed"; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken."
Request for help
what are the imprecatory psalms?
Ask God to punish those who oppress the psalmist or the psalmist's community
Define the two interpretive realities that invite the reader into the interpretive and experiential world of the psalm.
The voice of the prayer and the situation in which the prayer finds oneself praying
1st. God's loving faithfulness is creation
2nd. History/ history of God's relationship with nations of Israel
What is echoing and extending?
Echoing describes how a word, phrase, or sentence responds in a ping-pong manner to a word, phrase, or sentence
Extending describes how a word, phrase, or sentence can build on and continue the thought of a previous word, phrase, or sentence.
Psalms of thanksgiving are expressed in a threefold way. What are they?
1: often begin with an expression of praise
2: there is usually a call for others to join in praise
3:the singer's songs modulates at some point from narrating what God has done to describing who God is and what God is like
What are the penitential and liturgical psalms?
penitential psalms ask for forgiveness
liturgical psalms give directions for a worship ritual
What is the Hebrew word for dedication?
Bonus 300
Hanukkah
What Hebrew word has no equivalent word in the English dictionary?
Hesed