Gert T.M. Prinsloo, «The Role of Space in the twl(mh yry#$ (Psalms 120–134)», Vol. 86 (2005) 457-477
This study reads the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120–134) from the perspective of the
concept of "space" and argues that they form as a single, interrelated unit that tells a
meaningful "story". By applying the principles of "critical spatiality" the spatial
orientation of each poem is analysed. The conclusion is reached that the poems can
be grouped together in five triads of three poems each. By mapping "space" and
relating it to the content of the poems in the context of Book V of the Psalter, the
"story" of these poems can be discerned. It is a meaningful story with a sad beginning
but a happy end. The happy end resides especially in the expectation that YHWH
"ascends" with his people towards the eschathological and Messianic future.
460 Gert T.M. Prinsloo
contains a systematic classification of the concept. The most com-
prehensive classification of space is provided by scholars working in
the field of social-scientific criticism, specifically those working with
the concept of “critical spatiality†(15). Building upon the work of
postmodern geographers like Lefebvre and Soja (16) they distinguish
between “firstspace†(physical space, concrete space, perceived space,
i.e. the description of a place or an environment); “secondspaceâ€
(imagined space, conceived space, abstract space, i.e. the description
of space on an emotive level where space touches upon the
psychological, ideological, religious and philosophical dimensions of
human behaviour); and “thirdspace†(lived space, the confrontation
between various social groups and their space, reflecting the spatial
ideology of society) (17). A set of rules governs the perceptions and
actual spatial experiences of various social classes and social groups.
The “lived space†of a king differs from that of a commoner, of a male
from that of a female.
The world created by the stories and poems of the Hebrew Bible is
peculiar in the sense that it realistically represents the life of man with
all his limitations, but brings that world into dialogue with a construct
of the religious imagination that passes beyond those limits. In essence
the Hebrew Bible is concerned with this divine/human dialogue.
Mankind is represented from one of two perspectives: at-center
(properly orientated to his world), or off-center (in chaos and
disorientation) (18). In the Book of Psalms in particular the world is
seen from the vantage point of an individual, an “I†who experiences
the world from an interior viewpoint (19). Space in the Book of Psalms
——————
iar with those places. He focuses upon space as a concrete concept. Cf. also the
cursory discussion of space in FOKKELMAN, Reading, 97-111. The discussion
above indicates that the concept of space is much more complicated than the
mere description of physical place.
(15) Cf. J.L. BERQUIST, “Critical spatiality and the uses of theoryâ€, AAR/SBL
Annual Meeting, Constructions of Ancient Space Seminar, October 2002 (Hy-
perlink: http://www.cwru.edu) 1-15.
(16) Cf. the overview in BERQUIST, “Critical spatialityâ€, 4-5.
(17) FLANAGAN, “Ancient perceptions†26-30; MATTHEWS, “Physical spaceâ€,
12-13.
(18) THOMPSON, Introducing, 13. The same tendency is present in the narra-
tives of other cultures in the Ancient Near East.
(19) THOMPSON, Introducing, 53 observes that 123 of the 150 psalms are (at
least in part) written from a first person perspective. Cf. also FOKKELMAN, Read-
ing, 177.