Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first of a two-volume Bible commentary covering the Psalms and examining the role of these biblical poems throughout Jewish and Christian history. Volume One provides a fascinating introduction to the literary, historical, and theological background of psalmody.
Trade Review“Dr Gillingham has already published widely on the Psalms, and we look forward to her second volume.” (Journal of Theological Studies, 1 October 2013)
“A most impressive piece of work ...The coverage is truly encyclopaedic in scope and nothing seems to have escaped Gillingham’s attention.”
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Journal for the Study of the Old Testament “Gillingham meticulously masters the diverse reception history of the psalms ... Every page is bursting with solid research and influential insight. An invaluable addition to the field.”
—Religious Studies Review
“This wonderful book whets the appetite both for its second volume, and for more volumes of this valuable series … [A] highly innovative and promising project.”
—International Review of Biblical Studies
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations xi
Series Editors’ Preface xiii
Preface xv
Preface to the Paperback Edition xvii
Works Cited xix
Introduction: Towards a Reception-History Commentary on the Psalms 1
1 The Eleventh Century BCE to the Fifth Century CE: Translation, Exposition, Instruction, Liturgy and the Prophetic Bias 5
Jewish Reception 5
From Composition to Compilation to Translation 5
Exposition: The Prophetic Bias 9
Instruction through Imitations of Psalms 11
Christian Reception 13
The Psalms as Prophecies in the New Testament 14
The Psalms as Prophecies in the Church Fathers 24
Alexandrian Commentators 28
Liturgical Adaptations of the Psalms 40
Christian Liturgy 40
Jewish Liturgy 43
Concluding Observations 46
2 The Fifth to Eleventh Centuries: Liturgy, Exposition, Artistic Representation 47
Christian Reception 47
Liturgy 47
Exposition, Homily, Translation 55
Artistic Representation 62
Jewish Reception 68
Liturgy 68
Translation, Exposition, Homily 71
Artistic Representation 75
Concluding Observations 75
3 The Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries: Learning and Discerning 77
Jewish and Christian Controversies through Exegetical Works 77
Preliminary Considerations 77
Jewish Commentators 82
Christian Commentators 87
Christian and Jewish Artists 95
Christian Illumination 95
Jewish Illumination 104
Christian and Jewish Didactic Works 113
Christian Writers 113
Jewish Writers 117
Christian and Jewish Liturgy 120
Christian Adaptations 120
Jewish Adaptations 123
Translation in Christian Tradition 123
Concluding Observations 130
4 The Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries: Democratization and Dissemination 131
Reception as Translation: Christian Responses 131
Commentary, Liturgy, Homily and Translation on the Continent 131
Liturgy, Homily and Translation in England and Scotland 146
Reception as Aesthetic Representation: Jewish and Christian Responses 163
Jewish Reception through Art and Music 163
Christian Reception through Art, Literary Imitation and Music 166
Concluding Observations 190
5 The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Secularization and Revitalization 192
Christian Responses 194
Exegetical Works 194
Devotional Works 203
Musical Reception 220
Reception through Liturgy 228
Translations of Psalmody 230
Jewish Responses 234
Reception as Translation and Liturgy 234
Reception as Homily and Exegesis 237
Aesthetic Responses 239
Concluding Observations 240
6 The Twentieth to Twenty-First Centuries: Pluralism and Ecumenism 242
Christian and Jewish Translations of Psalmody 246
Liturgy and Psalmody in Christian and Jewish Traditions 254
Exegetical Studies, Christian and Jewish 266
Devotional Works, Christian and Jewish 282
Aesthetic Responses, Christian and Jewish 290
Concluding Observations 307
Conclusion: From Introduction to Commentary 309
Glossary 313
References 322
Index of Psalms 351
Index of Names 361
Subject Index 368
