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12 - Wisdom Psalms

from Part II - Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Simon Chi-chung Cheung
Edited by
Katherine J. Dell
Edited in association with
Suzanna R. Millar  and
Arthur Jan Keefer
Katherine J. Dell
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Suzanna R. Millar
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Arthur Jan Keefer
Affiliation:
Eton College
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Summary

Simon Cheung discusses the scholarship surrounding the ‘wisdom psalms’, with an eye towards the varied proposals, as well as the grounds for and development of them over the last century. From this Cheung sets forth his own conception of wisdom psalms. They constitute ‘a family of psalms, with varying degrees of membership, that exhibit a wisdom-oriented constellation of its generic elements’. The core traits are likened to DNA, which can be more or less present, and mainly discerned in theme, tone and intention. ‘Wisdom psalms’, to some degree, then, feature wisdom, carry an ‘intellectual tone’ and a pedagogical intent, all of which Cheung inspects in Psalm 34:8–17. Overall, his approach may offer interpreters additional accuracy when considering wisdom and its influence within the Psalter.

Keywords

Wisdom psalmsPsalmsgenrethemetoneintentionpedagogyPsalm 34
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Wisdom Literature , pp. 219 - 238
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

Further Reading

Brown, Jeannine K. ‘Genre Criticism and the Bible’. Pages 111–150 in Words and the Word: Explorations in Biblical Interpretation and Literary Theory. Edited by Firth, David G. and Grant, Jamie. Nottingham: 2008.Google Scholar
Brown, William P. ‘Psalms’. Pages 67–86 in The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature. Edited by Adams, Samuel L. and Goff, Matthew. Hoboken; Chichester: 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, Simon Chi-chung. Wisdom Intoned: A Reappraisal of the Genre ‘Wisdom Psalms’. LHBOTS 613. New York; London: 2015.Google Scholar
Crenshaw, James L. ‘Wisdom Psalms?’. CurBS 8 (2000): 9–17.Google Scholar
Fishelov, David. Metaphors of Genre: The Role of Analogies in Genre Theory. University Park: 1993.Google Scholar
Gillingham, Susan E. ‘“I Will Incline My Ear to a Proverb; I Will Solve My Riddle to the Music of the Harp” (Psalm 49.4): The Wisdom Tradition and the Psalms’. Pages 277–309 in Perspectives on Israelite Wisdom: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar. Edited by Jarick, John. LHBOTS 618. London; 2016.Google Scholar
Gunkel, Hermann, and Begrich, Joachim. Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of Religious Lyrics of Israel. Translated by James D. Nogalski. Mercer Library of Biblical Studies. Macon: 1998.Google Scholar
Kuntz, J. Kenneth. ‘Canonical Wisdom Psalms of Ancient Israel’. Pages 186–222 in Rhetorical Criticism: Essays in Honour of James Muilenburg. Edited by Jackson, J. J. and Kessler, M.. Pittsburgh: 1974.Google Scholar
Mowinckel, Sigmund. ‘Psalms and Wisdom’. Pages 205–224 in Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East: Presented to H. H. Rowley by the Society for Old Testament Study in Association with the Editorial Board of Vetus Testamentum, in Celebration of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday, 24 March 1955. Edited by Noth, Martin and Thomas, D. Winton. VTSup 3. Leiden: 1955.Google Scholar
Murphy, Roland E. ‘A Consideration of the Classification “Wisdom Psalms”’. Pages 156–167 in Congress Volume Bonn 1962. Edited by Anderson, G. W.. VTSup 9. Leiden: 1962.Google Scholar
Sneed, Mark R. The Social World of the Sages: An Introduction to Israelite and Jewish Wisdom Literature. Minneapolis: 2015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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