The publication of Gerald H. Wilson’s The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter in 1985 marked a distinct shift in approaches to Psalms research. This article reviews this shift from psalm to Psalter exegesis. North American scholarship tends to follow a synchronic approach and to describe the shape of the Psalter. German scholarship tends to use a diachronic perspective and trace the shaping of the Psalter to explain how it attained its final form. There are growing signs of dialogue and convergence between these two main approaches to the editing of the Hebrew Psalter, which overshadow form-critical and liturgical approaches to the editing of the Psalter. Adherents of the shape and the shaping approach tend to propose a specific theme, organizational principle, or redactional intent to explain the Psalter’s final form. The multi-faceted nature of the Psalter and its long and complex history imply that, in spite of a multitude of publications, the last word on editorial trends and redactional trajectories has not been spoken.

In many ways, the book of Habakkuk is unique in the Book of the Twelve Prophets. One of the reasons is that the Gattungen normally associated with prophetic literature are either absent or occur in unique forms. On the other hand, it has long since been recognised that wisdom motifs had a definite influence upon the book. This can be seen in the vocabulary, in many of the themes, in the dialogic character of the book, and even in the overall structure of the book. The purpose of this article is to illuminate the intertextual relations between Habakkuk and wisdom texts in the Old Testament, especially the so called sceptical wisdom. The importance of these motifs in determining the theological thrust of the book is discussed. It is shown that the recognition of these motifs has implications for the date of the book in its final form as well

No abstract

Every human being inevitably experiences illness YHWH (11:7), he arrives at-centre, convinced that the wicked will finally be destroyed.

No abstract