| CODE | SHG2262 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | The Book of Psalms | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sacred Scripture, Hebrew and Greek | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will firstly deal with the notion of poetry as a genre, noting its main characteristics as exhibited in the Book of Psalms. It will then move into a study of different genres (lament, royal, Zion, trust, wisdom genres etc.), paying due attention to their position in the Psalter as well as delving into the formation of the whole collection of psalms. The greater part of the study-unit will be the critical analysis of a number of select psalms of differing types in order to understand their structure, content, and theology. This will lead to an appreciation of differing theologies in this book. Finally, analysis of a synchronic nature will be presented such that psalms may be read and analysed within the larger context of the whole book and not simply as independent compositions. Study-Unit Aims: The aims of the study-unit are to present the Book of Psalms as a literary composition that expresses different theologies stemming from the different contexts out of which the psalms hailed, and to demonstrate the richness of these compositions. It will expose students to the methods employed in analysing these texts, making them aware of the connections between the psalms that resulted from strategies used by the redactors who compiled them. In the process, the relationship of psalms to the larger corpus of Old Testament literature will be studied, showing how each psalm is a microcosm of the latter. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - explain the difference between different types of genres; - delineate the basic process of the formation of the Book of Psalms; - identify the genre or genres of psalms; - interpret the meaning of psalm texts in the light of their "setting in life", that is the context in which they were born. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - categorize psalms into their different genres; - analyse psalms critically in order to elucidate their meaning from a historical-critical and a synchronic perspective; - contrast psalms containing different theologies; - theorize about the formation of individual psalms. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry (New York: Basic Books, 2011). - Brown, William P. The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms (New York, Ny: Oxford University Press, 2014). - Crenshaw, James L. The Psalms: An Introduction (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, Cop, 2001). - Flint, Peter W., and Patrick D. Miller. The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception (Leiden: Brill, 2005). - Gillingham, Susan. Jewish and Christian Approaches to the Psalms: Conflict and Convergence (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2015). - 鈥淪tudies of the Psalms: Retrospect and Prospect.鈥� The Expository Times 119, no. 5 (February 2008): 209鈥�216. - Gunkel, Hermann, and Joachim Begrich. Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2020). - J. Clinton McCann. Psalms (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011). - Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Psalms 1-59: A Continental Commentary. Translated by Hilton C. Oswald (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993). - Psalms 60-150: A Continental Commentary. Translated by Hilton C. Oswald (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993). - Theology of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992). Supplementary Readings: - Bland, Dave, and David Fleer, eds. Performing the Psalms: With Essays and Sermons by Walter Brueggemann, J. Clinton McCann Jr., Paul Scott Wilson, and Others (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press, 2005). - Brown, Sally A., and Patrick D. Miller. Lament: Reclaiming Practices in Pulpit, Pew, and Public Square (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005). - Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51-100. Edited by Klaus Baltzer (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005). - McCann, Clinton, ed. The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993). - Mitchell, David C. The Message of the Psalter: An Eschatological Programme in the Book of Psalms (Newton Mearns: Campbell Publications, 2017). - Schmutzer, Andrew J., and David M. Howard. The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2013). - Seybold, Klaus. Introducing the Psalms (Edinburgh: T & T Clark Ltd, 1990). - Watson, Wilfred G. E. Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to Its Techniques (Sheffield; Sheffield Academic Press, 2001). - Zenger, Erich. The Composition of the Book of Psalms (Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters, 2010). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Stefan Attard |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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