Literary Analytical Approach
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
History of Interpretation of Psalms
Reformation Approach ← Literary Analytical Approach → Form Criticism
Method
- Disregard superscriptions.
- Employ philological and theological criteria to date psalms (Israel’s religion progressed from outward to inward, personal).
- Conclusion: Psalms are post-exilic and many of them reflect the political and ecclesiastical struggles of the Maccabean era.
Scholars
Briggs, Cheyne, Duhm, Olshausen, Wellhausen (most commentators between 1880-1920 — Kirkpatrick, 1902— a notable exception)