Philip Sumpter, «The Coherence of Psalms 15–24», Vol. 94 (2013) 186-209
This article develops recent arguments that Psalms 15–24 constitute a relatively self-contained sub-collection that is chiastically arranged. It seeks to uncover the logic underlying the arrangement by attending to three points: 1) the manner in which the content of each psalm is 'expanded' and 'brought forward' in its chiastic parallel; 2) the nature of the relation between the framing psalms (15; 19; 24) and those that intervene; 3) the significance of David and Zion. In short, it argues that the editors were concerned to situate David within his true theological context.
208 PHILIP SUMPTER
Beat Weber has identified a similar editorial technique in the
Psalter. He describes it using a metaphor that could have been taken
from the opening strophe of Psalm 24: “The wisdom-oriented editors
of the Psalter have inserted, as it were, ‘pillars’ and ‘bridges’ amongst
the many prayers that were (mostly) composed out of the depths of
the ‘waters of chaos’. Their function is not only to process the hard-
ships experienced within the psalms but also to master them theolog-
ically†67. Interestingly, Isaiah 33, another text that draws on the
Torah-entrance liturgy found in Psalms 15 and 24, also fulfils a similar
editorial function in the context of the book. Whereas the oracles that
precede it are characterized by a high level of historical specificity,
this chapter appears to summarize the underlying eschatological pat-
tern in a historically decontextualized manner. In this way it links up
with the historically decontextualized opening chapters, chapters 1
and 2, thereby forming an interpretive framework for the oracles that
intervene 68 . Finally, given the significance of the figure of David for
our collection, one should also note a similar structure to the Books
of Samuel, which are framed by poetic texts that function to set the
history within the context of the divine economy 69.
VI. Structure and Theology in Psalms 15–24
This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of the final
form of Psalms 15–24 by drawing our attention to significant fea-
tures of its structure and thematic arrangement and by analysing
these elements in terms of Brunner-Traut’s theory of ancient “as-
B. WEBER, “‘Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water ...’: Weisheitliche Weg-
67
markierungen im Psalterâ€, Ex oriente Lux. Studien zur Theologie des Alten
Testaments. Festschrift für Rüdiger Lux zum 65. Geburtstag (eds. A.
BERLEJUNG - R. HECKL) (Leipzig 2012) 289-306; here, 290 (translation mine).
Cf. J. GOLDINGAY, Isaiah (NIBC:OT; Grand Rapids, MI 2001) 185: “Set-
68
ting chapters 1 and 33 around chapters 2–32 invites readers to see the message
of chapters 2–32 as a particular concrete application of the more general
points made in chapters 1 and 33.†This insight, shared to one degree or an-
other by interpreters such as Childs, Seitz, Sweeney, and Blenkinsopp, goes
back to an article by W. BEUKEN, “Jesaja 33 als Spiegeltext im Jesajabuchâ€,
ETL 67 (1991) 5-35.
Cf. G. STEINS, “Geschichte, die im Rahmen bleibt: Kanonische Beobach-
69
tungen an 1 Sam 2 und 2 Sam 22fâ€, Der Bibelkanon in der Bibelauslegung.
Methodenreflexionen und Beispielexegesen (eds. E. BALLHORN – G. STEINS)
(Stuttgart 2007) 198-211.
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