Seeing the Psalms

by Brown, William P.

• ISBN13: 9780664225025
• ISBN10: 0664225020
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

William Brown introduces a new method of exegesis, particularly for biblical poetry, that attends to the metaphorical contours of the Psalms. His method as proposed and demonstrated in this book supplements traditional ways of interpreting the Psalms and results in a fresh understanding of their original context and contemporary significance.

Author Biography

William P. Brown is Professor of Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Abbreviations and Symbols	p. xi
Introduction: A Poetics of the Psalmic Imagination	p. 1
The Iconic Metaphor	p. 3
The Poetic Imagination	p. 8
Contemporary Context	p. 13
Modus Operandi	p. 14
"In the Shadow of Shaddai": The Metaphor of Refuge	p. 15
Introduction	p. 16
The Refuge Metaphor	p. 18
"I Shall Walk in Freedom": The Metaphor of Pathway	p. 31
The Way of Tora	p. 32
Path of Peril and Salvation	p. 36
Pathway and Refuge	p. 39
The "Ritual" of Habitation	p. 51
The Transplanted Tree: Psalm 1 and the Psalter's Threshold	p. 55
Translation	p. 55
Tree and Tora	p. 57
True Tree: Positive Connotations	p. 58
Knotty Tree: Negative Connotations	p. 71
The Arbor in the Psalter's Landscape	p. 75
Conclusion	p. 78
The Sun of Righteousness: Psalm 19 and the Joy of Lex	p. 81
Translation	p. 81
Deus Praesens: The Background of Solar Imagery	p. 84
Reading Psalm 19	p. 89
The Purification of the Individual	p. 97
The Light of the Law	p. 99
Image and Icon: The Synagogue Mosaics	p. 100
Conclusion	p. 103
The Voice of Many Waters: From Chaos to Community	p. 105
Fear of Drowning	p. 106
Affliction as Desiccation	p. 121
Refreshment and Renewal	p. 122
From Thirst to Inundation: Psalm 42:1-8	p. 132
The Song of Leviathan: God's Theater of Praise	p. 135
Animals as Metaphors	p. 136
From Metaphor to Creation	p. 153
Call of the Wild: The Conclusion of the Psalter	p. 162
"On You I Was Cast from My Birth": The Anatomy of a Personal God	p. 167
The Distinctiveness of Divinity	p. 167
Divine Anatomy	p. 169
Roles of God	p. 187
"As the Mountains Surround Jerusalem": Mapping the Divine	p. 197
Light	p. 197
Metaphors of Protection	p. 199
Fountain	p. 203
Possession: "Portion" and "Cup"	p. 204
Conclusion: In Defense of Iconic Reflection: The Case of Psalm 139	p. 207
The Metaphorical Contours of Psalm 139	p. 207
Postscript: A Theology of Prayer and Poesis	p. 213
Notes	p. 217
Scripture and Ancient Source Index	p. 263
Author/Subject Index	p. 271
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