"Stephen J. Smith enters the lively discussion of canonical or editorial-criticism of the Hebrew Psalter with this detailed investigation into one of its constituent collections, Psalms 73-83. In the book, he addresses scholarly disagreement over this collection's structure, the degree and nature of its literary unity, and its primary message. Smith argues that Psalms 73-82 - and possibly 83 - are deliberately arranged to resolve the disorienting collision between Israel's faith, traditional theology, and the experience of God's prolonged absence amid the sixth century exilic crisis. Smith contends that the collection is structured by a recursive, rather than linear, organizing principle. Over the book's nine chapters, he makes the case that the collection's editor(s) grouped its psalms into two major blocks (74-78; 79-82), composed of two sub-groupings each (74-76, 77-78; 79/82, 80-81), in order to develop a single topic in multiple dimensions: the severe threat that God's prolonged absence in the temple's destruction posed to Israel's traditional theology, and ultimately God's goodness. The collection has been shaped to resolve this crisis by encouraging resolute commitment to Israel's theology, most fundamentally God's goodness, in the face of its apparent failure."--

Stephen J. Smith enters the lively field of editorial-criticism of the Hebrew Psalter or Psalterexegese with this detailed investigation into the final form of Psalms 73-83. In the book, he engages scholarly disagreements over this collection's structure, the degree and nature of its literary unity, and the primary theological message(s) it communicates. Smith argues that the sequence of Psalms 73–82 - and possibly 83 – has a deliberate design that reflects a sustained focus on addressing, and resolving, a multidimensional collision between “faith” (i.e., core Israelite beliefs about God) and “experience” (i.e., the individual/community's lived experience of God) that was precipitated by God's prolonged absence in the Temple's destruction (c. 586/587 BCE). Parting ways with previous scholarship, Smith contends that a recursive organizing principle rooted in biblical parallelism structures the collection. Over the book's nine chapters, he makes the case that the editor(s) grouped its psalms into two major blocks (74-78; 79-82) of two sub-groupings each (74-76, 77-78; 79/82, 80-81) in order to develop a single topic in multiple dimensions: the severe threat that God's prolonged absence in the temple's destruction posed to the ongoing viability of various core Israelite beliefs about God, most fundamentally God's goodness. Smith makes the case that the collection is shaped to resolve this crisis by bolstering the reader's confidence in, and commitment to, these beliefs in the face of their apparent failure.

The Psalms as Christian Scripture. Reading the Psalms Theologically presents rich biblical-theological studies on the Psalter. Reading the Psalter as a Unified Book: Recent Trends (David M. Howard and Michael K. Snearly) The Macrostructural Design and Logic of the Psalter: An Unfurling of the Davidic Covenant (Peter C. W. Ho) David's Biblical Theology and Typology in the Psalms: Authorial Intent and Patterns of the Seed of Promise (James M. Hamilton) A Story in the Psalms? Narrative Structure at the "Seams" of the Psalter's Five Books (David "Gunner" Gunderson) Does the Book of Psalms Present a Divine Messiah? (Seth D. Postell) The Suffering Servant in Book V of the Psalter (Jill Firth) Excavating the "Fossil Record" of a Metaphor: The Use of the Verb nasa' as "to forgive" in the Psalter (C. Hassell Bullock) The Art of Lament in Lamentations (May Young) The Psalms of Lament and the Theology of the Cross (Rolf A. Jacobson) "In Sheol, who can give you praise?" Death in the Psalms (Philip S. Johnston) Psalm 32: More Accurately a Declarative Praise than Penitential Psalm (Daniel J. Estes) Theology of the Nations in the Book of Psalms (Ryan J. Cook) Psalm 87 and the Promise of Inclusion (Jamie A. Grant) YHWH Among the Gods: The Trial for Justice in Psalm 82 (Andrew J. Schmutzer) Reclaiming Divine Sovereignty in the Anthropocene: Psalms 93–100 and the Convergence of Theology and Ecology (J. Clinton McCann) A Theology of Glory: Divine Sanctum and Service in the Psalter (Jerome Skinner) Perceptions of Divine Presence in the Levitical Psalms of Book 2: The Paradox of Distance and Proximity (J. Nathan Clayton) Psalm 110, Jesus, and Melchizedek (David C. Mitchell) The essays interpret the Psalms as a carefully-composed book. Each study focuses on a biblical or theological topic, drawing insights from past interpreters and current scholarship.

This study identifies and describes the basic building blocks of a biblical psalm: the levels of colon, verse, strophe and stanza. In this study eleven psalms have been chosen with stanzas that are clearly demarcated by the presence of refrains. Seven of these are analysed thoroughly (Psalms 42-43, 46, 49, 56, 57, 59) and another four more briefly (Psalms 39, 67, 80, 99). This is a timely and closely argued statement of the importance of integrating structure and content in one's interpretation of a psalm.

This book is a collection of essays on purificaton and atonement in the Hebrew Bible that provides new insights into the discussion of these ideas by looking at the values of sociological and anthropological approaches to the topics. The collection also examines multivalence and polyvalence in ritual and asks to what extent it is possible to speak of the function or meaning of ritual, even within the highly systematic priestly texts.

The Book of Isaiah is considered one of the greatest prophetic works in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The complex history of the book's composition, over several time periods, can often perplex and enthrall. The editors to this volume encourage readers to engage deeply with the text in order to get a grasp of the traces and signs within it that can be seen to point to the book's process of composition and ongoing reinterpretation over time. The contributions discuss suggested segments of composition and levels of interpretation, both within the book of Isaiah and its history of reception. The book is divided into two sections: in the first part certain motifs that have come to Isaiah from a distant past are traced through to their origins. Arguments for a suggested 'Josianic edition' are carefully evaluated, and the relationship between the second part of Isaiah and the Book of Psalms is discussed, as are the motifs of election and the themes of Zion theology and the temple. The second part of the book focuses on the history of reception and looks at Paul's use of the book of Isaiah, and how the book is used, and perhaps misused in a contemporary setting in the growing churches in Africa. With a range of international specialists, including Hugh Williamson, Tommy Wasserman, and Knut Holter, this is an excellent resource for scholars seeking to understand Isaiah in a greater depth.

In a penetrating analysis, Broyles breaks open the category of the psalms of 'lament', arguing that this conventional grouping encloses two quite different kinds of psalms. Not only are there the psalms of 'plea', which affirm the praise of God and belong theologically on the side of faith, but there are a darker group, the psalms of 'protest' or 'complaint', which depict God as absent or hostile. These psalms portray the conflict between the traditions of faith and the religious experience of the psalmist. The study, a revision of the author's Sheffield PhD thesis, thus proposes a realignment of the form-critical categories in the Psalms, and at the same time engages with a much neglected element in Hebrew piety, the charge against God.