Constructing and deconstructing power in Psalms 107-150

✍ Scribed by W. Dennis Tucker

• Publisher: SBL Press
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 240
• Series: Ancient Israel and Its Literature
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Essential research on the relationship between the Persian empire and the the formation of the book of Psalms

In this latest entry in the Ancient Israel and Its Literature series, W. Dennis Tucker Jr. examines the role of Persian imperial ideology in the creation of psalms in Book 5 of the Psalter and in the shaping of the book of Psalms as a whole. Although much research has been conducted on the relationship between the Persian empire and the creation of biblical texts, the book of Psalms has been largely absent from this discussion. Tucker seeks to rectify this omission by illustrating that Book 5 constructed a subtle anti-imperial ideology in response to the threats imposed from all empires both past and present.

Features:

• Close study of the psalms portrayal of human power to that of Yahweh
• Comparison of Achaemenid propaganda to the ideology found in the psalms
• Evidence drawn from Persian iconography and inscriptions

✦ Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Acknowledgments (page vii)
Abbreviations (page ix)
1. Book 5 in the Psalter: An Introduction (page 1)
1.0. Introduction to the Study (page 1)
1.1. Book 5 in Recent Scholarship (page 6)
1.2. Foreign Nations as the Enemies in the Psalter (page 12)
1.3. Summary (page 16)
2. The Achaemenid Dynasty and Imperial Ideology (page 19)
2.0. Introduction (page 19)
2.1. Cyrus and the Origins of an Empire (page 22)
2.2. Timeless Attitudes in the Achaemenid Imperial Ideology (page 26)
2.3 The Dissemination of Imperial Ideology (page 42)
2.4. Conclusion (page 52)
3. Constructing and Deconstructing Power: Part 1 (page 55)
3.0. Introduction (page 55)
3.1. Psalm 107 (page 59)
3.2. Psalms 108-110: The Opening Davidic Collection (page 68)
3.3. The Hallel Psalms (page 82)
3.4. Conclusion (page 93)
4. Constructing and Deconstructing Power: Part 2 (page 95)
4.0. Introduction (page 95)
4.1. The Psalms of Ascents (page 95)
4.2. Psalm 137: Recalling the Power of Empire (page 119)
4.3. Psalms within the Final Davidic Collection (page 124)
4.4. Conclusion (page 135)
5. Reconstructing Power: Images of Yahweh in Book 5 (page 139)
5.0. Introduction (page 139)
5.1. The Chief Tenets of Zion Theology and the Notion of Power (page 140)
5.2. Yahweh as the God of Heaven (page 142)
5.3. The Hand of Yahweh and the Nearness of God (page 149)
5.4 The Role of Zion in Book 5 (page 153)
5.5. Psalm 145 and the Kingship of Yahweh (page 156)
5.6. Conclusion (page 161)
6. The Identity of the People of God: Deconstructed and Constructed Power (page 165)
6.0. Introduction (page 165)
6.1. Rejection of Human Power as the Source of Deliverance (page 169)
6.2. A Theology of the Poor in Book 5 (page 174)
6.3. Conclusion: The Poor Servant and Its Implications (page 184)
7. Conclusion: Book 5 and Imperial Ideology (page 187)
7.0. Introduction (page 187)
7.1. Psalms 146-150: An Extension of Themes (page 190)
7.2. Conclusion (page 196)
Bibliography (page 197)
Index of Ancient Sources (page 217)
Index of Modern Authors (page 225)