Journal articles on the topic 'Midrash to Psalms'

ABSTRACT The Psalms are the most cited portions of Scripture in the New Testament. This paper investigates Paul’s use of the Psalms and seeks to answer the concern that his citation strategy is both arbitrary and self-serving. Inasmuch as it has sometimes been concluded that Paul, in midrashic fashion, forced his citations to say something contrary to a more natural reading. This paper suggests that Paul uses citation criteria very carefully. Preliminary results point to the use of texts that lie well within their natural reading, yet exegeted in such a way that the resulting exegesis is folded back into the text as the apostle cites it. Thus rather than citing texts arbitrarily, Paul uses great skill and sophistication in selecting and utilising texts with exegetical precision. In so doing, Paul is not using midrash but may actually be developing a characteristically Christian approach to the citation of sacred text

Abstract This study discusses the centrality of the book of Psalms among the Jews and in Judaism. It outlines the seven most important and influential rabbinic exegetical works on Psalms, in the period before and during the medieval age: Targum Psalms and Midrash Psalms Shocher Tov, from some time in the Talmudic period; and five prominent medieval commentaries: Saadia Gaon, Moses haCohen ibn Gikatilla, Rashi, Abraham ibn Ezra, and David Kimchi. I briefly introduce each interpretative work and focus on selected aspects: The commentators’ distinct exegetical methods, their approaches to the questions of the authorship and genre of Psalms, and polemics with inside (e.g., Karaites) and outside (e.g., Christians) opponents. The result is to analysis and synthesis their approaches and to show the various trends that rabbinic Psalms interpretation took in these periods.

LGBT and queer interpretive approaches have moved beyond the identitarian and apologetic stances of the 1970s–90s, when the first order of business was to respond to anti-gay voices and understand social location as an interpretive standpoint. The HIV/AIDS health crisis helped move some LGBT interpreters away from homosexuality as an object of study to placing themselves inside the text as subjects, lamenting with the Psalms or putting God in the dock like Job. Queer interpretation, anti-essentialist in spirit, moved away from identitarian concerns placing queer interpreters outside the text as interrogators. Queer biblical criticism resists heteronormativity as the default interpretive stance, but embraces the study of the body, gender performance, midrash-making and playfulness with biblical texts. The queer interpretive approach has begun to mature as it seeks intersections with minoritized criticisms, disability studies and the rising consciousness of intersex people, while criticizing itself as well.

Abstract In this article I demonstrate how a careful reading of the text of Midrash Tehillim 22 reveals a clear distinction between its different developmental layers. While we do find the identification of particular verses with Esther in the early stages of the midrash’s development, there is no reason to assume that this identification was rooted in an anti-Christian polemic. On the other hand, in the later layers of the midrash, we find clear echoes of the systematic creation of a continuous exegesis that focuses on identifying the entire Psalm with Esther. The background for this trend was a polemical confrontation with the Christian interpretation which viewed the Psalm as a prefiguration for Jesus’s crucifixion. The midrash also serves as a Jewish counter to the Christian liturgy created in the wake of the Christological reading.

In Q. 5:64, the Qur'an accuses the Jews of describing God as a deity with a chained (maghlūla) hand, a charge the Qur'an understands as indicating divine miserliness. However, a foray into Jewish teachings reveals that no such statement of God's niggardliness can be found in the Jewish tradition. While scholars have suggested Psalms 72:11 and Lamentations 2:3 as possible sources, in both the image is of a deity withdrawing His military might, not His financial bounty. Insistence on these as the inspiration behind the Qur'an's words ignores the substance of the Qur'an's claim.This article argues instead that Q. 5:64 is reacting to a midrashic motif embedded in a liturgical poem (piyyut) recited on the Ninth of Av, the day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Here God chains His own hand in empathy with the exiled and traumatised captives, a move also understood as guaranteeing Israel's eventual redemption. Additionally, I argue that the Qur'anic transmutation of this image into one that concerns finances is intentional. In turning the midrashic declaration of God's continued relationship with Israel into a blasphemous accusation of parsimoniousness, the Qur'an argues against the continued Jewish understanding of themselves as God's favoured.

According to a ninth-century midrash, God asks the wicked of the world why they did not come closer to God. Each person responds, “I was so steeped in my wickedness that I was ashamed.” Too ashamed, it seems, to muster sufficient courage to admit failures, change behaviors, and move closer—ritually if not spiritually—to God, and so they wallowed deeper into wickedness. Had these people not been so wicked, their shame might have spurred a return to God. A few centuries later, Moses Maimonides prefaces his introductory remarks to theMishneh Torahwith a quotation from Psalms: “Then I would not be ashamed when I regard all Your commandments.” This verse, coming after and completing the psalmist's prayer, “Would that my ways were firm in keeping your laws,” suggests that between action and complete lawfulness shamefulness exists. It is unclear whether the shamefulness Maimonides speaks of inspires fidelity to the law or impinges it. Either way, shame precedes (seeing) the law both lexicographically and phenomenologically. Before lawfulness, shame facilitates both regard of self as well as regard of notions of uprightness and of wickedness. At least according to these two sources, shame intertwines self-consciousness with self-evaluation; it mixes a sense of dark depths with a notion of ascent toward righteousness. Shame breeds inwardness and otherness, and can debilitate as well as empower. In short, shame simultaneously damns and redeems.

Псалом 132 по Синодальному тексту (133 - по нумерации масоретского текста), является одной из пятнадцати «песней восхождения», входящих в состав Псалтири (Пс. 119-133). Данный псалом интересен литургической привязкой к ритуалу Иерусалимского храма, с которым его связывает упоминание о елее, сходящем на бороду Аарона (Пс. 132, 2). Автор использует метафору елея для усиления оттенка радости собратьев по вере, собравшихся в храм для совместной молитвы (ст. 1). Целью настоящего исследования является обзор методов интерпретации образа елея, сходящего на бороду Аарона в ранней еврейской и греческой языковых традициях толкования Священного Писания. Для этих целей проводится анализ метафоры елея в источниках иудейской экзегезы (Сифрей Бамидбар, Сифра, Талмуд, Мидраш Танхума) и христианской экзегезы (Климент Александрийский, Ориген, Афанасий Александрийский, Василий Кесарийский, Иоанн Златоуст, Феодорит Кирский). Далее на основе историко-филологического метода определяется место «елея» в содержании псалма по современным экзегетическим исследованиям. В результате было выявлено, что в источниках иудейской экзегезы значительное внимание уделяется поиску исторической основы помазания священства благовонным елеем в контексте обрядов Иерусалимского храма. Источники христианской экзегезы тяготеют к мессианской интерпретации гимна, в которой помазание Аарона миром толкуется как прообраз помазания Христа и верующих в Него Святым Духом. Итак, образ елея мог рассматриваться в древних религиозных традициях как отправная точка для актуальных на то время рассуждений о роли Аарона или Христа, а также об этических требованиях к кандидатам на помазание. Psalm 133 according the numeration of the Masoretic text, or 132 according the numeration of the Septuagint, is one of the fifteen «songs of ascents» (Psalms 119-133 - hereinafter numbering according to the Synodal text) that are part of the Book of Psalms. Рsalm 132 is interesting for its liturgical attachment to the ritual of the Jerusalem Temple, with which it is associated with the mention of «precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron» (Ps. 132, 2 ESV). The author uses the «oil» metaphor to enhance the shade of joy of fellow believers gathered in the temple for prayer (v. 1). The purpose of this study is to review methods for interpreting the image of «oil falling on Aaron’s beard» in the early Jewish and Greek exegetical traditions. For these purposes, an analysis of the «oil» metaphor is carried out in the sources of the Jewish exegesis (Sifra Bamidbar, Talmud, Midrash Tanhuma) and the Christian exegesis (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Cyrus). Further, on the basis of the historical-philological method, the place of «oil» in the content of the psalm according to modern exegetical studies is determined. As a result, it was revealed that in the sources of Jewish exegesis was considerable attention to the search for the historical basis of the anointing of the priesthood with «incense oil» in the context of the rites of the Jerusalem temple. Sources of Christian exegesis lean toward a messianic interpretation of the hymn, in which the anointing of Aaron was interpreted as a prototype of the anointing of Christ and those who believe in Him with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the image of the «oil» could be considered as a starting point for discussions about the role of Aaron or Christ, as well as the ethical requirements for anointing candidates.

Псалом 132 по Синодальному тексту (133 - по нумерации масоретского текста), является одной из пятнадцати «песней восхождения», входящих в состав Псалтири (Пс. 119- 133). Данный псалом интересен литургической привязкой к ритуалу Иерусалимского храма, с которым его связывает упоминание о елее, сходящем на бороду Аарона (Пс. 132, 2). Автор использует метафору елея для усиления оттенка радости собратьев по вере, собравшихся в храм для совместной молитвы (ст. 1). Целью настоящего исследования является обзор методов интерпретации образа елея, сходящего на бороду Аарона в ранней еврейской и греческой языковых традициях толкования Св. Писания. Для этих целей в первой части статьи проводится анализ метафоры елея в источниках иудейской экзегезы (Сифрей Бамидбар, Сифра, Талмуд, Мидраш Танхума) и христианской экзегезы (Климент Александрийский, Ориген, Афанасий Александрийский, Василий Кесарийский, Иоанн Златоуст, Феодорит Кирский). Далее, во второй части статьи, на основе историко-филологического метода определяется место «елея» в содержании псалма по современным экзегетическим исследованиям. В результате было выявлено, что в источниках иудейской экзегезы значительное внимание уделяется поиску исторической основы помазания священства благовонным елеем в контексте обрядов Иерусалимского храма. Источники христианской экзегезы тяготеют к мессианской интерпретации гимна, в которой помазание Аарона миром толкуется как прообраз помазания Христа и верующих в Него Святым Духом. Итак, образ елея мог рассматриваться в древних религиозных традициях как отправная точка для актуальных на то время рассуждений о роли Аарона или Христа, а также об этических требованиях к кандидатам на помазание. Psalm 133 according the numeration of the Masoretic text, or 132 according the numeration of the Septuagint, is one of the fifteen «songs of ascents» (Psalms 119-133 - hereinafter numbering according to the Synodal text) that are part of the Book of Psalms. Рsalm 132 is interesting for its liturgical attachment to the ritual of the Jerusalem Temple, with which it is associated with the mention of «precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron» (Ps. 132, 2 ESV). The author uses the «oil» metaphor to enhance the shade of joy of fellow believers gathered in the temple for prayer (v. 1). The purpose of this study is to review methods for interpreting the image of «oil falling on Aaron’s beard» in the early Jewish and Greek exegetical traditions. For these purposes, an analysis of the «oil» metaphor is carried out in the sources of the Jewish exegesis (Sifra Bamidbar, Talmud, Midrash Tanhuma) and the Christian exegesis (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Cyrus). Further, on the basis of the historical-philological method, the place of «oil» in the content of the psalm according to modern exegetical studies is determined. As a result, it was revealed that in the sources of Jewish exegesis was considerable attention to the search for the historical basis of the anointing of the priesthood with «incense oil» in the context of the rites of the Jerusalem temple. Sources of Christian exegesis lean toward a messianic interpretation of the hymn, in which the anointing of Aaron was interpreted as a prototype of the anointing of Christ and those who believe in Him with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the image of the «oil» could be considered as a starting point for discussions about the role of Aaron or Christ, as well as the ethical requirements for anointing candidates.

The ‘biographical’ notes of the Masoretic ‘Book’ of Psalms are often understood as placing the psalms in dialogue with 1-2 Samuel, and casting David as a pious exemplar. As David prayed psalms in his distress, so can anyone. Indebted to an influential article by Brevard Childs, many scholars also see early traces of midrashic exegesis. However, this is not entirely persuasive, and to inquire into these issues, the article proceeds from the observation that many of the ‘biographical’ notes cluster around similar events. In most of them, David is fleeing from Saul. Following a survey of the ‘biographical’ notes in both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, it is argued that the often-suggested connections between the psalms and 1-2 Samuel are quite weak, and that a better way to understand the addition of ‘biographical’ notes is found when reading them in light of a resurfacing Saulide–Davidic rivalry in post-exilic times.

«Песни восхождения» (Пс. 119-133) представляют собой сборник из пятнадцати псалмов Псалтири. Популярное толкование данного заголовка во многих «Толковых Псалтирях» связывает происхождение этой группы священных текстов с возвращением евреев из Вавилонского плена и последующим паломничеством в Иерусалимский храм на религиозные праздники. Автор настоящего исследования ставит цель проверить обоснованность данной точки в наиболее авторитетных источниках иудейской религиозной традиции II-XIII вв.: Мишна, Тосефта, Иерусалимская и Вавилонская Гемара, Таргум на Псалмы, некоторые мидраши, сочинения Саадии Гаона, Раши, Авраама ибн Эзры и Давида Кимхи. Для достижения поставленной цели был проанализирован контекст употребления словосочетания תולעמה ריש («песнь восхождений») в упомянутых источниках. Как показало исследование выражение «песнь восхождений» не имело одинаковой интерпретации в источниках одно и того же периода. Поздние источники показывают зависимость от более ранних, но на основании их невозможно сделать вывод, что в еврейской традиции было единодушие в отношении происхождения заголовка данный группы псалмов Книги Хвалений. Отсюда можно сделать вывод, что сведения об исторических причинах появления данного заголовка были утрачены до начала письменной фиксации иудейских преданий. Следовательно, последующие ассоциации надписания исследуемой группы псалмов с возвращением из плена или паломничеством в Иерусалим рождались интуитивно и были более связаны с литургическими целями употребления псалмов в ту или иную эпоху после разрушения Второго храма, чем с проникновением в реальные первоосновы происхождения заголовка. «Songs of Ascents» (Psalm 120-134) is a collection of fifteen Psalms. An interpretation of this title in popular Psalter commentaries relates the origin of this group of Psalms to the return from Exile and the subsequent pilgrimage to the Temple for major religious feasts. The author of the article aims to verify the validity of this popular interpretation in such authoritative sources of Jewish religious tradition as Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem and Babylonian Gemara, Targum on the Psalms, Midrashim, works of Saadiya Gaon, Rashi, Abraham ibn Ezra and David Kimchi. To achieve the goal of the research, the context of the phrase תולעמה ריש («song of ascents») in the mentioned sources was analyzed. The study showed the expression «song of ascents» did not have the same interpretation in the sources of the same period. Later sources show dependence on earlier ones, but it is impossible to conclude that there was unanimity in Jewish tradition regarding the origin of this superscription. So, it’s possible to conclude that the historical causes for this superscription were forgotten before the written fixation of Jewish exegetical tradition had begun. Consequently, the subsequent associations of the inscription «song of ascents» with the return from captivity or pilgrimage to Jerusalem were born intuitively and were more connected with the liturgical goals of using the psalms after the destruction of the Second Temple, than with the penetration into the real historical origin of the title.

Za punkt wyjścia, w swoich rozważaniach nad znaczeniem składania ofiary (z) wdzięczności w starotestamentowym rytuale, przyjmę psalmy dziękczynne, które rozpoznaje się zwykle przez obecność w nich słów pochodzących od hebrajskiego rdzenia jada, czyli dziękować. W Psalmach tych także można znaleźć takie zwroty jak hodu – dziękujcie czy toda – dziękczynienie. Dodatkowo w pierwszym rzędzie słowo hoda znaczy rozpoznać i uznać. Wdzięczność będzie zatem nabierała charakteru dziękczynnego tylko wtedy, kiedy będzie ona w sobie zawierała czynność rozpoznania i uznania. Psalmy dziękczynne zbudowane są również na przeciwstawieniu tematycznym śmierć-życie prowadzącym do diametralnego zwrotu w egzystencji. Wyrazem takiego stanu są ofiary, które według midraszu Rabiego Kahany oddziałują na sferę kosmiczną. Ich składanie jest tożsame wtedy ze stwarzaniem nieba i ziemi. Co więc leży u podstaw kultu ofiarnego w Tanachu? Co go ukierunkowało i nadało mu znaczenie? Jaka jest rola wdzięczności w tym procesie i do kogo jest ona dzisiaj kierowana?

Abstract In the study of rabbinic legend there is a widely accepted generic distinction between those legends that expand on biblical stories (exegetical narratives) and those that feature the sages of the Mishnah and the Talmud (sage stories). This article questions the absolute nature of this generic distinction by examining the circumstances that shaped the development of a sage story that appears in the midrashic collection Leviticus Rabbah and its parallels. I seek to demonstrate that occasionally stories about the sages emerge from the exegesis of biblical verses. My article demonstrates how a verse from Psalms takes on the shape of a story, which serves to solve a linguistic problem in the verse. This example sheds new light on the relationship between exegetical narratives and sage stories, and suggests that we view them as part of the same broader creative intellectual context.

The following books are reviewed: Aichele, George, Simulating Jesus: Reality Effects in the Gospels (Joel Kuhlin) Amos, Roger, Hypocrites or Heroes? The Paradoxical Portrayal of the Pharisees in the New Testament (Tobias Ålöw) Collins, John J., Encounters with Biblical Theology (Stig Norin) Dochhorn Jan, Susanne Rudnig-Zelt, and Benjamin Wold (eds.), Das Böse, der Teufel und Dämonen – Evil, the Devil, and Demons (Torsten Löfstedt) Ehrman, Bart D., Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Εarliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior (Joel Kuhlin) England Emma och William John Lyons (red.), Reception History and Biblical Studies: Theory and Practice (Mikael Larsson) Fewell, Danna Nolan (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Narrative (Josef Forsling) Gordon, Robert P. and Hans M. Barstad (eds.), “Thus speaks Ishtar of Arbela”: Prophecy in Israel, Assyria and Egypt in the Neo-Assyrian Period (Magnus Halle) Giuntoli Federico and Konrad Schmid (eds.), The Post-Priestly Pentateuch: New Perspectives on Its Redactional Development and Theological Profiles (Jan Retsö) Hayes, Elizabeth R. och Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer (red.), “I Lifted My Eyes and Saw”: Reading Dream and Vision Reports in the Hebrew Bible (Stefan Green) Heilig, Christoph, Hidden Criticism? The Methodology and Plausibilituy of the Search for a Counter-Imperial Subtext in Paul (Joel Kuhlin) Kim, Yeong Seon, The Temple Administration and the Levites in Chronicles (Jan Retsö) Klein, Anja, Geschichte und Gebet: Die Rezeption der biblischen Geschichte in den Psalmen des Alten Testaments (LarsOlov Eriksson) Klink III, Edward W., och Darian R. Lockett. Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice (Bo Krister Ljungberg) Knoppers, Gary N., Jews and Samaritans: The Origins and History of Their Early Relations (Cecilia Wassén) Markschies, Christoph, Christian Theology and Its Institutions in the Early Roman Empire: Prolegomena to a History of Early Christian Theology (Carl Johan Berglund) Mettinger, Tryggve N. D., Reports from a Scholar’s Life: Select Papers on the Hebrew Bible (Cian Power) Neusner, Jacob och Alan J. Avery Peck (red.); William Scott Green och Günter Stemberger (rådgivande red.), Encyclopedia of Midrash. Biblical Interpretation in Formative Judaism. Volume I-II (Tobias Ålöw) Porter, Stanley E. och David I. Yoon (red.), Paul and Gnosis(Paul Linjamaa) Smith, Geoffrey S., Guilt By Association: Heresy Catalogues in Early Christianity (Martin Wessbrandt) Strauss, Mark L. och Paul E. Engle (red.), Remarriage After Divorce in Today’s Church (Bo Krister Ljungberg) Willgren, David, The Formation of the ‘Book’ of Psalms: Reconsidering the Transmission and Canonization of Psalmody in Light of Material Culture and the Poetics of Anthologies (Anja Klein) Wright, Tom, The Day the Revolution Began: Rethinking the Meaning of Jesus’ Crucifixion (Mikael Tellbe)

Jesus’ quotation of Psalm 82:6, ‘I said, You are gods’, a riposte to the accusation that he had blasphemed by making himself equal to God, has attracted considerable attention. The latest suggestion by Jerome H. Neyrey rightly insists that any solution to the problem should take account of the internal logic of the Psalm and argues that it derives from or prefigures a rabbinic Midrash on the Psalm which refers it to the restoration of the immortality lost by Adam to Israel at the giving of the Torah on Sinai. This immortality was then lost again because of the sin of the golden calf. Whilst agreeing that the Psalm is interpreted in the context of the giving of the Torah on Sinai, this article argues that its reference is directed towards Moses on Sinai rather than Israel in general. This accords with the interpretation of Philo and Josephus and other sources much earlier than the Mekkilta de Rabbi Ishmael that Moses is rightly called a god and is assumed to heaven in glory without dying. Rather than deny this attribution of divine features to Moses due to his reception of the Torah on Sinai, John argues that the Torah was received from the hands of Jesus as the Logos. Therefore, Moses’s derivative divine features simply confirm the true divinity of the Logos as the expression of the Father. Moses could be called a god because he knew Jesus as Logos and wrote about him (5:45–5:47), but he sinned and died like any mortal. The corollary is that Moses and his disciples lost their status and died like any mortal, whilst the disciples of Jesus who are ‘taught by God’ and believe in the Incarnate Logos (6:45), have not only seen the glory denied to Moses but are born from above to become divinised as tekna theou (1:12) and do not die.