Cultic Prophecy in the Psalms: Dissertationsschrift

Description

Doubts about the contribution of cult-prophetic speech to psalmody remain in debate. Psalms containing first-person divine speech exhibit numerous features and suggest life settings that conform to actual prophetic speech. Alternative explanations lack comparable examples external to psalms. On the other hand, Assyrian cultic prophecies parallel the characteristics of prophetic speech found in psalms. The Assyrian sources support possible composition and performance scenarios that overcome objections raised against the compatibility of genuine prophecy with psalmody. A model of cultic prophecy remains the best explanation for the origin of psalms containing first-person divine speech. Abbreviations Chapter 1 Cultic Prophecy in the Psalms: Issues Past and Present 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Early Discussions 1.3 Mowinckel and Gunkel: Classic Formulation of the Debate 1.4 Mid-Century Debate: Lack of a Consensus 1.5 Late Twentieth Century Discussion 1.6 Key Issues and Evaluation 1.7 Conclusion and Direction of Study Chapter 2 Assyrian Cultic Prophecy 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Use of Assyrian Prophecy in Old Testament Studies 2.3 The Relationship of Assyrian Prophets to the Temple 2.4 The Function of Assyrian Prophecy 2.5 Conclu sion Chapter 3 Royal Psalms 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Psalm 110 3.3 Psalm 2 3.4 Psalm 132 3.5 Psalm 89 3.6 Conclusion Chapter 4 Asaphite Psalms 4.1 Prophetic Tradition of the Asaphite Psalms 4.2 The Asaphite Psalms in the Light of Assyrian Prophetic Sources Chapter 5 Laments, Hymns and Songs of Confidence 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Psalm 12 5.3 Psalms 60 and 108 5.4 Psalm 91 5.5 Psalm 68 5.6 Psalm 46 5.7 Psalm 87 5.8 Other Psalms 5.9 Conclusion Chapter 6 Conclusion 6.1 The Central Question 6.2 Cultic Functions of Assyrian Prophets and the OT 6.3 Comparison of Assyrian Prophecies and Psalms 6.4 Psalm Composition and Performance 6.5 hronic Continuity of Cultic Prophecy 6.6 Cultic Prophecy in the Psalms Bibliography Index of Texts Index of Authors