The Return of the King: Messianic Expectation in Book V of the Psalter

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The clear structure of psalm groups in Psalms 107-150 can be interpreted as signaling a renewed hope in the royal/Davidic promises. Each psalm group of Book V is organized around a theme or key word that is related to the royal/Davidic hope in the earlier sections of the Psalter: Psalms 107-118; Psalm 119; Psalms 120-137; Psalms 138-145; Psalms 146-150. These words and themes figure prominently at the major seam psalms of the Psalter Psalms 1-2 and 89. Thus, the content and subject matter at the end of the Psalter is integrally related to the content and subject matter at the beginning. The editorial-critical method used by Snearly is an extension of the method used by David M. Howard, Jr. in The Structure of Psalms 93-100. Snearly also draws from recent insights in the fields of poetics and text-linguistics in order to establish a linguistically based foundation for reading the Psalter as a unified text. The methodology emphasizes parallel features, with special focus on key-word links. This method advances editorial criticism by not only discerning links within a group but also showing that those links do not occur with the same frequency outside of the group.

Reviews

A clear, compelling and comprehensive treatment of Book V of the Psalms ... Snearly sets forth a reliable methodology that begs to be applied to the other books of the Psalter. Anyone interested in the arrangement of the Psalter with basic abilities in Hebrew will want to pick this up. * My Digital Seminary blog *
Michael Snearly has succeeded masterfully in making his case that the Psalters final message includes a strong affirmation of the Davidic kingship alongside the divine kingship. His knowledge of the relevant literature is encyclopedic, his methodology is careful and precise, and his writing is clear and persuasive. * David M. Howard, Jr., Professor of Old Testament, Bethel University, USA *
Michael Snearly's writing and the organization of his material are models of clarity. His focus on the shaping and purpose of Book V of the Psalter makes a major contribution to the ongoing discussion in this area, and other Psalms scholars (like myself) will certainly want and need to take account of his arguments and conclusions. Of particular interest too is Michael's development of a statistical approach to evaluating repetition in the Psalter, in terms of discerning whether instances of repetition should be judged coincidental or intentional. * J. Clinton McCann, Eden Theological Seminary, USA *
The Return of the King provides a great service to the disciple of editorial criticism as it pertains to the Psalter. Perhaps its greatest contribution lies in the area of methodology. Snearlys rigorous defense, development, and application of the method is sorely needed given the skepticism that still surrounds it in Psalms studies. I suspect that Snearly will make not a few new converts to the method with this offering. While certainly a scholarly work, this book would serve as an excellent introduction for any student or pastor who is new to the method and looking for an exemplary model of how it should be properly appliedSnearlys impressive work is an important and welcome contribution to Psalms studies. * Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies *

Author Bio

Michael K. Snearly (PhD, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, USA) is Pastor at Red Hill Church, San Anselmo in California, USA.