История письма и чтения. Асафова Г.К. - 103 стр.

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interpretation have been the subject of much debate–acclaim Yahweh's kingship

over the whole world.

The second type is the Communal Lament. Its setting was some situation of

national calamity, when a period of prayer, fasting, and penitence would be

observed. In such psalms Yahweh is invoked, the crisis is described, Yahweh's

help is sought, and confidence that the prayer has been heard is expressed.

The Royal Psalms are grouped on the basis not of literary characteristics but of

content. They all have as their life setting some event in the life of the pre-exilic

Israelite kings; e.g., accession to the throne, marriage, departure for battle. Gunkel

pointed out that in ancient Israel the king was thought to have a special relationship

to Yahweh and thus played an important role in Israelite worship. With the fall of

the monarchy, these psalms were adapted to different cultic purposes.

In the Individual Lament an individual worshipper cries out to Yahweh in

time of need. The structure of these psalms includes: an invocation of Yahweh, the

complaint, the request for help, an expression of certainty that Yahweh will hear

and answer the prayer, and in many cases a vow to offer a thanksgiving sacrifice.

Three aspects have been the subject of extensive study: the identity of the

“enemies” who are often the reason for the complaint; the meaning of the term

poor, which is frequently used to describe the worshipper; and the sudden

transition in mood to certainty that the prayer has been heard. Psalms of this type

form the largest group in the Psalter.

The final major type is the Individual Song of Thanksgiving, which

presumably had its setting in the thanksgiving sacrifice offered after a saving

experience. These psalms begin and conclude with an exclamation of praise to

Yahweh. The body of the psalm contains two elements: the story of the one who

has been saved and the recognition that Yahweh was the rescuer.

Gunkel also distinguished several minor types of psalms, including Wisdom

Poems, Liturgies, Songs of Pilgrimage, and Communal Songs of Thanksgiving.

For Gunkel, although the types of the psalms were originally cultic, the majority of

the poems in the existing Psalter were composed privately in imitation of the cultic