Patterns and Pleasure: Participants in Psalm 16

Old Testament essays, 2010

It is argued in this article that the common interpretation of Ps 1 as a call for obedience, a view exemplified by Walter Brueggemann’s influential article, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon,” does not quite capture the emphasis of the text. While it is true that Ps 1 affirms the lifestyle of the “righteous,” righteousness is not limited to or equated with “obedience.” The psalm points to the affections rather than to behaviour as the key element of the righteous person—“his delight is in the Torah of Yahweh” (Ps 1:2). Instead of calling for obedience to the Torah, Ps 1 evokes affection for the Torah. This important move suggests that the study of biblical poetry in general and of the Psalms in particular can benefit from an approach that is attuned to the passions that are inherent in the text and the passions that are brought to the text by the interpreter. A INTRODUCTION Recent studies of the Psalms have continued to include generous attention to the canonical...

2015

OTE 29 (2016) 378–380 (English, cf. pdf) / AfeT Rezensionen 05 (2017) (German, cf. link)

Old Testament Essays, 2016

Mit meinem Gott überspringe ich Mauern/By my God I leap over a wall., 2020

Reception Aesthetics of the Psalms A Third Space for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, in: Christian Frevel (Hrsg.), Mit meinem Gott überspringe ich Mauern/By my God I leap over a wall. Interreligiöse Horizonte in den Psalmen und Psalmenstudien (Herders Biblische Studien 96) Freiburg i. Br. 2020, 415‒432.

2020

English Studies, 2009