Browsing by Subject "Bible. O.T. Psalms -- Criticism, interpretation, etc."
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Item The kingship of Yahweh and the politics of poverty and oppression in the Hebrew Psalter.(2011-01-05T19:51:20Z) Wittman, Derek Edward, 1977-; Bellinger, W. H.; Religion.; Baylor University. Dept. of Religion.This dissertation is a rhetorical critical analysis of the Hebrew Psalter's use of language connoting poverty to portray Yahweh, ancient Israel, and foreign nations and to structure the literary relationships between them. It advances the thesis that such language functions to portray ancient Israel as an oppressed nation, to portray foreign nations as oppressors, and to portray Yahweh as a royal figure who acts as a just arbiter between them. The introductory chapter outlines the rhetorical critical methodology of this study, highlighting its emphasis on the reader's role in generating the sense of the text in light of the Psalter's canonical context. It also contains a summary of scholarship on the topic of poverty in the Psalter, including the issues of defining the scope of terminology that connotes poverty in the Psalter and determining the degree to which the Psalter views poverty in a literal or spiritual manner. The second chapter addresses the royal portrayal of Yahweh in the Psalter through the three lenses of scholarship on the enthronement psalms, theological analysis, and canonical criticism, and it includes a discussion of the significance of the relationship between the royal metaphor and the refuge metaphor in understanding the Psalter's view of poverty. The third chapter outlines the Psalter's portrayal of ancient Israel as an oppressed nation, with a particular emphasis on the communal psalms of lament and thanksgiving. It also includes a discussion of the Psalter's tendency to portray foreign nations in a negative light. The fourth chapter is an exegetical analysis of ten psalms that contain these three elements: language connoting poverty, references to foreign nations, and the royal portrayal of Yahweh. It demonstrates that the structures of these psalms lead the reader toward the conclusion that foreign oppressors are to be blamed for the suffering of an impoverished ancient Israel. Chapter five consists of a contextual analysis of these ten psalms. It addresses the repetition of the three aforementioned elements in psalms that precede and follow them. The final chapter contains an assessment of the study's implications for future scholarship on the Psalter and for practical theology.Item The Psalmist in the Psalm: a persona-critical reading of Book IV of the Psalter.(2008-04-15T17:50:24Z) Maxwell, Nathan Dean.; Bellinger, W. H.; Religion.; Baylor University. Dept. of Religion.This dissertation offers a literary and theological reading of Book IV of the Psalter, a reading that is informed by the theory of the literary persona, as well as canonical-critical approaches to the Book of Psalms. This project argues that the speaker or speakers in a psalm are properly identified as literary personae, and should not be equated with the psalm's historical author. This distinction is hermeneutically significant insofar as the psalm's speaker is therefore oriented to the world of the poem rather than the reader’s knowledge of or access to the historical author. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that individual psalms may be read canonically, that is, interpreted in relation to one another and as a whole. Therefore, the literary personae of individual psalms may also be interpreted in this manner. According to a persona-critical reading of Book IV of the Psalter, readers encounter in these psalms many personae that, in their present literary context, collectively imagine a reoriented identity under the kingship of Yahweh. After identifying the utility of persona criticism for the interpretation of the Psalter in chapter one, the second chapter of this dissertation surveys the history and theory of persona. Chapter two essentially characterizes persona as a highly variable but inherent phenomenon of poetry that is distinct from the historical author and hermeneutically oriented to the world of the poem. Chapter three situates the persona theory within the context of ancient poetry. A brief survey of ancient Near Eastern texts demonstrates that persona criticism is indeed applicable to ancient poetry. The Psalter in particular is well suited to persona-critical analyses, though such an approach has not generally been emphasized by interpreters. The fourth chapter is an exegetical reading of Psalms 90-106. Collectively and in their present literary context, the personae of Book IV imagine and bespeak a reoriented identity under the kingship of Yahweh. These poetic personae, however, demonstrate a striking variety of characteristics that contribute to the overall theological thrust of Book IV. These characteristics are summarized, along with the overall results of the project, in chapter five.