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

Chapter 2: History of Psalms Studiesindicators of shape we discussed in the first half of thispresentation.Working on the assumption that the final redactors of the Psalter broughttogether previously existing collections, Wilson reasoned that the likeliestindicators of his/their editorial agenda would be found at the “seams” betweenthe five Books of the Psalter. Wisdom psalms are prominent at the seams—Psalms 1, 73, 90-91, 106 and 145 are all strategically placed wisdompsalms—indicating that wisdom interests dominate in the final shape of thePsalter. Wilson also noted that royal psalms—Psalms 2, 72 and 89—arefound at three of the four seams of the first major segment of the Psalter(Books I-III, Psalms 1-89). 7 In these he sees “an interesting progression inthought regarding kingship and the Davidic covenant” (Wilson 1985a:209).Books I-III tell the story of the rise and fall of the Davidic dynasty: (a) Psalm 2inaugurates the Davidic covenant; (b) in Psalm 72 the covenant is transferredto David’s successors; and finally (c) Psalm 89 portrays “its collapse in thedestruction and despair of the Exile” (Wilson 1992:134). Thus the first major7 Wilson first suspected that Psalm 41, at the end of Book I, may also be a royal psalm (seeWilson 1985a:209-210).32