A God of Vengeance?: Understanding the Psalms of Divine Wrath [Paperback]

Erich Zenger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1995

The aggressive tone of the psalms that deal with violence is often viewed as in direct opposition to Jesus' command to love one's neighbor. Erich Zenger, a preeminent international scholar, offers to Christians a new understanding of these powerful, albeit disquieting, psalms. To Zenger, these psalms are laments that cry out against violence and injustice in the world and have great relevance to people of faith today. Readers will appreciate Zenger's forthright discussion of how to use these psalms in modern prayer.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

About the Author

Erich Zenger is Professor of Old Testament at the University of Munster in Germany. He is the author of numerous works, including To Begin with, God Created and A God of Vengeance?.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; lst ed edition (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664256376
• ISBN-13: 978-0664256371
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #483,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Psalms of Divine Wrath, August 2, 2001

By 

Wyote (Seoul) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A God of Vengeance?: Understanding the Psalms of Divine Wrath (Paperback)

Zenger approaches some of the most difficult psalms to understand: the psalms of vengeance. Like most Christans, and perhaps many Jews, I had mumbled over these psalms uncomfortably, and quickly forgot them. But this book helped me tremendously to appreciate and value these psalms, and some of them have become rather important to me. Zenger discusses the psalms as laments against violence and injustice, and he discusses how we can use these psalms in our own prayer.

A professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary wrote that this book was the "most extensive and best work that I know of on one of the most troubling dimensions of scripture... With both careful and rich exegesis of the psalms... Zenger recovers these as important liturgical and theological resources..."

If these Psalms, and the classic image of the wrathful Old Testament God, have disturbed you, and you want to integrate them productively into your spirituality, this is an excellent book for you.