Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms
Description
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Uriel Simon is Professor of Bible and Co-director of the Institute for the History of Jewish Bible Research at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He is the author of Abraham Ibn Ezra's Two Commentaries on the Minor Prophets.
Content
Preface
Chapter One: Saadiah Gaon: The Book of Psalms as a Second Pentateuch
I. The Rhetorical Thesis: Commandment and admonition phrased as prayer and petition
II. The Polemical Motive: An attack on the Karaite order of prayer and support for the Rabbanite prayerbook
III. The Ritual Thesis: The five-fold condition
IV. The Exegetical Application: Radical reinterpretation
V. Polemic and Truth: To what extent is Saadiah's approach to Psalms anchored in his thought?
Notes to Chapter One
Chapter Two: The Karaite Approach: The Psalms as Mandatory Prophetic Prayers
I. Salmon ben Yeruham: The Psalms as prophetic prayer for all ages: Monarchy, Exile, and Redemption
II. Yefet ben 'Ali: The Psalms as prophetic prayers, perfect in form and content
Notes to Chapter Two
Chapter Three: Moses Ibn Giqatilah: The Psalms as Non-prophetic Prayers and Poems
Notes to Chapter Three
Chapter Four: Abraham Ibn Ezra: The Psalms as Prophetic and Sacred Poetry
I. Abraham Ibn Ezra's two commentaries on Psalms
II. Echoes of Ibn Ezra's predecessors in his commentaries on Psalms
III. The prologue to the First Introduction: The musical and thematic superiority of the Psalms as divine songs
IV. The First Inquiry: Who wrote the Psalms?
V. The Second Inquiry: Who edited the Book of Psalms?
VI. The Third Inquiry: Are the Psalms prayers or prophecies?
The answer of the introduction: Prophetic prayers
The answer in the body of the commentary:
Prophetic prayers with abundant theological lore
VII. The Fourth Inquiry: Editorial matters-the order of the Psalms and the terms used in their headings
The five books of psalms in comparison to Iberian anthologies
Two different explanations of the problematic term mizmor
Two explanations of la-me nasseah
The enigmatic expressions in the superscriptions as melodic indications
Notes to Chapter Four
Bibliography
Appendix:
Ibn Ezra's introduction and commentary on Psalms 1-2: The "First Recension" (Hebrew and English) Ibn Ezra's introduction to the standard commentary: The "Second Recension" (Hebrew and English)
Index of Citations
Index of Names and Topics
