THE BOOK OF THE PSALMS (Independent Study Course) by Bruce K. Waltke, Th. D., Ph. D. (Prepared by Ferris L. McDaniel, Th.D.) (Revised by Roger D. Cotton, Th.D., and Dennis E. Waldrop, M.Div.) INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES Outreach, Inc. P.O. Box 1000 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501 1987 by OUTREACH, INC., P.O. Box 1000, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501 All Rights Reserved. This Programmed Syllabus and Keys form part of the Recorded Lecture Series on The Book of Psalms by Dr. Bruce K. Waltke in the Institute of Theological Studies, a division of OUTREACH, INC. No part of this Programmed Syllabus nor the Keys may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission of OUTREACH, INC.
THE BOOK OF PSALMS Programmed lesson plans for the recorded lecture series entitled The Book of Psalms by Dr. Bruce K. Waltke and produced by the Institute of Theological Studies (Outreach, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan). I. Course Description: A study of the Book of Psalms with special attention given to the various forms of the Psalms, their setting within the historical experience of Israel and their application today within the Church. A knowledge of Hebrew is preferred but not required. II. Course Objectives: A. To understand the historical setting and development of the Psalter. B. To analyze the various forms, contents, and settings of the Psalms. C. To acquire the ability to interpret the figures of speech found within the Psalms as a means of understanding the message of the Psalms. D. To demonstrate the application of the Psalms to the Church today. III. Required Texts: It is assumed that the student will have access to the standard lexicons, concordances and other lexical and exegetical aids especially E. W. Bullinger s, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1968). Also recommended: Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. Rev. ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1988. Gaebelein, Frank. The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Songs. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Kidner, Derek. Psalms 1-72: A Commentary on Books I-II of the Psalms. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973.. Psalms 1-72: A Commentary on Books I-II of the Psalms. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975.
IV. Course Requirements: A. Programmed Lesson Plans (30% of grade): The student is expected to submit satisfactory response to the assignments in this programmed lesson booklet. These will be due following lectures 5, 14 and 24. B. Final Examination (35% of grade): One examination will be given. It is to be found on page 51 of the printed syllabus. The student is expected to analyze the designated Psalms putting into practice those principles presented in the recorded lectures. The use of exegetical aids is permitted. Commentaries may not be used in the formulation of the synopsis nor the outline. The student is required to spend at least ten (10) hours of analysis for each psalm. It is therefore recommended that the student complete the first fourteen (14) lectures during the first half of the semester. This will insure sufficient time for the preparation of the final. C. Research paper (35% of grade): The student will be required to choose one psalm and write a 10-12 page research exegesis paper on it. This should be a thorough study of what the text meant to the people of faith of that day as well as providing application of the principles for God s people today. Such a study requires the best exegetical tools for the English Bible students as well as research in the best secondary literature, including journal articles. Especially important are the word study tools: New Englishman s Hebrew Concordance and Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. The best commentaries, particularly the Word series, must be thoroughly interacted with. The paper should be typed in the format presented by the latest edition of Kate Turabian s A Manual for Writers. V. Use of the Programmed Lesson Plans: Each lecture has a corresponding assignment sheet. The first assignment on each sheet is a reading assignment. This assignment (designated 1 ) is to be completed before listening to the taped lecture. The other questions may be done after the lecture. VI. Bibliography: Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Psalms, Translated and Explained. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1975.
Allen, Leslie C. Psalms 101-150. Word Biblical Commentaries. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983. Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic Books, 1985. Anderson, A.A. The Book of Psalms. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981, 1972. Baron, David. Types, Psalms, and Prophecies: Being a Series of Old Testament Studies. Minneapolis: Klock & Klock Christian Publishing, 1981. Beisner, E. Calvin. Psalms of Promise: Celebrating the Majesty and Faithfulness of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1994. Bellinger, W.H., Jr. Psalms: Reading and Studying the Book of Praises. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990. Bratcher, Robert G. A Translator s Handbook on the Book of Psalms. New York: United Bible Societies, 1991. Broyles, Craig C. The Conflict of Faith and Experience in the Psalms: A Form- Critical and Theological Study. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1989. Brueggemann, Walter. The Message of Psalms: A Theological Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1984.. The Psalms and the Life of Faith. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Clarke, Arthur C. Analytical Studies in the Psalms. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publishing, 1979. Craigie, Peter C. Psalms 1-50. Word Biblical Commentaries. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983. Croft, Steven J.L. The Identity of the Individual in the Psalms. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1987. Dahood, Mitchell. Psalms. 3 vols. Anchor Bible. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965-1970. Day, John. Psalms. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.
Delitzsch, F.J. Job through Song of Solomon. Vols. 4, 5, 6 of Commentary on the Old Testament. Ed. by C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, reprinted. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, n.d. Eaton, J.H. Psalms of the Way and the Kingdom: A Conference with the Commentators. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995. Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 2 nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1993. Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor s Bible Commentary. Vol. 5. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1991. Gerstenberger, Erhard S. Psalms: Part 1, with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry. The Forms of Old Testament Literature, vol. 14. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988. Gottwald, N.K. Poetry, Hebrew. In The Interpreter s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. George Arthur Buttrick, 3:829-38. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962. Goulder, Michael D. The Psalms of the Sons of Korah. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1982.. The Prayers of David. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1990.. The Psalms of Asaph and the Pentateuch: Studies in the Psalter, III. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Gunkel, Hermann. The Psalms: A Form-Critical Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967. Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. 2 vols. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. Hoglund, Kenneth G. The Listening Heart: Essays in Wisdom and the Psalms in Honor of Roland E. Murphy. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1987. Holladay, William L. The Psalms Through Three Thousand Years: A Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. Hubbard, David Allen. Psalms for all Seasons. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971. Inch, Morris A. Psychology in the Psalms: A Portrait of Man in God s World. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1969.
Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. The Old Testament in Contemporary Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973., ed. Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973.. Toward an Old Testament Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1978.. Toward an Exegetical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981.. Toward an Old Testament Ethics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983.. The Uses of the Old Testament in the New. Chicago: Moody Press, 1985. Keel-Leu, Othmar. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Translated by Timothy J. Hallett. New York: Seabury Press, 1978. Keet, Cuthbert Cubitt. A Study of the Psalms of Ascents: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary upon Psalms 120-134. London: Mitre, 1969. Kidner, Derek. Psalms. 2 vols. TOTC. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1964. Kitchen, K.A. The Bible in Its World. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977. Knight, George Angus Fulton. Psalms. The Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983. Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Theology of the Psalms. Translated by Keith Crim. Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1986. Kugel, James L. The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History. New Haven, CT: University Press, 1981. LaSor, William Sanford, David Allen Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush. Old Testament Survey. 2 nd ed. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.
Leupold, H.C. Exposition of the Psalms. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1959. Longman, Tremper III. How to Read the Psalms. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988. Magonet, Jonathan. A Rabbi Reads the Psalms. London: SCM Press, 1994. Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. New York: Paulist Press, 1991. Mays, James Luther. Psalms. Interpretation Series. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994.. The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994. Miller, Patrick. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986. Moo, Douglas J. The Problem of Sensus Plenior. In Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon, ed. D.A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, 179-211. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986. Murphy, Roland Edmund. The Psalms, Job. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977. Perowne, J.J. Stewart. The Book of Psalms. 1878; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976. Peterson, David L. Interpreting Hebrew Poetry. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1992. Pritchard, J.B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3 rd ed., with supplement. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Rhodes, Arnold Black. The Book of Psalms. Richmond, VA: John Knox Press, 1960. Rogerson, J.W., and J.W. McKay. Psalms. The Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. Ryken, Leland, and Tremper Longman III. A Complete Literary Guide to the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1993. Stuart, Douglas. Old Testament Exegesis: A Primer for Students and Pastors. 2 nd ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984.
Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 51-100. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word Publishing Company, 1990. Thomas, D. Winton, ed. Documents from Old Testament Times. New York: Harper and Row, 1958. Westermann, Claus. The Psalms: Structure, Content, and Message. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1980. Westermann, Claus. Praise and Lament in the Psalms. Translated by Keith R. Crim and Richard N. Soulen. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981.. The Living Psalms. Translated by J.R. Porter. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989. Williams, Donald M. The Communicator s Commentary, vols. 13 and 14: Psalms 1-72 and 73-Edited by Lloyd J. Ogilvie. Dallas: Word Publishing Company, 1989. Zuck, Roy B., ed. A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991., ed. Learning from the Sages. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1995.