M.A. (Biblical Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. / The time between the rhyming of the Psalms in 1936 and the subsequent rhyming thereof in 2001 is approximately 70 years. From 1936 to 2001 society has undergone drastic change. Such societal change normally influences language use and structure and brings about incremental and subtle changes in the language, resulting in new meaning being given to words and phrases in the new societal context. Such changes are mostly found in the lexicon of the relevant language. The lexicon is the medium of transmitting meaning, and if the meaning of the lexical item has changed in subsequent generations to the extent that the speakers of one generation do not understand the previous generation, it has become indicative of extensive modification of the language. The singing of the Psalms is historically associated with the accuracy of meaning transmitted by the Scripture by means of user-friendly language usage. Standardised use of language is always linked to aging and closely linked to the progress of time. The renewing of an aging language is important for subsequent generations to facilitate meaningful interpretative singing of the Psalms. However, the renewal of the religious register of the Psalms should always meet the rigorous test of accuracy to the Scripture as Calvin laid it down as a primary prerequisite during the Reformation. Because of the aging of language, as is the case with Afrikaans, the 1936 rhyming of the Psalms was done to facilitate the changes in the normal use of the language and to bring it closer to the la nguage then in use. In this way the standardisation of the language used in the rhyming of the Psalms was established, in accordance with the normal use of standard Afrikaans. During the past 70 odd years the religious register of Afrikaans aged again and resulted in the need for a new rhyming of the Psalms in accordance with the changed register of the language. This resulted in the 2001 rhyming of the Psalms and other Scripture-related hymns, attempting to bridge the gap between the register of formal religion and contemporary language. Using the DE-method, the psalmographer eliminated lexical items with a low frequency of use from the religious register as understanding of and access to these items by the user of the Psalm have become limited. Lexical items with a high frequency of use were selected and these words have moved into the current religious register. Changes in a language are subject to social forces and tensions. The forces of the changing modern society have led to the need to establish a new rhyme to the Psalms. Thus the formal reformative religious register was removed from the Psalms and replaced by the 2001 rhyme, which is representative of current language usage. The use of the new register is successful in the effective transfer of meaning as the essence of the Scripture was retained. Notwithstanding the loss of the archaic expressions of the 1936 rhyme in the 2001 version, the presence and expansion of meaning of core information is very much evident in the 2001 rhyme. By elimination of the great amount of archaic lexical expressions from the 1936 rhyme from the 2001 version, a clear movement in the reformative religious register of Afrikaans was executed. The social influence of the unsatisfactory acquisition of lexical items by the younger generation, pushing out the older form from the register, is very much evident in the register of the Psalms. The 2001 rhyme accelerates the process of elimination of such archaic und inaccessible lexical items from the register. The empirical study indicates the fact that many such archaic forms are already passive in especially the older generation and that active use of such archaic items has disappeared. The study furthermore indicates that Afrikaans contains enough synonyms to facilitate an effective transfer of meaning in such a new rhyme. These synonyms are established and standardised lexical items functioning as common language since the new translation of the Bible in Afrikaans (1983). The changes in language are subject to linguistic forces. Simplification is the most prominent linguistic force that manifests itself in the 2001 rhyme of the Psalms. Simplification makes it easier to understand the core content of the psalms and makes it accessible to all speakers of Afrikaans. Simplification is not only the decrease of lexical items in the language but includes adding difficult or expanded forms that bring balance to the process of change in the language. This adds value to the lexicon, as the items chosen for the rhyme are taken from the language register in its current form. The process is also in a sense held back by the fact that some items from the 1936 rhyme are still used in the 2001 version, putting a constraint on the development of the relevant lexicon. The modification of a language through simplification is mainly the result of reduction and expansion. The skills of the psalmographer resulted in both expansion and reduction as linguistic elements being present in the 2001 rhyme. The empirical study has shown tha t the psalmographer has not used the available synonyms. Instead, the psalmographer has used a total new approach by using a selection of techniques in the 2001 rhyme. These techniques focus on a tight use of specific rhyme patterns evident in the Psalms and its concomitant language usage resulting in extending the understanding of the psalms by the reader. This has also led to the effective communication by means of the reformative religious register. The psalmographer succeeded in creating a unique psa lm register and treasure. By virtue of their imbedded sacral element religious registers are strongly preservative factors preventing the acceptance and change of common language. Acceptance of the 2001 rhyme has already taken place as the rhyme is based on sound Scriptural principles, convincing the reformist reader of the Psalms of its truthfulness and credibility. The use of the accepted common language as already manifested in the new translation of the Bible (1983) also contributes to the acceptance of the 2001 rhyme. This is further reinforced by the appearance of common language usage in authoritative dictionaries presenting such lexicon items as standardised Afrikaans in a rapidly changing society. Intense language transformation is present in the Afrikaans lexicon. Observing the presence of intense change in the most conservative register of a language, that of religion emphasises the intensity of the social and linguistic powers at work in Afrikaans.

This dissertation argues that Book IV of the canonical Hebrew Psalter (Pss 90–106) sustains the hope that God will keep his covenant with David by installing a future king from David’s line. Chapter 1 introduces the debate, states the thesis, surveys the history of psalmic interpretation, and summarizes recent canonical views that see David either diminished or sustained in Book IV. Chapter 2 presents an eclectic canonical methodology that honors the five-book division, accounts for superscriptions, incipits, and closings, senses a broad narrative progression, acknowledges psalmic collections, recognizes lexical, thematic, and structural resonance beween psalms, and considers inner-biblical allusions. Chapter 3 explores the covenantal contradiction in Psalm 89 and proposes that Psalm 90 continues and complements the lament in Psalm 89 which questioned the character and reign of God due to the fallen Davidic throne and the severed Davidic line. Chapter 4 analyzes Psalms 90–92 and argues that a reimagined Moses enters Book IV to intercede for Israel (90) in response to the unfulfilled Davidic covenant in Psalm 89. Psalms 90–92 then allude to Deuteronomy 32–33 and progress from pained petition (90) to promised protection (91) to restored rejoicing (92). Chapter 5 explores the message and function of Psalm 101 and argues that its intra-book links, Davidic title, royal voice, lamenting tone, future orientation, inter-psalm allusions, and strategic placement make it a central psalm sustaining Davidic hope in Book IV. Chapter 6 explores the lexical and thematic resonance among Psalms 90, 102, and 103 and argues that the afflicted Davidide in Psalm 102 applies and echoes the plaintive prayer of Moses in Psalm 90 and that the Davidic praise in Psalm 103 answers both Psalms 90 and 102. Thus David is forgiven and restored along with the people in Psalm 103. Chapter 7 concludes by reviewing the evidence from each chapter and proposing that the overall structure and message of Book IV sustains the hope that God will keep his covenant with David.

Este trabalho apresenta a análise do salmo 137. Apontamos quais são os sujeitos falantes neste salmo identificando, então, uma multiplicidade de vozes. Comentaristas e exegetas bíblicos analisam estas vozes sob diferentes perspectivas. Propomos apresentar um paralelo destas interpretações , assim como também analisar o modo como tais vozes estão organizadas no salmo de forma que, mesmo com múltiplos falantes, o poema convirja para um único ponto de vista, formando a unicidade do salmo: o lamento pelo exílio e as possíveis réplicas para a crise instaurada. / This paper presents the analysis of Psalm 137. Pointed out which are the subject identifying speakers in this psalm, then a multiplicity of voices. Biblical exegetes and commentators analyze these voices from different perspectives. We propose a parallel display of these interpretations, as well as examine how these voices are arranged so that in the psalm, even with multiple speakers, the poem converge to a single point of view, forming the unity of the psalm: the lament for the exile and possible replies to the crisis brought.

The Psalter has formed the basis of Judeo-Christian worship since ancient times. It has served, and continues to serve, individuals and communities of faith as a foundation for communal and personal devotion. As a devotional tool it is unique in that it provides prayers which address God directly concerning the whole gamut of life experience. While the Psalms can be examined and analysed as a literary text, they must be used and experienced by people to more fully discover and recognize their power in providing a pathway for expressing life experience. The lament psalms are of particular interest in this regard. There appears to be a reluctance, in some quarters, to employ them as an expression of prayer. As a result, the lament psalms as a way of engaging with experiences of personal distress, and voicing the reflections and responses such experiences produce, have often been ignored. This study suggests that psalms of lament provide a framework for expressing personal distress in the context of prayer. The framework, identified as a matrix of lament, consists of various modes of articulation characterized as expressing, asserting, investing and imagining constellations. The study examines what happens when individuals, who have first been made aware of the matrix of lament and its constellations, use lament psalms for prayer. Praying of lament psalms in this study is embedded in a prescribed process through which participants engage with their experiences of personal distress. As a result of such a process any significant psychodynamic changes which may take place can be observed, examined and explored, thereby, highlighting the efficacy of using lament psalms as a form of prayer. The study achieves this by examining the reflections and responses of selected individuals to see whether the process does in fact facilitate changes in the individual’s levels of distress, sense of personal control over distress and the nature of relationship between the individual and God. The reflections and responses also provide some indication of how the process might ‘birth’ a fresh perspective on personal distress for those who choose to incorporate these psalms into their journey of faith.

This dissertation investigates ways in which early Jewish communities conceptualized the production and collection of writing. Through a study of 11QPsalms-a, the Qumran Psalms Scroll, it shows how modern book culture (shaped by the canon, codex, print, authorial copyright, and scholarly editing) has distorted our understanding of ancient texts and fostered anachronistic questions about their creation and reception. Taking seriously what early Jewish texts have to say about their own writtenness and building upon earlier scholarship on scriptural multiformity, the dissertation also uses theoretical insights from the field of Book History to study the identity, assembly, and literary context of the Psalms Scroll as an example of the ancient textual imagination. Physical and discursive evidence suggest that no concept of a “Book of Psalms” existed as a coherent entity in the ancient Jewish imagination, but that psalms collections were conceptualized and created in looser, unbounded ways. New metaphors made possible by electronic text, which likewise cannot be constrained into the categories of print book culture, can encourage new ways of imagining ancient concepts of fluid textuality as well. After a study of the status and compilation of the Psalms Scroll (Ch. 1-2), the dissertation engages the question of Davidic authorship (Ch. 3). David was not imagined as the author of a particular psalms collection, but as the inaugurator of a variety of liturgical traditions. The identity between an individual figure and a specific text should be unbound in favour of a looser relationship, allowing for the continuing growth of traditions inspired by the figure. Chapters 4 and 5 present a reading of the Psalms Scroll and Davidic lore alongside two other traditions: Ben Sira and angelic ascent literature. Both possess literary links with the Psalms Scroll, but also shed light on the ways in which ancient communities imagined writing and understood their own relationship to their texts. Thus, reading across canonical and generic boundaries embeds psalms traditions in a richer context of reception and provides a fuller picture of the ancient textual imagination. The conclusion makes a comparative gesture toward the Nachleben of psalms collecting in Syriac Christianity.

This dissertation investigates ways in which early Jewish communities conceptualized the production and collection of writing. Through a study of 11QPsalms-a, the Qumran Psalms Scroll, it shows how modern book culture (shaped by the canon, codex, print, authorial copyright, and scholarly editing) has distorted our understanding of ancient texts and fostered anachronistic questions about their creation and reception. Taking seriously what early Jewish texts have to say about their own writtenness and building upon earlier scholarship on scriptural multiformity, the dissertation also uses theoretical insights from the field of Book History to study the identity, assembly, and literary context of the Psalms Scroll as an example of the ancient textual imagination. Physical and discursive evidence suggest that no concept of a “Book of Psalms” existed as a coherent entity in the ancient Jewish imagination, but that psalms collections were conceptualized and created in looser, unbounded ways. New metaphors made possible by electronic text, which likewise cannot be constrained into the categories of print book culture, can encourage new ways of imagining ancient concepts of fluid textuality as well. After a study of the status and compilation of the Psalms Scroll (Ch. 1-2), the dissertation engages the question of Davidic authorship (Ch. 3). David was not imagined as the author of a particular psalms collection, but as the inaugurator of a variety of liturgical traditions. The identity between an individual figure and a specific text should be unbound in favour of a looser relationship, allowing for the continuing growth of traditions inspired by the figure. Chapters 4 and 5 present a reading of the Psalms Scroll and Davidic lore alongside two other traditions: Ben Sira and angelic ascent literature. Both possess literary links with the Psalms Scroll, but also shed light on the ways in which ancient communities imagined writing and understood their own relationship to their texts. Thus, reading across canonical and generic boundaries embeds psalms traditions in a richer context of reception and provides a fuller picture of the ancient textual imagination. The conclusion makes a comparative gesture toward the Nachleben of psalms collecting in Syriac Christianity.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of Iowa. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, p. 166-[173]). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of Iowa. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, p. 166-[173]).