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.
204 PHILIP SUMPTER
saved. Israel longs for the salvation of the king in these psalms, for
in it they find their own. As such, Psalms 20–21 clarify Psalm 18 the-
ologically by establishing the nature of the king’s role within the di-
vine economy. His obedience, suffering and salvation are for the sake
of another, his people, who are to imitate him in every respect.
At this juncture it is worth noting that this way of construing the
theological development of Psalms 15–18 by Psalms 20–24 mirrors
the move from Psalm 1 to Psalm 2 at the opening the Psalter. These
two psalms are also concerned with true means to life or “happinessâ€
(cf. Psalms 15; 19; 24). In Psalm 1, the individual who is happy is
the one who lives in obedience to God’s revealed will, avoiding the
infectious company of the wicked. In Psalm 2, the people who are
happy are those who seek refuge in the Davidic king, their saviour
in Zion, rejecting the insubordination of the rebellious nations. We
thus have a twofold portrayal of the way to life in its fullness: obe-
dience to God’s revealed will and subjection to the rule of God’s
earthly king. In this, the king relates to his people both as their role
model and their redeemer 55.
IV. Outer Frame
Having started at the corners of our collection and moved inwards,
we come to the centrepiece of the ensemble, Psalm 19, a psalm that
meditates upon the significance of Torah within the horizon of cre-
ation and calls upon YHWH to help David to follow this law. Although
the psalm lacks a parallel pair, it appears to be intimately connected
with Psalms 15 and 24, the two psalms which frame our collection.
For a start, we may notice the common air of reflectiveness that dis-
tinguishes these psalms from Psalms 16–23 (Gerstenberger has de-
scribed Psalm 19 as “very objective, distant, and meditativeâ€; note
Miller’s analysis of the sub-collection above) 56. More significant are
the themes that unite these psalms and the pattern of their arrange-
I thus disagree with interpretations such as the one by Patrick Miller
55
which effectively subordinate Psalm 2 to Psalm 1 by understanding the jux-
taposition to consist solely in the democratization of the king; cf. P. MILLER,
“The Beginning of the Psalterâ€, Shape and Shaping of the Psalter (ed. J. MC-
CANN) (JSOTSS 159; Sheffield 1993), 83-92.
GERSTENBERGER, Psalms:I, 101.
56
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