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

Chapter 2: History of Psalms Studiesthe psalms were written after the exile, perhaps as late as the Maccabeanperiod.The demise of the headings, coupled with a pervasively sceptical approach tothe psalms, left little scope or basis for treating the final form of the Psalter asa purposefully arranged collection. Mitchell (1997:43) remarks:The idea that the Psalter was purposefully arranged was alsodisputed. Indeed, after the headings fell, it was defenceless, forthe headings and doxologies, demarcating groups of psalms,had always been the best evidence for internal structure. . . .Thus many commentators of the period made no remark on theexistence of concatenation or upon the characteristics ofheading-defined internal collections, such as the Asaph or KorahPsalms.The dominant view of the Psalter that emerged among liberal, critical scholarsregarded it as a piecemeal evolution of hymns and prayers that were collectedad hoc for use as the hymnbook of the second temple (see Briggs and Briggs1906). The period witnessed a complete loss of interest in exploring therelationship between adjacent psalms or between groups of psalms.18