Psalm 18 in Words and Pictures: A Reading Through Metaphor

265 Pages·2014·3.4 MB·English

by  Alison Ruth Gray

Psalm 18 in Words and Pictures
Biblical Interpretation Series
Editors in Chief
Paul Anderson
Yvonne Sherwood
Editorial Board
A.K.M. Adam – Roland Boer – Musa Dube
Jennifer L. Koosed – Vernon Robbins
Annette Schellenberg – Carolyn J. Sharp
Johanna Stiebert – Duane Watson
Ruben Zimmermann
VOLUME 127
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bins
Biblical Interpretation Series Psalm 18 in Words and Pictures
A Reading Through Metaphor
Editors in Chief
Paul Anderson
Yvonne Sherwood
By
Alison Ruth Gray
Editorial Board
A.K.M. Adam – Roland Boer – Musa Dube
Jennifer L. Koosed – Vernon Robbins
Annette Schellenberg – Carolyn J. Sharp
Johanna Stiebert – Duane Watson
Ruben Zimmermann
VOLUME 127
LEIDEn • BOSTOn
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bins 2014
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gray, Alison Ruth.
 Psalm 18 in words and pictures : a reading through metaphor / by Alison Ruth Gray.
  pages cm. — (Biblical interpretation series, ISSn 0928-0731 ; VOLUME 127)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBn 978-90-04-25504-3 (hardback : alk. paper)—ISBn 978-90-04-26321-5 (e-book) 1. Bible.
Psalms, XVIII—Language, style. 2. Metaphor in the Bible. 3. Bible. Psalms, XVIII—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. I. Title.
BS145018th .G73 2013
223’.2077—dc23
2013034914
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters
covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the
humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSn 0928-0731
ISBn 978-90-04-25504-3 (hardback)
ISBn 978-90-04-26321-5 (e-book)
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To Brett and Thomas

COnTEnTS
Acknowledgements  ........................................................................................ ix
Index of Diagrams and Illustrations  ......................................................... xi
Abbreviations  ................................................................................................... xiii
1 Introduction  .............................................................................................. 1
2 Towards a Complementary Approach to Biblical
Metaphor Exegesis  ............................................................................. 9
A Clarification of Terminology  ............................................................ 9
navigating through Theories and Approaches to Metaphor  ..... 17
Complementary Theories of Meaning  .............................................. 28
3 Setting Psalm 18 in Context  ................................................................. 35
Authorship and Date  .............................................................................. 38
Unity, Form and Composition  ............................................................. 40
Sitz im Leben  .............................................................................................. 44
Sitz im Buch i) Psalm 18 in Book I of the Psalter  ........................... 50
Sitz im Buch ii) The Song of David in the Books of Samuel  ....... 52
4 Translation and Exegesis of Psalm 18.1, 2–7  .................................... 55
Words and Pictures in Verse 1  ............................................................. 56
Words and Pictures in Verses 2–3 ...................................................... 58
Interpretation: vv. 2–3  ........................................................................... 66
Words and Pictures in Verses 4–7  ...................................................... 68
Interpretation: vv. 4–7  ........................................................................... 76
5 Translation and Exegesis of Psalm 18.8–20  ..................................... 79
Words and Pictures in Verses 8–16  .................................................... 81
Interpretation: vv. 8–16  .......................................................................... 104
Words and Pictures in Verses 17–20  ................................................. 105
Interpretation: vv. 17–20  ....................................................................... 112
viii contents
6 Translation and Exegesis of Psalm 18.21–30  ................................. 115
Words and Pictures in Verses 21–25  ................................................ 115
Interpretation: vv. 21–25 ...................................................................... 121
Words and Pictures in Verses 26–30  ............................................... 122
Interpretation: vv. 26–30  ..................................................................... 134
7 Translation and Exegesis of Psalm 18.31–37  .................................. 137
Words and Pictures in Verses 31–37  ................................................ 137
Interpretation: vv. 31–37  ...................................................................... 154
8 Translation and Exegesis of Psalm 18.38–51  .................................. 157
Words and Pictures in Verses 38–46  ............................................... 157
Interpretation: vv. 38–46  ..................................................................... 175
Words and Pictures in Verses 47–51  ................................................ 175
Interpretation: vv. 47–51  ...................................................................... 187
9 Interwoven Threads in Psalm 18  ....................................................... 189
Metaphorical Interplay  ........................................................................ 189
A Re-assessment of Psalm 18’s Unity  ............................................... 202
Metaphors in a Different Frame: The Purpose(s) of
Psalm 18  ............................................................................................ 204
10 Conclusions  ............................................................................................. 207
Bibliography  ..................................................................................................... 213
Index of Subjects  ............................................................................................. 227
Index of Authors  ............................................................................................. 229
Index of Textual References  ........................................................................ 232
ACKnOWLEDGEMEnTS
The present book is a revision of my doctoral thesis, presented to the Uni-
versity of Cambridge in 2012. My heartfelt thanks go to my doctoral super-
visor, Prof. Graham Davies, for his tireless support, encouragement and
guidance through a number of eventful years. He has been an inspiration
to work with: patient and kind, generous with his time, meticulous with
details, and gracious in giving counsel. I can only hope to emulate the
humility with which he approaches biblical scholarship. I am also grateful
to my examiners, Prof. William Horbury and Dr David Reimer, for their
helpful suggestions and comments on my thesis.
I am indebted to the British Arts and Humanities Research Council for
the Doctoral Award which facilitated the research for my thesis, and to
the community at Tyndale House, Cambridge, where I completed the final
stages of this book. My thanks go to a number of individuals who have
generously given their time to proof-read and comment on earlier drafts
of the material presented here: Andrew Crick, Alison Fulford, Hilary Mar-
low, Jenny Roberts, and Sue Sainsbury. Special thanks are due to Selwyn
College, which has supported me throughout my PhD, and particularly to
Dr Andrew Chester, my first teacher and mentor when I began to study
the Bible as an undergraduate. Without his support and encouragement I
would not have continued to post-graduate study. I am also deeply thank-
ful to the church communities of St Michael and All Angels, Berkhamsted,
and St Michaels, St Albans, for their help and encouragement in countless
ways. My thanks, of course, go also to Brill publishing house, especially to
Liesbeth Hugenholtz and Diana Steele, for patiently guiding me through
the process of publication.
Finally, none of this endeavour would have been possible without my
family. I am deeply grateful to my parents, nancy and nigel, for their con-
stant encouragement and support. Above all, I want to thank my husband,
Brett, and my son, Thomas, to whom I dedicate this book, for their unwav-
ering confidence in me, and for cheering me along the way.