The Psalms in Israel's Worship

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Introduction

Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship (Oxford: Blackwell, 1962).

1951 - Originally published in Norwegian as Offersang og Sangoffer (one volume)
1962 - Revised by Mowinckel and translated into English by D. R. Ap-Thomas as The Psalms in Israel's Worship (two volumes).

"The historical viewpoint from which I regard the psalms is that of form history, a method of approach introduced by Hermann Gunkel. But... it had become apparent to me that that point of view was not sufficient. In order to understand the psalms in their relationship to the religious life of Israel and of Judaism it is necessary also to use in addition the cult functional approach. They must be viewed and comprehended in their relationship to the congregation's devotional life. The great majority of the psalms which have come down to us do not simply derive, as a matter of form history or literary history, from ancient cult poetry–they are real cult psalms composed for and used in the actual services in the Temple" (xxiii).


Summary

Mowinckel argues that "the psalms are–with very few exceptions–real cult psalms, made for cultic use" (I, 30). Therefore, "to understand a psalm means to see it in the right cultic connexion" (I, 34). Just as one can only understand a baptismal hymn in its connection to the ritual act of baptism, so one can only understand a psalm "in relation to the definite cultic act–or the cultic acts–to which it belonged" (I, 23).

"The cult-functional method includes the attempt to understand every surviving psalm as a real cult psalm, made for a definite cultic situation" (I, 34).

Building on the form-critical foundation laid by Gunkel, Mowinckel distinguishes four main types of psalms and a few subtypes:

  • Congregational praises/thanksgivings
    • common/general praises
    • special/particular thanksgivings
  • Congregational laments
    • common/general laments
    • special/particular laments
  • Individual thanksgivings
  • Individual laments

Psalms of every time had their primary place in Israel's cult.

Outline

  1. The Psalms and the Cult
  2. The Method of the Cultic Interpretation
  3. 'I' and 'We' in the Psalms–'Royal Psalms'
  4. The Hymn of Praise
  5. Psalms at the Enthronement Festival of YHWH
  6. National Psalms of Lamentation
  7. National Psalms of Lamentation in the I-form
  8. Personal (Private) Psalms of Lamentation
  9. Public Thanksgiving Psalms
  10. Personal (Private) Thanksgiving Psalms
  11. Psalms of Blessing and Cursing
  12. The Prophetic Word in the Psalms and the Prophetic Psalms
  13. Mixed Style and Liturgical Compositions
  14. Psalm Singing and Psalm Singers
  15. The Psalmists
  16. The Learned Psalmography
  17. Traditionalism and Personality in the Psalms
  18. The Antiquity of Psalmography and the Psalms
  19. The Metre of the Psalms
  20. Israelite and Oriental Psalmography
  21. Earlier Collections. The Compilation of the Psalter
  22. The Purpose of the Psalter
  23. Technical Terms in the Psalm Headings

Key Concepts

Cult

"Cult or ritual may be defined as the socially established and regulated holy acts and words in which the encounter and communion of the Deity with the congregation is established, developed, and brought to its ultimate goal" (I, 15).

In ancient Israel, this ritualized "encounter and communion" between YHWH and the congregation happened above all at Israel's festivals. "Cult to the ancient Israelite meant primarily 'festival'" (I, 32). The three major festivals are (see e.g., Deut. 16:1-17):

  • Passover & the Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)
  • Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth)


This third feast, according to Mowinckel, was the most important of Israel's festivals. It celebrated the harvest, the new year, and, most importantly, the enthronement of YHWH.

Enthronement Festival

Several psalms contain the refrain YHWH malak, which Mowinckel translates as "YHWH has become king" (Ps. 93:1; 97:1; 47:8; 96:10). Gunkel referred to these as "Enthronement Psalms," and he interpreted them eschatologically. Mowinckel, on the other hand, in keeping with his approach, interprets them as cultic texts.

"These psalms presuppose... a festival, which has... been celebrated as a festival of the enthronement of YHWH" (I, 112).

The celebration of YHWH's enthronement was, according to Mowinckel, one aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles. The proclamation "YHWH malak" functions in that feast like the proclamation "Christ the Lord has risen today" functions in an Easter Sunday service.

Mowinckel devotes significant space (86 pages) to this idea of an "enthronement festival."

Key Arguments

Mowinckel's main argument is essentially the same as Gunkel's, though his conclusion is more far-reaching. Not only did the psalm genres originate in the cult; the biblical psalms themselves "are to be interpreted as cultic texts" (I, 22).


===
title: Cultic texts
dot:
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===
[Cultic texts]: "The biblical psalms are to be interpreted as cultic texts" (I, 22).
 + <External evidence>:Evidence outside of the Psalms suggests that they are cultic texts (i.e., written for use in the cult).
  + [Superscriptions]: Many terms in the Psalm headings "refer to liturgical practice in the temple service" (2).
  + [Rabbinic tradition]: According to Rabbinic tradition, certain psalms "were used on different occasions in the temple cult" (2).
   + [Egyptian Hallel]:The Mishna states that "the so-called 'Egyptian Hallel', i.e. Pss. 113-118, was sung both at the slaying of the Paschal lamb (Mishna Pesahim V 7) and at the feast of Tabernacles (Mishna Sukka IV 1)" (3).
  + [1 Chron. 16]: "The Chronicler in 1 Chron. 16 uses quotations from the so-called 'Enthronement Psalms' for the description of a certain cultic occasion" (4).
  + [Psalm singing]:"Hymn-singing... was a normal part of the Israelite cult" (22)
   + [Amos 5:23]
   + [Ancient cults]:"In all ancient cults, song music, and dance play an important role" (8).
 + <Internal evidence>: Evidence within the Psalms themselves suggests that these are cultic texts (i.e., written for use in the cult).
  + [Fixed forms]: "The set formality of the psalms can only be explained on the basis that they are... ritual lyrics" (31).
  + [Festal procession]: "We have psalms that obviously presuppose, and are made for, a festal procession, such as Pss. 24; 68; 118; 132" (5).
  + [Ritual allusions]: Many psalms have "allusions to definite ritual acts" (6).
   + [E.g., Ps. 5:7]
   + [E.g., Ps. 66:13]


Argument Mapn0Cultic texts"The biblical psalms are to be interpreted as cultic texts" (I, 22).n1SuperscriptionsMany terms in the Psalm headings "refer to liturgical practice in the temple service" (2).n13External evidenceEvidence outside of the Psalms suggests that they are cultic texts (i.e., written for use in the cult).n1->n13n2Rabbinic traditionAccording to Rabbinic tradition, certain psalms "were used on different occasions in the temple cult" (2).n2->n13n3Egyptian HallelThe Mishna states that "the so-called 'Egyptian Hallel', i.e. Pss. 113-118, was sung both at the slaying of the Paschal lamb (Mishna Pesahim V 7) and at the feast of Tabernacles (Mishna Sukka IV 1)" (3).n3->n2n41 Chron. 16"The Chronicler in 1 Chron. 16 uses quotations from the so-called 'Enthronement Psalms' for the description of a certain cultic occasion" (4).n4->n13n5Psalm singing"Hymn-singing... was a normal part of the Israelite cult" (22)n5->n13n6Amos 5:23n6->n5n7Ancient cults"In all ancient cults, song music, and dance play an important role" (8).n7->n5n8Fixed forms"The set formality of the psalms can only be explained on the basis that they are... ritual lyrics" (31).n14Internal evidenceEvidence within the Psalms themselves suggests that these are cultic texts (i.e., written for use in the cult).n8->n14n9Festal procession"We have psalms that obviously presuppose, and are made for, a festal procession, such as Pss. 24; 68; 118; 132" (5).n9->n14n10Ritual allusionsMany psalms have "allusions to definite ritual acts" (6).n10->n14n11E.g., Ps. 5:7n11->n10n12E.g., Ps. 66:13n12->n10n13->n0n14->n0
Cultic texts


Key Evidence


Impact

Important ideas

  • The cultic nature of many of the Psalms
  • The concept of an Enthronement Festival
  • The king as the representative and incorporation of the people and the "I" in many of the Psalms

Critique


References