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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good conclusion, tedious route to arrive at it,
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This review is from: The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (Dissertation series / Society of Biblical Literature) (Paperback)
First, it must be acknowledged that this book changed the course of Psalms studies. This book must be read to understand where Psalms studies are today. That said...Wilson begins his dissertation by introducing his methodological approach. He places this within the dual pole tension of looking at the text in its final form versus looking at the Psalms as a collection of disparate elements. Before letting the reader know which of the two camps he fits at the end of the book, he points out that the majority of scholarship at the time that he wrote this dissertation leaned toward the second camp. After a very brief survey of this perspective, he launches directly into the least interesting part of the book. He makes the comparison of the process of the production of Hebrew Psalter to that of Sumerian, Babylonian and Akkadian hymn books in chapters one, two and three. This section is very dry with one catalogue of ancient Mesopotamian hymn after another. At the end of the book, one is able to see the comparisons that he makes, but he gives very little hint in this section to where he is going. Some signposts would have been helpful along the way to guide and keep interest in the subject. It was difficult to push through this section and even then it did not seem to give much instruction. It was only after he made his case later than the reader is able to turn back and see the connections. His direct quotes of ancient languages are excruciating since most people cannot read those languages. The fourth and fifth chapters are marginally better since they deal with a more familiar topic, though the does not arrange the material in an easy to digest manner. Once again, he plows through one psalm after another to make his cases with very little commentary to guide the discussion. These chapters do set up the next two more worthwhile chapters. Perhaps Wilson had include the first five chapters as foundational material to show that he had done his work, but it should have been short and it should have had more direction through it rather than the itemization of hymn after hymn or psalm after psalm. It clearly could have been better presented and this is the reason for only 2 stars. Chapters six and seven are the reasons to read this book. He finally lets the reader know that he thinks that there are clear evidences of editing taking place in the Psalter, specifying as obvious - (1) the inclusion of Psalm 1 as an introduction, (2) the distinct organization of the Psalter into five books and (3) the seemingly out of place "hallelujah" psalms (146-150) - though this does not mean that the entire collection was produced in form by an editor, but perhaps editors brought together previous collections. If editing did take place as he recognizes, he stresses the importance of looking at the seams of the separate books as they are put together (pss 2, 41, 72, 89). Wilson's scholarship is excellent and his case well made. It was so well made that the argument stands firm three decades later as fresh and insightful. What was likely avant-garde in 1981 has come to be respected as an acceptable norm. His writing style was dry, subsequent work has proven that he can and does write better, but the ideas in chapters six and seven were informative. As the title of the review states, this book has a good conclusion, but thakes tedious route to arrive at it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
By
This review is from: The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (Dissertation series / Society of Biblical Literature) (Paperback)
Wilson has done a superb job of showing how all the psalms fit together to form a unified whole with a unified story. This book is well worth the price and will richly reward anyone who wishes to understand the psalter not a collection of unrelated pieces, but as a masterfully composed narrative.
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