Digital Logos Edition
In this “meticulous” commentary, “brilliantly” translated by Linda M. Maloney, Frank Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger provide for each psalm a relevant bibliography of scholarship, a fresh translation, text-critical and philological details, and commentary on historical context, theological significance, literary structure, and reception (in Septuagint, Targums, and New Testament), engaging a wide range of scholarship as they proceed. Line drawings help to illustrate the Ancient Near Eastern context.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Interested in more Hermeneia commentaries? Explore the series and watch the video here.
“Presentation of Yhwh’s Transformative, Re-creative Power (vv. 33–35*)” (Page 109)
“Yhwh resided on Zion not only as the God who protected Jerusalem but also as the powerful warrior against whom the enemy armies must shatter. The hymns of Zion, Psalms 46–48, celebrated the unconquerability of Zion, as demonstrated in the attack by Sennacherib in the year 701 b.c.e. Zion had become, through Josiah’s reform, the center of Israel’s collective identity, and they themselves, these ‘Zion musicians,’ took their identity from the liturgy of Zion and its ‘home’ in the theology of Zion.” (Page 515)
“Dew of Hermon’ is thus a mythicizing metaphor for divinely given dew (‘dew of the gods’) that falls on Zion and brings about fertility, freshness, and life there.” (Page 481)
“n contrast, dew that ‘falls’ has a power that even creates new life and overcomes death,” (Page 481)
“Psalm 119 is a petition for rescue from manifold threats, or more precisely, for rescue through Yhwh’s Torah. In the midst of a hostile, even chaotic world, the one praying Psalm 119 seeks his ‘refreshment’ and his strength not in a visit to the Temple, not in active struggle against evil, but in a ‘flight’ through trust in the saving, protective castle of the Torah or, in other words, meditation on Yhwh as the giver and teacher of Torah. To that extent Israel’s Torah is not a ‘law’ given by a king or a state or the Temple priesthood (as, for example, in Assyria/Babylon or in Egypt), but, as God’s immediate revelation of God’s will, it has a dignity that in the ancient Near East was attributed to the images of the gods.” (Page 256)
Without doubt, this commentary should be one of the first choices among commentaries on the Psalms for every scholar involved in research in the field. Its methodology is clear, honest, and logical; the material presented is rich; and the structure is effective so that . . . readers will find their way to whatever psalm and its background they are searching for. The editorial board of Hermeneia is to be thanked for its decision to publish a translation of such a first-class commentary.
—Thomas J. Kraus, private scholar
Hossfeld and Zenger have given us the definitive commentary on the Psalms for this generation. Their attention to exegetical, historical, redactional, and theological dimensions of these texts ensures that the reader will have the most comprehensive access to the Psalms. From careful discussion of textual issues to the New Testament’s appropriation of the Psalms, they have provided the kind of deep exploration of the Psalter not available in any other commentary.
—Patrick D. Miller, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
Frank Lothar Hossfeld is professor of Old Testament at the University of Bonn, Germany. He is the author of Der Dekalog and Untersuchungen zu Komposition und Theologie des Ezechielbuches.
Erich Zenger is professor of Old Testament at the University of Münster, Germany. He is the author of numerous works, including To Begin with, God Created and A God of Vengeance.