Reading Psalms Sapientially in the Writings

Abstract

The study of wisdom in the Psalms has often been limited to identifying particular “wisdom psalms.” This chapter widens the purview by setting Psalms and Proverbs in hermeneutical dialogue with each other and specifically by examining Psalms from the perspective of what Proverbs commends and values. Such an analysis highlights both similarities and differences between these two complex corpora. The sapiential “rebuke” in Proverbs finds its counterpart in “complaint” in the Psalms, but with an altogether different object of address. The shared language of “righteousness” in the Psalms is given a more theocentric cast than in Proverbs. The conjunction of Psalm 111 and Psalm 112 is particularly telling: while the profile of human righteousness in Psalm 112 coheres with Proverbs, its compositional linkage to its “twin” lays claim that human righteousness cannot stand on its own. The language of “seeking” and salvation is also compared, revealing pronounced rhetorical differences.