AbstractPsalm 109 is one of the most problematic psalms in the Old Testament. The majority of scholars are not comfortable as far as the interpretation of the contents is concerned. It is one of the psalms that is classified as an imprecatory psalm dealing with vengeance against enemies instead of forgiveness. It has been given various names among some Western scholars, who link the psalm to hate, vengeance, cursing, and violence. However, when approached from an Africentric point of view in African Christianity, this psalm can be is considered as one of the prayers of appeal to God for justice. The purpose of this article is to discuss how this psalm is interpreted differently in African Christianity, for example as a psalm of protection, success, healing and, mostly, as a prayer to God to get up and fight for the righteous and the poor instead of leaving the fight to the sufferer visiting witch doctors, herbalists, or evil ones.

AbstractMasterthesis Intercultural Reformed Theology

AbstractThe strophe comprising the cola 23a-30b is characterised by a remarkable series of imprecations which the supplicant directs against all those enemies who act against him in villainy (23a-29b). The supplicant appeals to God to let justice triumph by redressing the injustices he suffers on behalf of him (God). These imprecations should therefore impel God to make an end to the discrepancies existing between the enemies' deeds and their (apparent) well-being. Clearly the theme of divine retribution functions as the hermeneutical key in order to understand, not only this strophe, but also this Psalm. The question to be answered in this paper is what should one understand by the so-called 'doctrine of divine retribution' and what is the theology underlying this doctrine? In order to do this I will outline different views on the doctrine of divine retribution, as an underlying element of wisdom theology. This outline will especially focus on the opposing views held by K Koch and B Janowski on this issue. Whereas Koch emphasises the natural automatism inherent in the deed-consequence-nexus, Janowski follows in Assman's footsteps by defining retribution in ancient Israel in terms of 'connective justice' (iustitia connectiva); which could be explicated with the ancient Egyptian concept Ma'at, which represents the principle of solidarity, reciprocity and retribution. Having given this overview of the different viewpoints, this paper will defend the thesis that, in line with Janowski, Jan Assman's view of this doctrine can contribute to a better understanding of this series of imprecations included in the present BHS text of Psalm 69.

AbstractZion is explicitly mentioned in Psalm 69:36a. This article will endeavour to outline its significance for the interpretation of the text of Psalm 69. The text of Psalm 69 functioned as an individual lament in the pre-exilic period. In the crisis of the exilic / early post-exilic period, as well as later in the post-exilic period, it became a vehicle for a divided Jewish community to express their laments as the personified 'I'. Consequently, a new perspective has been created in this text: the sufferer of the basic text has now come to reflect the suffering community in the different epochs in the post-exilic Judah. Moreover, it is significant that the end of this text discovered the hope for Zion and the cities of Judah in God's faithfulness expressed to the suffering individual.

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to carry out a thorough exegetical study of Ps 137 in order to grasp its content, context and theological implications. The basic hypothesis of this study is that Ps 137 can be best understood when the text is thoroughly analysed. Therefore, in this article, Ps 137 will be read in its total context (i.e. historical setting, life-setting and canonical setting) and its literary genre. The article concludes by discussing the imprecatory implications and message of Ps 137 to the followers of YHWH.

AbstractThis thesis is an attempt to read the imprecatory psalms in the Old Testament more effectively. In the introduction, the current research of the imprecatory psalms is surveyed and three problems are identified. First of all, there seems to be no consensus among scholars with regards to the exact number of imprecatory psalms. The reason for this is that there are no defined criteria for identifying these psalms. Little work has been done to rectify the situation, possibly because the search for such criteria has been arbitrary and subjective. It is probably unnecessary for scholars to sing in unison with regards to the exact number of imprecatory psalms. Therefore, rather than searching for some illusive criteria, this study focuses on the content of these psalms in order to enrich our understanding of imprecation in the Psalms. Secondly, there is a wide range of views regarding the basis of imprecatory psalms. There is no consensus among scholars and many of the proposed solutions are unsatisfactory. Therefore, this study focuses on each imprecatory psalm to establish the basis of imprecation from the text itself and then seeks to clarify the “ethical problem” in the light of the New Testament. Thirdly, some scholars seem to have ignored the historical context of the imprecatory psalms. Therefore, this study is an attempt to read the imprecatory psalms in their total context (i.e historical, life-setting and canonical) before application is made to the modern context. Thus, the above research problems have provided motivation for this thoroughly text-based and text oriented exegetical study of a representative selection of the imprecatory psalms in order to grasp more accurately the content, context and message of these psalms. In order to ensure the thoroughness of this study, the reading strategy utilized involves a three-dimensional approach, namely an intra-textual reading, an extra-textual reading and an inter-textual reading of each of the representative imprecatory psalms. From the perspective of intra-textual reading, the literary structure, morphological, poetical, semantic and rhetorical features of each of the representative imprecatory psalms are investigated. Following this, the extra-textual dimensions of each of the representative imprecatory psalms are discussed in order to scrutinize the socio-historical context of imprecatory psalms. The aspect of the inter-textual relationships of each of the representative imprecatory psalms is also examined in order to understand imprecatory psalms in their broader canonical context. For the purpose of this study, five imprecatory psalms, namely Psalms 35, 69, 83, 109 and 137, have been selected, based on the fact that they are commonly classified by scholars as imprecatory psalms. Psalms 35, 69, 83, 109 and 137 are multi-dimensionally read in the main body of the thesis (chapters 2-6, one chapter for each imprecatory psalm), based on the suggested three-dimensional reading, namely the intra-textual reading, the extra-textual reading and the inter-textual reading. The thesis concludes by comparing the content, context and theological emphasis of the selected imprecatory psalms. It synthesizes all the study outcomes, the overall messages and theological implications of the selected imprecatory psalms and gives clarity on the “ethical problem.” Finally, some suggestions for future research on imprecatory psalms are offered.