Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 5: Concatenation in Psalms 3-8Little is know with any certainty about how these two psalms were used inancient Hebrew worship. Unlike Psalms 3-5, there is reason to consider themas morning or evening hymns. Mays’ (1994a) suggestion that temple priestsused Psalm 6 to minister to the sick offers a probable usage. Perhaps theyalso used it to minister to people suffering from deep anguish which theyattributed to Yahweh’s punishment. In a similar way, Psalm 7 would be idealfor ministering to those who were victims of sinister accusations, but it is pureguesswork as to whether it was formally used in this way.Thematic links. One is hard-pressed to find significant thematic links. Evenwhere terminology is shared, it does not signal thematic similarity. Forexample, Yahweh’s anger is mentioned in both psalms, but in Psalm 6 it isupon the psalmist, whereas in Psalm 7 the psalmist invokes it against hisenemy.5.4.3 Basis of arrangementWhat conclusions can be drawn from the preceding analysis of links? In onerespect, it seems as if there are no strong links between Psalms 6 and 7.They share some potentially significant terminology (e.g., וֶ‏ ת ‏,חָ‏ לַ‏ צ ‏,אָ‏ וֶ‏ ן ‏,מָ‏ andbut close examination shows that the usage of these terms differs ‏,(פָ‏ ףַ‏ לsignificantly in the two psalms.218