Arguing with God: A Theological Anthropology of the Psalms
458
Arguing with God: A Theological Anthropology of the Psalms
458eBook
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Overview
This is the first English translation of Bernd Janowski's incisive anthropological study of the Psalms, originally published in German in 2003 as Konfliktgespräche mit Gott. Eine Anthropologie der Psalmen (Neukirchener). Janowski begins with an introduction to Old Testament anthropology, concentrating on themes of being forsaken by God, enmity, legal difficulties, and sickness. Each chapter defines a problem and considers it in relation to anthropological insights from related fields of study and a thematically relevant example from the Psalms, including how a central aspect of this Psalm is explored in other Old Testament or Ancient Near Eastern texts. Each chapter concludes with an "Anthropological Keyword," which explores especially important words and phrases in the Psalms. The book also includes reflections on reading the Psalms from a New Testament perspective, focusing on themes of transience, praising God, salvation from death, and trust in God. Janowski's study demonstrates how the Psalms have important theological implications and ultimately help us to understand what it means to be human.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781611643534 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Westminster John Knox Press |
| Publication date: | 10/10/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 458 |
| File size: | 6 MB |
About the Author
Bernd Janowski is professor emeritus of Old Testament at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He is the author, editor, or coeditor of numerous books, including the thirteen-volume Religion Past and Present: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion.
Armin Siedlecki is Head of Cataloging at Pitts Theology Library, Emory University. He is the author of Negotiating Identity: The Portrayal of Foreigners in Ezra-Nehemiah.
Table of Contents
List of Figures xi
Preface to the U.S. Edition xiii
Preface xv
Abbreviations xx
Introduction: What Is a Human Being? 1
1 Fundamental Questions of Old Testament Anthropology 3
a The Image of the Human Being 3
α Historical Anthropology 4
β Theological Anthropology 8
b The Language of Human Beings 14
α Stereometry 14
β Metaphors 22
2 The Psalms as Fundamental Anthropological Texts 36
a The Structure of the Psalms of Lament and Thanksgiving 39
b The Anthropology of Lament and Thanksgiving 46
Part 1 From Life to Death 55
3 "How long will you hide your face?" (Ps. 13:172): The Complaining Human Being 57
a The Hiddenness of God 57
α God Near and Distant 57
β Psalm 13 as a Case Study 59
γ Change of Mood 77
b Anthropological Keyword 1: Seeing and Hearing 85
α Primacy of Hearing? 86
β Seeing God 90
4 "Swords are on their lips" (Ps. 59:7/8): The Hostile Human Being 97
a The Incomprehensibility of Evil 97
α The Enemies of the Supplicant 97
β Psalm 59 as an Example 100
γ Animal Similes in the Enemy-Complaint 114
b Anthropological Keyword 2: Revenge 120
α Love for Enemy and Neighbor 122
β Revenge and Renunciation of Revenge 124
5 "Establish justice for me according to my righteousness, YHWH!" (Ps. 7:8/9): The Persecuted Human Being 128
a The Justification of the Righteous 128
α The God of Justice 128
β Psalm 7 as an Example 134
γ God as Judge among Israel's Neighbors 146
b Anthropological Keywords 3: Heart and Kidneys 155
α The Listening Heart 156
β "Who Tests Heart and Kidneys" 159
6 "When will he die and his name perish?" (Ps. 41:5/6): The Human Being in Sickness 163
a The Affliction of the Sick 163
α Sickness as Conflict 163
β Psalm 41 as a Case Study 169
γ Social Contempt in Ancient Israel 183
b Anthropological Keyword 4: Vitality 188
α The Living Nepeš 190
β The Nepeš of the Dead 197
Interlude: The Gate to the Abyss 199
1 Paul Klee, Outbreak of Fear 200
2 Paul Celan, "Psalm" 203
3 Paul Klee, The Gate to the Abyss 205
4 Franz Schubert, "With My Hot Tears" 207
Part 2 From Death to Life 209
7 "My life has touched the underworld" (Ps. 88:3/4): The Transitory Human Being 211
a The Experience of Death 211
α The End of Life 211
β Psalm 88 as a Case Study 218
γ Death Metaphors in the I-Complaint 236
b Anthropological Keyword 5: This Life and Afterlife 240
α From This Life to the Afterlife 242
β Return to This Life 244
8 "You have girded me with gladness" (Ps. 30:11/12): The Praising Human Being 248
a The Presence of Salvation 248
α The Meaning of Life 248
β Psalm 30 as a Case Study 251
γ Sacrifice and Cult in Ancient Israel 266
b Anthropological Keyword 6: Gratitude 275
α Acting for One Another 276
β Thanksgiving Song and Thanksgiving Sacrifice 278
9 "You show me the path of life" (Ps. 16:11): The Gifted Human Being 285
a The God of Life 285
α The Happiness of Nearness to God 285
β Psalm 16 as a Case Study 291
γ Old Testament Metaphors for Life 305
b Anthropological Keyword 7: Immortality 312
α Crossing the Boundary of Death 315
β The Immortality of the Relation with God 318
10 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Ps. 22:1/2): God's Human Being 322
a Disputes with God 322
α Paradigmatic Experiences of Suffering 322
β Psalm 22 as a Paradigmatic Prayer 323
γ Jesus and the Psalms of Israel 329
b Anthropological Keyword 8: Psalm-Prayer 339
α The "Little Biblia" 341
β The "Book of Pure Spirituality" 344
Postscript: The Way toward Life 347
Excursuses
1 The Biblical Worldview 26
2 The Whole Human Being 43
3 Light and Darkness 69
4 The Enigma of Evil 109
5 Connective Justice 132
6 The World of the Sick 178
7 Life and Death 239
8 The Beautiful Day 272
9 Closeness to God 304
10 Ecce homo 331
Reviews of Editions 1-3 350
Bibliography 351
Index of Ancient Sources 417
Index of Modern Authors 429
What People are Saying About This
"There has not been a book like this since Hans Walter Wolff's famous Anthropology of the Old Testament. Janowski offers both insightful analyses of individual psalms and a comprehensive framework for biblical anthropology. The result is a subtle exploration of the Old Testament's understanding of human existence in the presence of the living God."
--Andreas Schuele, Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Institute of Judaic Studies, University of Leipzig, Germany
"Bernd Janowski (University of Heidelberg) is not yet much known to English-speaking readers. He will be now! He is a world class scholar who has written a world class book that will promptly become the bench-mark for theological interpretation of the Psalms. Janowski, in a dense, complex genuinely inviting book, combines acute theological sensibility, close exegetical alertness, and attention to the large human questions now before us concerning life and hope in a failed world. The result of his work is a study that will reward close, careful, sustained reading. We may be grateful to Westminster John Knox for bringing this fresh and judicious book into English translation."
--Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary
"Finally translated into English, this monumental treatment of psalmic prayer is part theology, part anthropology, part psychology, and part reception history. Janowski not only brings to bear his wide-ranging knowledge of ancient Near Eastern literature, Hebrew poetry, and European scholarship. He also exhibits in his writing a deep pastoral sensitivity that will make his work eminently useful in the church."
--William P. Brown, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary