Susan Gillingham - Psalms Through the Centuries, Volume 3

Book Three is a selection of seventeen psalms, mainly communal in tone, whose shared themes include the destruction of the temple, the dispersion of the people and the humiliation of the king. Two early crises seem to have given rise to the composition and preservation of these psalms: the defeat of the northern kingdom by Assyria (722–21 BCE), and the defeat of the southern kingdom of Judah by Babylon (597–96 and 587–86 BCE). As for their reception history, most of these psalms have been interpreted further in the light of other later crises, such as the desecration of the Temple under Antiochus Epiphanes in c. 167 BCE, the fall of Jerusalem under Titus in 70 CE, the fall of Rome in 410 CE, the fate of Jerusalem during the Crusades in 1099 CE and 1187 CE, and, later, the fate of Constantinople in 1204 CE and 1453 CE. The earliest Assyrian and Babylonian crises nevertheless left an indelible mark on these psalms: often these two invasions merge together, sometimes reflecting in part a northern Israelite experience, 1and sometimes in part a southern Judean one. 2The theme of exile dominates this entire collection—a theme which is developed further in the seventeen psalms of Book Four. But whereas some answers are offered in Book Four, here in Book Three, the questions about theodicy, almost always from the point of view of the entire people, are more prominent. 3Here the psalmists wrestle with the problems of injustice, both human and divine, alongside the importance (and problem) of memory in recalling the past, asking whether God has forgotten them because they had forgotten God. 4

Again the process of compilation constitutes the first stage of reception. In this case, the compilers seem to have arranged Book Three as a series of questions. ‘Has God forgotten to be gracious?’, and ‘How Long, O Lord?’, and ‘Will you be angry for ever?’ emerge frequently in these psalms (see for example 77:7–9; 79:5; 80:4; 82:2; 89:46), and whenever a partial answer is given, it is overtaken by further questions in a following psalm. Two main collections are discernible here seen in the headings ‘A Psalm of Asaph’ (73–83) and ‘A Psalm of the Sons of Korah’ (84, 85 and 87). Those with less clear headings (86, 88 and 89) may have other *Korahite associations; this would explain why they have been included into these collections. The *Asaphite collection has two sub-groups of five psalms (73–77 and 79–83), with Psalm 78, a more didactic psalm, playing a pivotal role at the heart of the whole collection, reflecting on the importance of remembering God’s covenant, first with Moses and then with David. The Korahite collection comprises six psalms (counting in Psalms 86, 88 and 89 here). Psalm 89, at the very end of Book Three, might be compared to Psalm 78: it also takes up the theme of remembering, but the focus here is only on God’s covenant with David, and (unlike Psalm 78) it ends with a cry of desolation because God seems to have forgotten (89:38–51) rather than remembered (78:67–72). 5The following analysis will start with the placing of individual psalms into coherent collections, noting that this work by the compilers marks the first stage in the process of reception.

Looking at the first part of Book Three, it seems that the editors carefully combined the end of the so-called ‘Davidic Psalter’ (Psalms 51–72) in Book Two with the beginning of Book Three. Psalm 72 (Book Two) reflects positively on the importance of justice whilst 73 (Book Three) considers the consequences of injustice in the world. Both 73:3 and 72:3 contrast the ‘prosperity’ ( shalom ) of the faithful people and the wicked; and 73:6, 72:14, 73:8 and 72:4 speak of the effects of ‘violence’ ( ḥamas ) and ‘oppression’ ( ‘osheq ) on the poor.

The entire *Asaphite collection (Psalms 73–83), set in the heart of the entire Psalter, is possibly the oldest part of it. As we have noted, it has many references to the northern kingdom (and so some of it must precede 721–22 BCE when the kingdom fell), and its nationalistic and militarist focus, reminiscent of the prophetic voice in this period, suggests some psalms were composed before the exile. It is a coherent collection, set in two parts (73–77, 78–83) to which Psalm 50 also belongs: as noted in Volume Two, the Second Davidic Psalter (51–72) is enclosed by Asaphite psalms (50, 73–83). 6

Psalms 73–77, the first *Asaphite sub-group, is a collection with several internal correspondences. For example, Psalms 73 and 74 each reflect on the absence of God, from a context of violence and blasphemy. 73 is a psalm of instruction; 74 is a communal lament. 75 and 76 are set as two divine responses to these questions, affirming that God’s presence is still in Zion. 77 is an individual lament. 7The theme of ‘violence’ ( ḥamas ) in 73:6 is continued in 74:20; 73:23 speaks of being held by God’s ‘right hand’ ( yad-yemini ) whilst 74:11 asks why God has withdrawn his ‘hand’ ( yad ); 73:17 refers to God in his sanctuary ( miqdeshe-’el , or ‘the sanctuaries of God’) and 74:7 also refers to the sanctuary ( miqdashekha , or ‘your sanctuary’) which has been set on fire. Other shared themes in the entire collection are of a common experience of God’s anger (Pss. 74:1; 75:8; and 76:7); an affirmation of God’s Name (Pss. 74:10, 18, 21; 75:1; and 76:1); and pleas to God to judge fairly (Pss. 74:22; 75:2, 7; 76:8–9). Other inter-psalm connections include the term ‘God of Jacob’ in 75:9 and 76:6, the centrality of Zion in 74:2 and 76:2, and the pleas to God not to forget ( ’al-tishkaḥ , or ‘do not forget!’) in Pss. 74:23 and 77:9.

Psalm 73 stands not only at the beginning of Book Three but close to the centre of the Psalter. It is both protest and affirmation: it questions the rewards for obedient faith expressed in Psalm 1 (see 73:2–14) yet it ultimately affirms the vision of Psalm 150 where God is praised (see 73:23–26). 8It contains three strophes (vv. 1–12; 13–17; and 18–28), each starting with ‘truly, indeed’ ( ’ak ). Verses 1–17 reflect on the problems and possibilities of the injustice in the world, whilst verses 18–28 address God: here there is an unusual ‘vision’ of God and some rare reflections about life beyond death. In terms of its reception history, it stands somewhat apart from the other psalms in the *Asaphite collection because of its more personal nature and its consideration of universal themes of justice.