The Politics of Psalmody: Psalm 60 and the Rise and Fall of Judean Independence

Abstract

Psalm 60 exhibits two conflicting literary structures. One of these structures is evident by the psalm's use of chiasmus; the other is evident by the psalm's use of meter. The identification of these two conflicting structures indicates a two-stage composition of Ps 60. Examination of the chiasmus within the psalm and a consideration of its two-stage composition elucidate the date of Ps 60. While most scholars date Ps 60 to sometime between the late eighth century and early sixth century BCE, careful observation of the psalm's structure and political references indicates that the two-stage composition of Ps 60 dates to the Hasmonean and Herodian periods. Building on a second- and first-century BCE date for the two-stage composition of the psalm, a text-critical analysis of the psalm indicates that the Greek version of the psalm reflects a Hebrew Vorlage that predates the MT version of the psalm. Consequently, proto-MT Ps 60 seems to date to the end of the first century CE.craig evan andersoncraigevananderson@gmail.comAzusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA 91702Psalm 60 is one of the most politically oriented psalms in the Hebrew Bible.1 In order to understand the psalm properly, therefore, it is crucial to identify effectively the psalm's historical context.2 Despite ample scholarly investigation, however, the historical context of Ps 60 has remained elusive. For the past two centuries, scholars have proposed a range of dates for the psalm that spans nearly a millennium. In the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, many scholars argued for a date as late as the Hasmonean period.3 Yet other scholars have dated it to as early as the time of David or Solomon.4Since the publication of an article on Ps 60 by Ulrich Kellermann in 1978 and, furthermore, since the publication of Hans-Joachim Kraus's commentary on the Psalms, which was instrumental in popularizing Kellermann's argument, scholars have formed a loose consensus dating the psalm to the last few years of Jerusalem before the Babylonian destruction of the city in 587 BCE.5 Kellermann's argument on behalf of this date rests largely on the confluence of two historical phenomena to which Kellermann believes Ps 60:6, 11 refer. Kellermann interprets ... in v. 6 as a reference to archers representative of die Gefahr aus dem Norden, and he understands v. 11 as indicative of a time of military conflict between Judah and Edom.6 On the basis of this observation, Kellermann notices that the one time that Judah faced invasion from a northern enemy while simultaneously standing in conflict with Edom was during the Babylonian invasion at the beginning of the sixth century BCE. Historically, it seems likely that Edom opportunistically capitalized on Judah's weakened state during the Babylonian invasion by launching incursions into Judean territory.7Following the publication of Kellermann's article, commentaries on the Psalms and articles on Ps 60 have followed suit, routinely dating Ps 60 to the fall of Jerusalem at the beginning of the sixth century BCE.8 Most scholars see a two-stage composition for Ps 60.9 The first stage consists of a Josian oracle in vv. 8-10.10 The second stage consists of the early-sixth-century communal lament that was built around this oracle in vv. 3-7, 11-14.Yet, despite the consensus that has formed around an early-sixth-century date for Ps 60, there are some major problems with this date, which, I believe, ultimately originate from a form-critical misreading of the psalm. Consequently, before I can directly address the problem of dating the psalm and propose an alternative to this date, a form-critical analysis of Ps 60 is in order.I. Form-Critical Analysis of Psalm 60Scholars almost unanimously affirm that Ps 60:3-14 features a tripartite structure. One of the clearest indications of this is the meter that the psalm employs: vv. 3-7 and 11-14 are arranged as bicola, while vv. 8-10 feature tricola. …