Reviewed by: "A la aurora te busco" (Sal 63,2): Estudio exegético-teológico de Salmo 63 par Sebastián Prieto Silva J. L. Manzo sebastián prieto silva, "A la aurora te busco" (Sal 63,2): Estudio exegético-teológico de Salmo 63 (Tesi Gregoriana: Series Teologia 222; Rome: Gregorian & Biblical Press, 2016). Pp. 351. Paper €20. This dissertation (Pontifical Gregorian University, 2015; directed by Bruna Costacurta) presents an exegetical and theological analysis of Psalm 63. Pietro Silva uses synchronic analysis, relying heavily on philology and intertextuality to discover the meaning of the words, syntax, and theological themes present in the psalm. P.S. determines that the author composes a cohesive literary unit that incorporates diverse religious practices and daily customs of Israel's traditions to show his deep faith in God. After a preface and an introduction, the book divides into two main sections. The first section consists of two chapters; the second section comprises four chapters, followed by a conclusion. In chap. 1, P.S. offers a detailed analysis of the history of translation of the MT of Psalm 63 and offers his own rendition. Chapter 2 surveys the literary genre, themes, syntactical and structural pattern that leads P.S. to classify Psalm 63 as an individual lament with the following structure: a longing for God (vv. 2-3); the encounter of God in the temple (vv. 3-6); intimacy with God (vv. 7-9); God's divine intervention and joyful response [End Page 535] of the psalmist (vv. 10-12). P.S. then argues that Psalm 63 may be dated to the exilic or postexilic periods. This is followed by a theological reading of the psalm within the Psalter. Lastly, P.S. addresses the theological and historical significance of the psalm's title. Chapter 3, the most extensive section of the book, studies the four lines of the first strophe (v. 2). The first line, a programmatic statement (v. 2a), expresses the reciprocal union of the psalmist with God through the formula, "you are my God," which is reminiscent of the covenant ("I am your God and you are my people"). At the same time, the psalmist's hope for God's salvation is captured in the image of the light (symbol of hope) irrupting amid the darkness. Next, the language of thirst expresses the spiritual thirst for God (v. 2b), while the description of the psalmist's flesh as weak is a symbol of vulnerability and an acknowledgment of dependence on God. In v. 2c the dry land is described using physiognomic characteristics to reflect the poet's own spiritual reality: he feels alienated from God in a withered land. In chap. 4, P.S. studies the second strophe (vv. 3-6). Here, the psalmist finds himself in the holy place, the temple, where he contemplates and sees God. The psalmist's vision is an interior/spiritual perception of God's own holiness and power, two attributes manifested in creation and in God's salvific deeds. The act of praise that follows is described by P.S. as incorporating an epistemological dimension and cultural practices taken from the Semitic world of worship. The psalmist knows that God's divine ḥesed sustains all things. This knowing prompts him to worship with gestures such as exalting God with the šbḥ, a sacrifice used to calm God's wrath, with the promise to bless God all his life, and with the lifting of the hands when calling upon God's name. These actions climax in an allusion to a communal sacrifice (ḥēleb wādešen) during which the psalmist sees his own existential reality emanating from the divine essence that fills his spirit with joy. In chap. 5, P.S. treats the third strophe (vv. 7-9). The context of his reflection in the solitude and quietness of the night while resting on his bed is a past saving intervention of God. Knowing himself protected by God, the psalmist expresses through sensory images a "physical" union with his savior: his soul has adhered to God while God's right hand has sustained him. God's right hand serves as a transition to the next section in...