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

AbstractAt present, research into the editorial shaping of the canonical Psalter holds acentral role in psalms studies. In keeping with this trend, this dissertationexamines links between Psalms 3-8 in an attempt to discern the criteria andobjectives the editors used when arranging them.The study begins with a detailed exegetical synopsis of each of the six psalmsin the chosen corpus. This lays a foundation for examining links between thepsalms that might have influenced the editors to arrange them in thecanonical order. An exhaustive analysis of links first between adjacent psalmsand then across the entire corpus follows; the goal is to identify the rationalefor the ordering of the psalms.The analysis suggests that verbal and thematic links provided the main basisof arrangement. The editors’ primary objective was to ensure a natural verbaland thematic connection between each pair of adjacent psalms. Althougheditorial linking is most evident on the level of adjacent psalms, beyond thislevel the editors do seem to have considered shared terms and similarities inthe headings; these considerations were subordinate to shared terms andthemes amongst neighbouring psalms.