Matt Mings on 
Brian Niece on The ShadowPath of YHWH’s Open Story — Part 1
Almost everyday of the year I read a psalm. Sometimes I read the same one over and over. I’ve been particularly interested in a certain set of the Hebrew Psalter. Bear with me …
Why Psalm 1 (and 2)?
Though there is wide consensus in recent research on the Hebrew Psalter that Psalm 1 was placed as an introduction to the collection, little study investigates linguistic cues that link Psalm 1–and possibly Psalm 2–thematically with the remainder of the Psalter in order to define with any specificity why Psalm 1 is selected as the shaping psalm.[1]
Of a general nature, it is widely suggested that Psalm 1 has two main emphases intended to direct the understanding of subsequent psalms: the centrality of torah and the primacy of the righteous over against the wicked. In the traditional understanding, torah has come to be associated with various commands stemming from the Deuteronomic history, the Levitical codes, and so forth. The plight of the righteous versus that of the wicked has been determined in stark either/or worldview terms that propose a dichotomy of ‘two ways.’
However, there is more richness to the depth of torah, and more complex tones to the plight of humanity, than such general observations set forward. Linguistic concepts of torah, ‘the way,’ and ‘refuge,’ give rise to a hermeneutical lens for the Psalter that is equally shaped by Psalms 1 and 2 as a launching pad for the scriptural hymnbook.
Likewise, in microcosm, this interpretive shape can be examined specifically in the Korahite Psalms (42-49; 84-85; 87-88). What unfolds may not necessarily be two ways, but one way that allows for much movement in the God who makes room in his life for angry prayer, glorious doxology, and plenty more in between.
Part 2 to follow …
[1] This is an observation of
Jerome F.D. Creach, “Like a Tree Planted by the Temple Stream: The Portrait of the Righteous in Psalm 1:3,” in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly (Jan 1999), 35.
SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
How do you think Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are linked?
——
Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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Category: Scripture | Tags: hebrew psalter, psalm, psalms, Scripture, torah One comment »
September 15th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
[...] This is the second part of a continuing post. Read Part 1 here. [...]