This study examines Book IV ofthe Hebrew Psalter to understand the editorial purpose ofthe book in itsfinal canonical form. After Wilson, many scholars have agreed that the Psalms is the result ofintentional editorial activity and that Book IV provides an answer to the failure ofthe Davidic covenant illustrated in Ps 89: exalting YHWH’s exclusive kingship over the world and diminishing Davidic kingship. Against the prevailing notion that David is deemphasized in Book IV, I argue that the editors ofthe Psalter anticipate an ideal messianic figure by amalgamating the imageries of Moses, the great intercessor, and David, the great king. This thesis employs canonical and literary approaches to explore the seventeen psalms within Book IV (Pss 90-106), with a special interest in how the book responds to the issue ofthe seemingly broken Davidic covenant in Ps 89. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Chronicles was composed in the postexilic period when the Jews were without their own king and were living under the rule of the Persian Empire and the Greek dynasties of the Ptolemies and Seleucids. In view of the apparently eternal nature of the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:11b-16), this loss of sovereignty would have posed a difficult problem for the Jews. To be sure, Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of the Davidic kingdom, was appointed as governor of Yehud by the Persian king Darius (Hag 1:1) and received YHWH’s promise of being his ‘signet ring’ (Hag 2:23); however, he could not and did not re-establish the kingdom of David. When the Jews lost their political leadership in the postexilic period, religious personnel appeared to play an increasingly important role as leaders of the Temple centered community. Along with Zerubbabel, Joshua, the high priest of the Jewish community that had returned from the exile, led the project of rebuilding the Temple (Hag 1:1; Ezra 3:2). The book of Chronicles reflects this Temple-centered community and deals in much detail with issues relating to the cultic personnel. The two main figures in Chronicles, David and Solomon, are presented respectively as the one who prepares (1 Chr 22; 28:1-29:20), and the one who completes (2 Chr 2:1-5:1) the Temple building project. Furthermore, the Chronicler evaluates the Judaic kings who reigned after Solomon in relation to their piety and their service in the Temple.5 Those who were considered ‘good’ kings worshipped God in the Temple according to the divine commandment, diligently repairing and restoring the Temple, whereas those who were considered ‘bad’ kings were negligent in their worship of YHWH and in their preservation of the Temple. In the context of this postexilic Temple-centred cultic society, the question may be asked: Does the Chronicler hope for the revival of the Davidic kingdom in view of the seemingly and eternally binding, unconditional Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:12-16; 1 Chr 17:11-14), or is he satisfied with its replacement by the postexilic, Temple-centered cultic society?.

The purpose of this dissertation is to identify the semantics of honor and shame in the Hebrew Bible and to demonstrate how these social values intersect with Israel's fundamental social organizing principle, covenant. Though many scholars have claimed that honor and shame are pivotal values for biblical Israel and that covenant is fundamental to her conception of the divine-human relationship, no work attempting to explore the juncture of these two important social phenomena has appeared. Thus, our study has two major goals: (1) establish the semantics of honor and shame in the Hebrew Bible; and (2) demonstrate that honor and shame, however conceived in context, are pivotal to biblical Israel's understanding of her covenantal relationship with YHWH in Deuteronomy 28 and 2 Samuel 7. With regard to Deuteronomy 28, which defines Israel’s understanding of covenantal fidelity, we show that honor is depicted as pre-eminent military and economic status among the nations and as a major goal of the covenantal blessings and designed to motivate Israel to greater loyalty (vv. 1, 13). Shame, however, is not just the loss of pre-eminent status (vv. 44, 48), but also the loss of social existence (v. 68). The explicit covenantal formulation of both values appears unique to Israel, despite her adoption of other ancient Near Eastern covenantal forms.With regard to the 2 Samuel 7, we argue YHWH honors David and Zadok with eternal royal and priestly positions because Saul and Eli failed to honor YHWH (e.g., 1 Sam 2:30), but also because David and Zadok would be loyal (e.g., 2:35). As a result, David will be given “a name like the name of all of the great ones of the earth” (2 Sam 7:9), denoting David’s military superiority (8:13). Moreover, we show that from a Deuteronomistic prespective, the discipline of the Davidides in 2 Samuel 7:14–15, entails royal shaming (1 Kgs 11:31). Thus, we prove that, while honor and shame are variously conceived in both covenants, they are pivotal to our understanding of the divine-human relationship in the Hebrew Bible. / Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations