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The Writings

The Writings. The 3 rd corpus of the Hebrew Bible consists of 11 Books. ’Emeth (Truth) Psalms Job Proverbs. Megilloth (5 Scrolls) Song of Solomon Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra-Nehemiah 1-2 Chronicles. Psalms. Greek word Psalmoi (LXX) or Psalterion (Psalter)

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The Writings

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  1. The Writings

  2. The 3rd corpus of the Hebrew Bible consists of 11 Books • ’Emeth (Truth) • Psalms • Job • Proverbs • Megilloth (5 Scrolls) • Song of Solomon • Ruth • Lamentations • Ecclesiastes • Esther • Daniel • Ezra-Nehemiah • 1-2 Chronicles

  3. Psalms • Greek word Psalmoi (LXX) or Psalterion (Psalter) • Meaning “to pluck” a musical instrument • Songs (psalmos) or a collection of songs (psalterion) • Hebrewword is Tehillim “praises” for the Book of Psalms • The Hebrew word for psalm is Mizmor “song”

  4. Functions and Roles of the Psalms • To reflect the human situations: Lament pss • Give a voice to the victims • Expose the fact of oppression, violence, injustice, etc • Allow repentance, reparation, restoration • Allow us to identify with the psalmists’ frailty and humanity • To celebrate God’s Kingship • To reflect God’s character • To teach Torah and Wisdom • Psalms as prophecy

  5. Types of Psalms • Hymns: 8; 19; 29; 33; 65; 67; 68; 96; 98; 100; 103-105; 111; 113; 114; 117; 135; 145-150 • YHWH’s Enthronement: 93; 97; 99 • Individual Lament: 3; 5-7; 13; 17; 22; 25-28; 32; 38; 39; 42; 43; 51; 54-57; 59; 61; 63; 64; 69-71; 86; 88; 102; 109; 120; 130; 140-143 • Communal Lament: 44; 74; 79; 80; 83; 89 • Thanksgiving: 18; 30; 34; 40:1-11; 41; 66; 92; 116; 118; 138 • Royal Psalms: 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 101; 110; 132; 144:1-11 • Wisdom Psalms: 1; 14; 37; 73; 91; 112; 119; 128 Many psalms are difficult to classify and are omitted here

  6. The Editing of the Psalter • Editorial work included • the collecting and arranging of the individual psalms • the division into 5 books: 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150 • and the supplying of superscriptions or titles for 116 of the psalms • Twin Psalms (Pss 1 and 2) at the beginning as introduction to the Psalter

  7. Book 1 (Pss 1-41) • Introduction: Pss 1 and 2 • Individual Laments (3-7, and etc.), this part of the Psalter consists most of the IL • Made up almost entirely of Psalms associated with David in the titles • Doxology on 41:13 • “Blessed is the Lord…Amen & Amen”

  8. Elah Valley (1 Sam 17)

  9. En Gedi (1 Sam 24)

  10. Book 2 (Pss 42-72) • Begins with “Sons of Korah” pss (42-49) • Pss 42-83 are called “Elohistic Psalter” • Ps 14 is almost identical to Ps 53 except the divine name; Ps 40:13-17 is almost the same as Ps 70 • Ends with a collection of Davidic psalms (51-65; 68-70; 71 & 33 are untitled) • 72 ended with a note “The prayers of David…are ended” • Doxology on 72:18-19 • “Blessed is the Lord…Amen & Amen”

  11. Book 3 (Pss 73-89) • Contains only 17 psalms • 73-83 associated with Asaph • Most of the Community Laments are gathered here (74, 79, 80, 83, 85) • Only one Davidic psalm (86), Ps 89 signals the end of Davidic dynasty • Ends with doxology on 89:52 • “Blesses is the Lord forever, Amen & Amen”

  12. Book 4 (Pss 90-106) • Contains 17 psalms • Answer to problems raised in books 1-3 • Yahweh is king (Pss 93; 95-99) • Only 101 & 103 are attributed to David • Twin psalms: Thematic grouping and similarity of beginnings and endings • 103 & 104: “Bless the Lord, O my soul” • 105 & 106: “O give thanks to the Lord” and “Praise the Lord” • Ends with a series of hymns (103-106) • Doxology at 106:1, 48 “Praise the Lord”

  13. Book 5 (107-150) • The largest of the five books, with 44 psalms • Davidic psalms are grouped at the beginning 108-110 and towards the end 138-145 • Torah Psalm (119): acrostic • Songs of Ascent or Pilgrimage Psalms (120-134) • Pss 140-143 constitute a final series of Individual Laments • Hallelujah psalms: 146-150 framed by “Praise the Lord”

  14. Steps of Ascent

  15. Royal Psalms • Ps 2 (coronation) • Ps 18 (royal thanksgiving) • Ps 20 (prayer for the king’s victory) • Ps 21 (thanksgiving for answered prayer) • Ps 45 (royal wedding) • Ps 72 (prayer for the king at coronation) • Ps 89 (lament for deliverance) • Ps 101 (king promises to rule with justice) • Ps 110 (coronation) • Ps 132 (divine choice of David and Zion) • Ps 144:1-11 (the king prays for victory)

  16. Untitled Psalms (34) • Book 1: Pss 1-2; 10; 33 • Book 2: Pss 43; 71 • Book 3: All have titles • Book 4: Pss 91; 93-97; 99; 104-106 • Book 5: Pss 107; 111-119; 135-137; 146-150

  17. Davidic Psalms and the Historical Narrative • 73 psalms include in the title “Of David” • In 13 pss (3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 142) the title associates the psalm with an event in David’s life • Tradition depicts David as • composer of psalms (2 Sam 1:17) • musician (1 Sam 16:16-23) • sweet singer of Israel (2 Sam 23:1)

  18. Case Study 1: Ps 52 and1 Sam 21:1-9 & 22:6-23 Questions: • Without the superscription, what is bothering the psalmist? • With the superscription as background, does it give you a better understanding of the psalm? • What are the clues that made the editor link this psalm to the historical event in 1 Sam?

  19. Case Study 2: Ps 51 and 2 Sam 11-12:23 Questions: • Without the superscription would you be able to tell what is bothering the psalmist? • How does the superscription help you understand this psalm? • What kind of information can you glean from Ps 51:18-19?

  20. Excavation on the City of David

  21. Kidron Valley Opposite to City of David

  22. Christological Reading of the Psalms • Jesus as the crucified and risen Messiah • The Psalms foreshadow Christ • Type is by nature imperfect • Only the portion of the Psalm that is used by the NT writer or by Christ himself is prophetic of Christ and not the whole Psalm • The offices in Israel’s history foreshadow the life of Christ: King, Prophet, and Priest

  23. Wisdom Literature • Lack of historical elements • The 3 biblical books: Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes (some may include Song of Songs, together with the 2 apocryphal books, Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon), represent Israel’s “Wisdom Literature.” • Some Wisdom Psalms: Pss 1, 19B, 32, 34, 37, 49, 73, 78, 111, 112, 119, 127, 128, 133 • 2 main types of wisdom writings • Proverbial wisdom: Proverbs • Contemplative or speculative wisdom: Job, Ecclesiastes

  24. Criteria for Wisdom Psalms Formal: • Alphabetic structure (e.g. acrostic psalms) • Numerical sayings (“3 yea 4” etc) • “Blessed” sayings • “Better” sayings • The use of wisdom vocabulary and terms of phrases • The use of forms such as proverbs, similes, rhetorical questions, and words like “listen to me” Thematic: • The problem of retribution • The sharp division between the righteous and the wicked • Exhortations to trust personally in the Lord • The fear of the Lord • The study of written Torah as a source of delight and meditation

  25. Theology of Wisdom Literature Creation Theology • Zimmerli states that wisdom theology is creation theology (Gen 1:28) • Israelites observed God’s creation and coined their cogent reflections upon it, e.g. Prov 24:30-34; Ecc 1:3-11; Job 38-41 • Biblical wisdom connotes a search for “order”

  26. Gen 1-3 and Wisdom Literature Proverb: • God as Creator (14:31; 17:5; 20:12; 22:2; 29:13) • Image of the ‘tree of life’ (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4) • God established the world through wisdom (3:19-20; 8:22-31) • The creation of humanity marks the climax of God’s creative acts in Prov 8 & Gen 1

  27. Gen 1-3 and Wisdom Literature Ecclesiastes: • Clements: Ecclesiastes is “best understood as an arresting but thoroughly orthodox exposition of Gen 1-3.” • Textual links: • work as “toil” (Eccl 3:13; cf. Gen 3:17) • life as “ephemeral” or “vain” (play on Abel’s name) • Eccl 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time” may allude to divine assessment in Gen 1 • 3:20b “all come from dust, and to dust all return” is virtually identical to Gen 3:19

  28. Gen 1-3 and Wisdom Literature Job: • Most prominent in the divine speeches in chs 38-40 • Proclaim the sovereignty of the Creator

  29. Fear of the Lord • Kaiser terms this phrase “the key theme of wisdom literature” • Occurs 18 times in Proverbs (framing introduction to Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10; and concluding the portrayal of wisdom incarnate at 31:30) • 5 times in Ecclesiastes (esp. closing the book of Ecclesiastes at 12:13) • 10 times in Job (characterizing Job as morally impeccable at 1:1, 8, 9; 2:3; 28:28)

  30. Meaning of “the Fear of the Lord” Patriarchal Era • Response of worship, knowledge, obedience, trust • Gen 22:12; 32:42, 53; 42:18 • Job 1:1, 8, 9; 2:3 Mosaic Era and Later • Expression also involved service, love, obedience, and total surrender to the living Lord • Exod 1:17, 21; 14:31; 20:20 • Lev 19:14, 32; 25:17 • Deut 4:10; 5:29; 6:2, 13, 24; 8:6; 10:12, 20; 13:4; 14:23; 17:19; 31:12, 13, etc Wisdom Literature • The essence of knowledge and wisdom of God

  31. Fear of the Lord in Wisdom Literature This phrase is placed strategically in Prov, Eccl, and Job • Starting point and inception of all real knowledge (Prov 1:7) • Promises life (Prov 10:27; 13:14; 14:27; 19:23; etc) • Choose the way of life (Prov 3:7; 8:13; 14:2; 16:6; 23:17) • Find the meaning of life (conclusion of Eccl 12:13-14) • Makes one delight in wisdom and instruction (Prov 1:7), receive counsel and reproof (1:29-30), and listen to wisdom, understanding and the knowledge of God (2:1-6) • Fear of the Lord is Wisdom (Job 28:28)

  32. Retribution theology • The doctrine of the sages: the good are rewarded and the bad are punished • Traditionally scholars saw a tension within the wisdom corpus, i.e. Prov vs Job & Ecc • All 3 books (Prov, Job, Eccl) show their unity • The limitation of wisdom • Divine freedom and inscrutability • All 3 books assume a similar stance regarding the relationship between deeds and consequences

  33. The Retribution Dogma Proverbs • Retribution can be either “immanent” (automatic) or take place through social interaction or through the direct intervention of God • One has to wait for justice to arrive (22:8; 24:16) • “Life” is a relationship with God and that death is a disruption of that relationship • This life outlasts physical death in communion with God (12:28; 14:32)

  34. The Retribution Dogma Ecclesiastes • Qohelet does not question the existence of divine justice but is troubled by its time (3:16-17, cf. 8:6-8) Job • The God of Job’s friends is “the Lord of Retribution” • Job is also convinced of God’s justice

  35. Human Experience and Questioning The enigmatic teaching of Ecclesiastes • It represents a searching criticism of secularism and a positive assessment of faith • It represents an agonizing debate by Qohelet between skepticism and faith, with the latter winning out The questions raised by Job concerning human suffering • Why the righteous has to suffer? • Can a person has “disinterested righteousness”? • What is God like?

  36. Agreement among the Biblical Wisdom Books • Limitation of Wisdom in guaranteeing success • Proverb (26:12; 28:11, 26; etc) • Ecclesiastes (9:11, 15-16; 1:8; 3:22; 6:12; 7:14; 8:7; 9:1, 12; 10:14 cf. Pr 27:1) • Job (36:26, 29; 37:15-16; 38:18, 20-21, 36-37) • Divine freedom and inscrutability • all 3 books affirm divine sovereignty and inscrutability, acknowledging that God himself is the bestower of wisdom (Pr 2:6; Ecc 2:26; Job 28:23)

  37. OT Theology • Many scholars attempt and propose various centers for OT theology. What is your idea?

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