A.L.H.M. van Wieringen, «Psalm 65 as Non-Appropriation Theology», Vol. 95 (2014) 179-197
The biblical perspective that a receiver of God's promises is not allowed to claim these promises is called non-appropriation theology. Psalm 65 can be read as an example of this non-appropriation theology. The 'I'- character does not claim the fertile Land but can only speak about the abundance of the harvest of their wheat (v. 10). The heading of Psalm 65, identifying the 'I'-character as David, preserves the non-appropriation theology. This non-appropriation theology is retained in the receptionhistory of Psalm 65, as can be found in the Septuagint and the liturgical use of Psalm 65 in the funeral Mass.
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What does the Psalter wish to make clear here? Psalm 72 indi-
cates that the ideal king, David, does not appropriate the kingship
to himself. Maybe Psalm 72 even goes a step further and identifies
the ideal kingship beyond David by mentioning the proper name
of Solomon. In this way, Psalm 72 rejects self-appropriation and,
parallel to Psalm 65, opens the window onto a theology of non-ap-
propriation.
VI. The “I”-character and the heading of Psalm 65(64)
in the Vulgate
In the text tradition, headings of psalms change and develop
very often. This is also the case in Psalm 65(64). The Vulgate con-
tains a different heading from the Hebrew text: canticum Hieremiae
et Ezechielis populo transmigrationis cum inciperent exire; “a song
of Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the people of the exile when they began
to depart” 24. The song is connected to two prophets, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, meant for the people in exile, at a very specific moment,
namely at the start of their return out of exile.
From the perspective of the exile, the names of the prophets Jer-
emiah and Ezekiel are significant. Jeremiah is the prophet par ex-
cellence regarding the beginning of the exile and the deportation
to Babel. At the very beginning of Jeremiah, in 1,3, the exile is al-
ready mentioned, and verse 27 of the final chapter repeats the exile.
The start of the exile, therefore, forms an inclusion of the entire
book of Jeremiah. Ezekiel, on the other hand, is the prophet par ex-
cellence regarding the beginning of the end of the exile. According
to 1,2, the book of Ezekiel starts in the exile, but the spatial décor
is transferred to Jerusalem very quickly. The prophet sees how God
prepares everything to make the return out of exile possible. One
of God’s activities in Jerusalem, to which the people must return
out of exile, is the building of the ideal temple. In Psalm 65, this
longing for the temple can be found in verse 5.
24 This heading goes back to the heading of Psalm 65(64) in the Septu-
agint; pace, among others, F. DELITZSCH, Psalms (Commentary on the Old
Testament; Grand Rapids, MI 1982) 226, who believes that this heading
makes no sense.