02_VanWieringen_179_197 15/07/14 12:15 Pagina 179 Psalm 65 as Non-Appropriation Theology In the Bible, the receiver of God’s promises is not allowed to claim these promises. I call this biblical perspective non-appropri- ation theology. This non-appropriation theology can very often be observed in narrative texts. I have already pointed out that Gen 22,1-19 reflects this non-appropriation theology within the Abra- ham-cycle: Abraham does not himself outrightly possess the reali- zation of God’s promises, formulated in 12,2, but rather has to forfeit the realisation of these promises by giving up his son Isaac 1. In this article, I will uncover the non-appropriation theology which can be found in the poetic text of Psalm 65. The first-per- son-characters of Psalm 65 and, in their wake, the text-internal reader are usually supposed to enjoy the Lord’s blessings, such as being chosen and inhabiting the Promised Land. However, a com- munication analysis shows this interpretation to be rather problem- atic, for in Psalm 65 there is no identification at all between the first-person-characters and the recipients of the Lord’s blessings! The text-internal reader is also purposely blocked from being cho- sen and from receiving the Promised Land. A communication-ori- ented analysis makes it clear that the position of both the “I”-character and the text-internal reader can be described as being in a position of non-appropriation. This exegetical result matches ancient re-readings of the psalm. I will deal with two of them: the new heading of Psalm 65 in the Vulgate, and the use of Psalm 65 in the funeral liturgy according to the Roman rite. The reluctance to personally appropriate the promises made by the Lord in the psalm is theologically relevant. 1 A.L.H.M. VAN WIERINGEN, “The Reader in Genesis 22:1-19: Textsyntax – Textsemantics – Textpragmatics”, EstBíb 53 (1995) 289-304. BIBLICA 95.2 (2014) 179-197