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.
The Coherence of Psalms 15–24
I. A Short Status Quaestionis
Over the past few years there have been a number of articles
which have argued that the sequence of Psalms 15–24 is a highly
structured and relatively self-contained unit. The first scholar to pub-
lish this thesis was the French structuralist, Pierre Auffret (1982) 1.
In addition to identifying what he considered to be semantically sig-
nificant verbal and thematic symmetries between the psalms, his
most significant observation was that the psalms were arranged into
a concentric pattern rotating around Psalm 19 at their centre. All the
other psalms in the sub-collection are arranged into a parallel pair on
either side of Psalm 19, creating a chiasm with the pattern A.B.C.D.
E.D’.C’.B’.A’ (E = Psalm 19). The criterion for arrangement appears
to be the psalm’s genre 2, and may be portrayed as follows:
A Ps 15 (Entrance Liturgy)
B Ps 16 (Song of Trust)
C Ps 17 (Prayer for Help)
D Ps 18 (Royal Psalm)
E Ps 19 (Creation/Torah Psalm)
D’ Pss 20–21 (Royal Psalms)
C’ Ps 22 (Prayer for Help)
B’ Ps 23 (Song of Trust)
A Ps 24 (Entrance Liturgy) 3.
P. AUFFRET, “Les Psaumes 15 à 24 comme ensemble structuréâ€, La
1
sagesse a bâti sa maison. Études de structures littéraires dans l’Ancien Tes-
tament et spécialement dans les psaumes (Fribourg–Göttingen 1982).
On the importance of genre for the editorial arrangement of the Psalter,
2
see M. MILLARD, Die Komposition des Psalters. Ein formgeschichtlicher
Ansatz (FAT 9; Tübingen 1994).
This pattern is provided by W. BROWN, “‘Here Comes the Sun!’ The
3
Metaphorical Theology of Psalms 15–24â€, The Composition of the Book of
Psalms (ed. E. ZENGER) (BETL 238; Leuven 2010) 259-277; here, 260.
BIBLICA 94.2 (2013) 186-209
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