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

Chapter 5: Concatenation in Psalms 3-8links to both its neighbours were weaker than the links between otherneighbouring psalms. Nevertheless, its heading and its verbal-thematiccontent provided sufficient links with Psalm 5 to suggest a purposefulrelationship. The linkage between Psalms 6 and 7 is the weakest in the group.Looking at them in isolation, I was tempted to conclude that there is nopurposeful rationale for their adjacent positions in the Psalter. However, the‏,איב and קשש 7, fact that the most significant link words between Psalms 6 andoccur in four consecutive psalms, swayed my conclusion in favour of seeingthese as hook words providing a meaningful connection. Thus, my answer tothe first question—whether there is enough linkage to suggest purposefulplacement of each pair of psalms—is “yes” for all five pairs.Turning to the matter of which links provided the editorial rationale for thejuxtaposition of psalms, three main options were considered: historical, culticand verbal-thematic. In the cases of Psalms 3-4 and 7-8, the evidence pointedstrongly towards a verbal-thematic basis of arrangement. In the case ofPsalms 4-5, there is evidence of both cultic (functional) and verbal-thematiclinkage. Psalms 5-6 are related by means of verbal-thematic similarities, butnot as strongly as Psalms 3-4 or 7-8. Finally, in the case of Psalms 6-7, theonly significant link is verbal.228