Survey of the Psalms (8 Week Semester)

This course combines my one-time course (Introduction to the Psalms) with my multi-week course (The Hallelujah Psalms) into a full 8-week semester.  It is especially for those parents looking for a semester length class for their young learners.  This course may be taken first with no prior classes, and no prior knowledge or background on the subject matter is required.  We start from scratch!  

This is a course in Religious Studies, which is a secular academic discipline not based in any religious tradition.   It is a historical science using the tools of literary analysis, redaction analysis, genre analysis, hermeneutics, intertextual exegesis, and other such academic tools to investigate the manuscript tradition, historical intentions, and reception history of ancient texts.  It is not based in any religious tradition nor opposed to any.  It is history, pure and simple.  

This class on the Psalms has been adapted from university courses I taught at a secular institution (McGill).  In this class, the findings of scholars and academics is brought forward to reveal the place, context, intentions, and other important aspects of the Psalms.  The aim is to reveal the significance of the psalms in the Abrahamic faiths and world history, and to provide students with an appreciation of the psalms and their timeless relevance as literature.

The class is structured as a university-style interactive lecture followed by a "question and answer" period afterwards.  However, the difficulty of the subject matter has been reduced and made appropriate for younger learners.  The class may be considered "college prep" for those students going on to higher education.  But it will be fully accessible to everyone, regardless of their education goals.  An interest in the subject matter, the Psalms, is all that is needed.  No prior knowledge of ancient history or the Abrahamic traditions is required.  This is a survey class, fully open to those students just wanting to learn about the Psalms for the first time.

The Academic Perspective 

Scholars speak of "the world of the text" when describing religious literature, meaning that we make no claims with respect to metaphysical realities (such as angels, demons, heaven, hell, etc.).  Instead, these claims are treated as literary constructs within those texts.  This is how we achieve respectful neutrality and objectivity in our analyses.  This will also be an opportunity to speak of the actual historicity of textual narratives in religious remembrance.  Take, for example, the story of Queen Esther in the Hebrew Bible.  While she is celebrated in Judaism today with the Purim holiday, ancient historians including Herodotus and Cicero do not corroborate certain claims in the Book of Esther.  Instead, scholars today see a complex story of what is known as "reception history" that is based on a kernel of historical truth that became developed into a "scared story" within that religious community, and used to create a shared cultural heritage.  This is an illustrative example how the findings of scholars and academics will be brought forward in this course to reveal the place, context, intentions, and other important aspects of the Book of Psalms.  The aim is to reveal the significance of the psalms in the Abrahamic faiths and world history, and to provide students with an appreciation of the psalms and their timeless relevance as literature.

The Weekly Schedule 

This class lasts for eight (8) weeks.  We begin with what are known as the five Hallelujah Psalms as described below:

Week 1, Ps. 150 – The World as Temple 

The class begins with the final psalm of the psalter.  Its themes are music and history, and represents the beginning of Second Temple Judaism, a time after the Babylonian Exile when the people rebuild a temple, and "begin again" with faith and hope for the future.  

Week 2, Ps. 146 – The God of Justice  

This is the first psalm of the Hallelujah collection.  Its themes are justice and healing for a people who suffered through the Babylonian Captivity (which lasted 70 years), and who are looking to Yahweh for solace and peace. 

Week 3, Ps. 147 – The God who Comforts 

This thanksgiving psalms details the postexilic experience of the Judaic people.  Its themes include the "wisdom tradition" of the postexilic literature concerning the need for humility -- thematic comparisons will be made to the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Week 4, Ps. 148 – The God of Creation

This psalm highlights the place of nature itself within the religious community as co-celebrants, echoing themes from The Book of Job which is also a post-exile composition.  A particular subject of interest to be explored is the identity of the sea creature known as Leviathan within the literary imagination.  

Week 5, Ps. 149 – Victory over Babylon 

This psalm celebrates the victory over Babylon, which was won, not with battles, but through steadfast faith, and well as celebrating the fearlessness and cunning of Queen Esther, the greatest Jewish Heroine in historical remembrance.  

Week 6, Ps. 89 – A Lament Psalm

The first five weeks covered the last five psalms in the Hebrew Bible.  They are, so to speak, the end of that story.  With this background in mind, the student is ready for important history captured in earlier psalms.   Psalm 89 concerns the Assyrian Captivity of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  This psalm is a lament for the "ten lost tribes" that resulted from that conquest.

Week 7, Ps. 90 – A Wisdom Psalm  

This is a remarkable psalm that "answers" the lament of Psalm 89.  But the psalmist does not give reasons for this tragedy but instead encourages humility and for everyone to seek wisdom.  It signals an end to lament, and a return to a faith and tradition that goes back to Moses and the Torah.

Week 8, Ps. 91 – A Prophetic Psalm 

This psalm is the third of this group, and in it the psalmist now turns a prophetic gaze toward the future, rather than on the tragic past.  The psalmist is encouraging hope and perseverance as a community.  

Overview 

These eight psalms represent a survey of the Book of Psalms.  As a survey, it is not possible to cover each and every one of the 150 psalms it contains.  But in these 8 weeks will give an overview and foundation for future studies.  

Class Structure 

This class will be in the form of an interactive seminar, which I present short lectures on particular themes, then engage the students with question/answer sessions.  No background knowledge is required, or religious background needed.  No personal beliefs on religion or politics will be presented. The class is open to learners of any religious background or none at all.   The presentation will be historical, objective, secular, and academic.  

Topics covered include First Temple Judaism, Second Temple Judaism, the Assyrian Captivity (circa 740 BCE), the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, the Babylonian Captivity (lasting 70 years, circa 586-516 BCE), the postexilic literature, intertextuality, the Book of Job, Queen Esther, the Book of Ecclesiastes, authorship of the Psalms, textual superscriptions, and the literary themes of lament, petition, and devotion.