The Place of the Torah-Psalms in the Psalter Author(s): James Luther Mays Source: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 106, No. 1 (Mar., 1987), pp. 3-12 Published by: The Society of Biblical Literature Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3260550 . Accessed: 19/06/2014 23:38 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
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JBL 106/1 (1987) 3-12 THE PLACE OF THE TORAH-PSALMS IN THE PSALTER* JAMES LUTHER MAYS Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, Richmond, VA 23227 Psalms 1, 19, and 119 do not have a significant place in the established critical approaches to the Psalms. They do not fit easily into any of the accepted genres or into any of the proposed orders for festivals in ancient Israel. In most introductory treatments, Psalms 1, 19, and 119 are among the leftovers. They are sometimes dealt with as "wisdom psalms," though there is uncertainty about whether all are so properly identified, and, of course, the classification "wisdom psalms" is itself ambiguous. Moreover, these three are generally regarded as the latest of the Psalms. Though the three are quite different in form and content, they share one distinctive feature. They are psalms in which the instruction of the Lord is the central organizing topic and is viewed as the primary reality in the relation of mortals to God. Those who composed them wrote them as Psalms, and they were included in the Psalter. This double fact means that the latest and smallest group of the Psalms may provide the central clue to the way the Psalms, individually and as a book, were read and understood at the time of their composition and inclusion. The problem children of the Psalter do not have a place in the Gattungen and Sitze of Psalm criticism, but they do have a place in the book.' The question, then, of the torah psalms is not a question of their inter- pretation as isolated pieces. It is a question of what their presence in the book of Psalms means for the way the Psalms are to be viewed and read. How do things look if the direction of analysis is reversed and one begins with these latest leftover psalms and looks at them in the book and at the book through them? What can be said about the relation of Psalms 1, 19, and 119 to the book of which they are a part and to other psalms of which it is composed? What effect does their presence have on other psalms and the way they are to be understood? What is their "place" in the Psalter? *The Presidential Address delivered 22 November 1986 at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Atlanta, GA. 1 For an orientation to approaching Psalms as a book, see B. S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976) chap. 33. 3 This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 23:38:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Mays: The Place of the Torah-Psalms importance of the Psalter for that piety and of torah-piety for the book of Psalms. All the categories by which the psalmists identify themselves and their circle-servants, humble, fearers of the Lord, devoted ones--are to be understood in light of the first psalm. Psalm 19 brings together cosmos, torah, and prayer. It puts in an interrelated sequence the language of the heavens, the instruction of the Lord, and the words of the psalmist. The psalm is a literary unit. The custom of dividing it into two or three separate units overlooks the compositional techniques, uncovered in several recent studies, that unite quite different styles and topics.3 To a strictly form-critical approach, the combinations seem artificial. But that is an indication that this poem and many others assigned to "mixed-genres" are a type of literature whose generic characteristic is the gathering and com- bination of styles and materials into a new kind of unit.4 The juxtaposition of cosmic speech with categories of the Lord's instruction is certainly inten- tional. The heavenly order praises God, and the psalmist praises the in- struction of the Lord. The implication of this pairing is not expressly stated. Another psalm using similar vocabulary and motifs (Psalm 33:6-9) cites the Lord's authority as creator as a reason to fear him (one of the parallel terms for torah in Psalm 19; see v 10). The certain point is the presentation of a God who is known both through creation and torah. The torah of the Lord is just as certain and everlasting, just as much a part of the nature of reality as the succession of day and night and the regular course of the sun. The literary model for the second part of Psalm 19 comes from Proverbs. The Psalm commends the torah of the Lord in the same way that the teacher commends wisdom (Prov 8:1-21; see also 4:20-23; 6:23) and claims for the torah of the Lord excellences and functions that include and surpass those of wisdom. To extend the commendation, the author has searched out and assembled five companion terms for torah: testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, and ordinance.5 One can put it that way because the terms are at home in various kinds of literary sources, but the list and its order are unique. "Precepts" appears only in other psalms. The "fear of the Lord," meaning content instead of practice, is found in the 3 M. Fishbane, "Psalm 19. Creation, Torah, and Hope," in Text and Texture (New York: Schocken Books, 1979) 84-90; D. J. A. Clines, "The Tree of Knowledge and the Law of Yahweh (Psalm XIX)," VT 24 (1974) 8-14. 4 See the excellent assessment of H. Gunkel's Mischgattungen in F. Stolz, Psalmen im nachkultischen Raum (Theologische Studien 129; Zurich: Theologischer Verlag, 1983) 23-27. 5 I am using t6ra as a comprehensive term for what is named discursively by the cluster of nouns in Psalm 19 ('edit, piqqudim miswd, yir'a, mispatim) and in Psalm 119 ('edot/ 'ed6t, piqqudfm, daiibr, mispatim, miswot, huqqim, 'imrd, derek, 'orah). I give RSV's translations since they are familiar. No translation is entirely satisfactory, though note what JPS has done. Torah when translated is "instruction, teaching," and "law" is avoided for well-known reasons. 5 This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Thu, 19 Jun 2014 23:38:42 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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