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

Chapter 6: Composition of Psalms 3-8designed the corpus for use in a particular worship situation (or situations).The findings from the previous chapter suggest this is unlikely, but since thecollection may look different from an eagle’s-eye view, I shall try to keep anopen mind should the evidence point towards a liturgical rationale for itsarrangement.6.1 The headingsThere is general consensus amongst scholars working on the arrangement ofthe Psalter that the headings played a significant role in the arrangement ofthe psalms, but that they were not the primary basis of arrangement (e.g.,Wilson 1985a; Anderson 1994; McFall 2000). Anderson expressed this wellwhen he said, “Whilst no part of the superscripts may be seen as the primaryediting principle, there are certain important factors to note” (1994:225). Sincethey probably served as an initial basis of collection, it makes sense to beginby analysing links between the headings of Psalms 3-8. What links areevident amongst the headings of Psalms 3-8 and, more importantly, whatsignificance do these links have for the arrangement of the corpus?The only link shared by all six psalms is the designation דָ‏ וִ‏ ד ‏,לְ‏ which isprobably best interpreted as a designation of authorship (e.g., Anderson 1994;Limburg 1996). In Book I of the Psalter, all except Psalms 1, 2, 10 and 33 are232