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

Chapter 6: Composition of Psalms 3-8significant role in the arrangement of the corpus since little is known of theoccasion of the individual psalms. Therefore, historical factors need not beincluded in this analysis. 119 The headings provide the probable first criterion ofarrangement (e.g., Wilson 1985a; McFall 2000). On the reasonableassumption that the headings were quite early additions to the psalms, itwould be natural for early collections of heading-defined groups to arise(Cundall 1988; Thompson and Kidner 1996; Sampey 1999; McFall 2000;Ridderbos and Craigie 2002). Thus the headings may point to an early roundof compilation predating the final shaping of the Psalter. Since verbal andthematic links emerged strongly from the analysis of adjacent psalms, it ispossible that the editors brought together an entire group of psalms sharingcommon terms and themes, possibly just because they shared those themesor possibly because they wanted the cumulative “voice” of the group ofpsalms to amplify their “message”. 120 Another possibility is that the editors119 This is contrary to the views of Blaiklock (1970), Kidner (1973, cautiously), Motyer (2001)and Lane (2006), who each believe Psalms 3-6 and possibly also Psalm 7 share the samehistorical occasion, namely, Absalom’s revolt against David.120 With respect to Psalms 93-100, Howard (1997:21) claims that “[w]hen these psalms areread as a group, consecutively and in relationship to one another, they speak with a voicethat is greater than the voices of the individual psalms themselves.”231