W. Dennis Tucker, «Psalm 95: Text, Context, and Intertext», Vol. 81 (2000) 533-541
In a previous issue of Biblica (76 [1995] 540-550)
W.H. Schniedewind argued that Ps 100 had a major influence on the psalmist who
wrote Ps 95. In this study, I argue for a diachronic approach to
intertextuality, which examines both the literary and the social environment. I
contend that the two together actually create an intertextual hermeneutic which
allows the psalmist to incorporate previous traditions and texts in such a way
as to address changing social and religious demands.
Based on citation, allusion and
reversal, I contend that the
psalmist of Ps 95 did in fact incorporate element of Ps 100, but in addition,
the psalmist added the Massah-Meribah tradition, while adding a deuteronomic slant
to the psalms. The use of the Massah-Meribah tradition along the
deuteronomic influences, created a psalm that would have been particularly
appropriate for a community still reeling from the devastation of exile.
Davies to conclude that vv. 1-7a are ‘the words of men in the form of an extended ‘Call to Worship’ and vv. 7b-11, a second part, the words of God or his representative to men, in the form of an exhortation, or prophetic oracle’21. Similarly, Gunkel noted that this portion of the psalm ‘is in content and form an imitation (Nachahmung) of prophetic speech’22.
A related issue concerning the division between the two sections pertains to the unusual location of the last word in v. 7a (wdy) and the placement of the atnah beneath it. BHS proposes moving the atnah to the last word in the previous line (N)cw) and then, appealing to haplography, recommends inserting the imperative form of (dy prior to wdy. Kraus has adopted a similar position and translated this portion of v. 7 as ‘Recognize his activity today! Oh that you would listen to his voice!’23. While such a proposal makes for an easier division of the verse, it does not seem to be a convincing solution. There is no manuscript evidence in support of such a revision, and further the text does not seem to warrant such a radical change. As it stands, the text makes goods sense, even if the poetic structure seems a little varied from the anticipated norm24.
There is a second reason why the text, as it stands, should be the preferred reading. If we divide the psalm as suggested in the MT, then the first word in the prophetic oracle would be ‘today’ (Mwyh). And with this opening word, the psalmist sets the tenor — a deuteronomic tenor — for the remainder of the psalm. In Deut 2,18 and 26,3, the speeches given there both begin with Mwyh, in effect setting the stage for the words to follow. In a similar fashion, the psalmist here has opted to employ Mwyh at the beginning of the oracle, thus preparing the worshiper for that which is to follow. As will be noted below, there are numerous references to the deuteronomic tradition in vv. 7b-11, therefore it should not be too surprising that an obvious allusion to the deuteronomic tradition, Mwyh, should begin the oracle.
The use of ‘today’ (Mwyh) recalls the frequent use of this term throughout the book of Deuteronomy25. Tate notes that ‘the expression stresses the urgency of hearing the message and also links the past with the present’26. Thus that which is to follow, the Meribah-Massah tradition from the past, has implications for the present, for today27.
A second deuteronomic influence found in 7b is the exhortation for the