History, Justice, and the Agency of God: A Hermeneutical and Exegetical Investigation on Isaiah and Psalms (Biblical Interpretation Series)

The central thesis of this volume is that the biblical view of divine agency in creation and history is realistic. History unfolds according to how human society relates to the sphere of power that is beyond it. Next to the hermeneutical discussion this is demonstrated exegetically by analyzing texts from Isaiah and Psalms: 1. In Isa 6:9-10 the prophet recieves the commission to proclaim and to anticipate YHWH's "strange work" in response to the people's violation of the torah. 2 The psalmist's change of mood in Psalms 3, 6, and 7 is caused by the acting of YHWH, the creator, with the psalmist partaking in the change that occurs in the creation surrounding him. The section on Psalm 7 is especially important for the Psalm scholar. It provides a rich comparison with prayers to the divine judge in ancient Near Eastern texts. HISTORY, JUSTICE, AND THE AGENCY OF GOD: A Hermeneutical and Exegetical Investigation on Isaiah and Psalms......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 12 Abbreviations......Page 14 Part I: GOD'S AGENCY IN HISTORY: THE HERMENEUTICAL PROBLEM AND ISAIAH'S PROPHETIC VIEW OF HISTORY......Page 16 1.1 God's Agency in Creation and History......Page 18 1.2 Greek Historiography and its Understanding of the Universality of History......Page 24 1.3 The Biblical Notion of the Universality of History and the Reality of the Divine Council......Page 28 1.4 Justice and the Agency of God......Page 29 1.5 Conclusion......Page 31 1.6 History as the Sequence of Facts in the Causal Continuum......Page 32 1.7 Thesis: The Realistic Dimension of Biblical Experiences of History......Page 39 1.8 Outline of the Investigation......Page 44 2.1 The Romantic View of the Biblical Notion of History......Page 48 2.2 The Construers of History as Its Lone Agents......Page 49 2.3.1 Hans-Georg Gadamer's Critique of the Historical Method......Page 54 2.3.2 Critical History and Kerygmatic History (Gerhard von Rad)......Page 57 2.3.3 Story and History (Hans Frei)......Page 61 2.4 Conclusion: The Limitedness of the Modern Concept of History......Page 62 3.1 Recapitulation: Toward Regaining the Universal Dimension of History......Page 68 3.2 The Prophetic View of History: Hermeneutical Considerations......Page 72 3.3 History as Trial (Isaiah 1–4)......Page 75 3.4 The People's Violation of Justice and Righteousness (Isaiah 5)......Page 78 3.5 Isaiah's Vision of the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 6)......Page 85 3.6 Isaiah's Prophetic Commission and YHWH's "Strange Work"......Page 87 3.7 Outlook: Isaiah's Role in the Unfolding of History......Page 91 3.8 Intermediate Reflection: YHWH's Acting Against Evil......Page 93 Part II: GOD'S AGENCY IN RESPONSE TO PRAYERS: THE PSALMIST'S CHANGE OF MOOD IN PSALMS 3, 6, AND 7......Page 96 4.1 Introduction: How Does the Psalmist's Change of Mood from Lament to Joy Occur?......Page 98 4.2 Methodological Issues......Page 100 4.3 The Cultically Mediated Oracle of Salvation......Page 102 4.4 The Temple-Theological Dynamic of Divine Absence and Presence......Page 105 4.5 Critique......Page 111 4.6 The Psalmist's Dream-Oracle in Ps 3:6......Page 115 4.7 The Petitioner's Change of Mood from Lament to Joy in Ps 6:9–11......Page 120 5.1 YHWH's Acting as Judge in the Individual Complaint Psalms......Page 124 5.2.1 Text and Structure......Page 125 5.2.2 Ps 7:13—17 and the Doctrine of Retribution......Page 128 5.2.3 The Psalmist's Appeal to the Divine Judge at Dawn......Page 129 6.1.1 The Ordeal at the Temple as Israel's Supreme Court of Justice......Page 136 6.1.2 The Concept of the Judicial Ordeal......Page 138 6.1.3 Beyerlin's Reconstruction of the Ordeal......Page 140 6.1.4 Individual Complaint Psalms in the Framework of the Ordeal......Page 141 6.1.5 The Ordeal in Light of Individual Complaint Psalms......Page 143 6.2 Critique: The Hypothetical Character of the Cultic Institution......Page 147 6.3 YHWH's Acting as Judge in the Individual Complaint Psalms......Page 153 6.4 Conclusion......Page 155 7.1 An "Alliance Background" of Psalm 7?......Page 158 7.2 The Prayer of Tukulti-Ninurta I to Shamash, the Judge......Page 162 7.3 Sargon's Letter to Assur Concerning his Eighth Campaign......Page 168 7.4 The Oath Between the Serpent and the Eagle in the Legend of Etana......Page 170 7.5 Conclusion......Page 171 8.1 Introduction: YHWH's Acting in the Judicial Assembly in Ps 7:7–12......Page 174 8.2 The Prayer of the Diviner to Shamash, the Judge, at Dawn......Page 175 8.2.1 The Diviner's Preparation for His Appeal to the Divine Court......Page 177 8.2.2 Shamash's Presiding Over the Divine Judicial Assembly......Page 178 8.2.3 Excursus: The Hermeneutical Principles of Divination......Page 181 8.3 Conclusion......Page 184 9.1 Introduction: YHWH's Reversion of Evil in Ps 7:13–17......Page 188 9.2 Incantations to Shamash, the Judge......Page 189 9.2.1 Namburbi-Rituals: The Procedures of "Dissolution" of the Evil Fate Announced by the Omens......Page 193 9.2.2 A Namburbi-Ritual Against the Evil Announced by the Behaviour of Dogs......Page 195 9.3.1 Incantation-Ceremonies......Page 199 9.3.2 Individual Complaint Psalms......Page 213 9.4 Conclusion......Page 219 9.5 "Joy Comes With the Morning" (Ps 30:6): Psalms 3–7 as a Redactional Liturgical Sequence......Page 221 9.6 The Absalom Narrative as a "Midrash" to Psalms 3–7......Page 224 Part 3: SUMMARY......Page 228 10.1 Recapitulation: The Realistic Dimension of the Biblical Experience of History......Page 230 10.2 The Invisible Power of YHWH'S Voice (Psalms 28–30)......Page 233 10.3 Human Participation in the Universal Communication of YHWH's Righteousness (Psalm 40)......Page 236 Bibliography......Page 240 Scripture Index......Page 246 G......Page 249 S......Page 250 Z......Page 251 Back Matter......Page 252 "The central thesis of this volume is that the biblical view of divine agency in creation and history is realistic. History unfolds according to how human society relates to the sphere of powers that is beyond it. Next to the hermeneutical discussion this is demonstrated exegetically by analyzing texts from Isaiah and Psalms:(1) In Isa 6:9-10 the prophet receives the commission to proclaim and to anticipate YHWH's 'strange work' in response to the people's violation of the torah. (2) The psalmist's change of mood in Psalms 3, 6, and 7 is caused by the acting of YHWH, the creator, with the psalmist partaking in the change that occurs in the creation surrounding him. The section on Psalm 7 is especially important for the Psalms scholar. It provides a rich comparison with prayers to the divine judge in ancient Near Eastern texts."--BOOK JACKET

The central thesis of this volume is that the biblical view of divine agency in creation and history is realistic. History unfolds according to how human society relates to the sphere of powers that is beyond it. Next to the hermeneutical discussion this is demonstrated exegetically by analyzing texts from Isaiah and Psalms: (1) In Isa 6:9-10 the prophet receives the commission to proclaim and to anticipate YHWH's "strange work" in response to the people's violation of the torah. (2) The psalmist's change of mood in Psalms 3,6, and 7 is caused by the acting of YHWH, the creator, with the psalmist partaking in the change that occurs in the creation surrounding him. The section on Psalm 7 is especially important for the Psalms scholar. It provides a rich comparison with prayers to the divine judge in ancient Near Eastern texts.

Arguing for the realistic dimension of the biblical claim that God acts in history, this volume provides a new interpretation of Isaiah's prophetic commission in Isa 6:9-10 and of the psalmist's change of mood in Psalms 3, 6, and 7.