In this volume, a revised version of the author's doctoral dissertation (Fordham University, 2014), Petrany explores the role of wisdom in the Psalter from the perspective of speech orientation and how “horizontally oriented” speech (human-human) interacts with “vertically oriented” speech (human-divine). Petrany notes the wide range of addressees and respondents in the Psalms, and the shift between first-, second-, and third-person speech, which, she suggests, contribute to the Psalms’ pedagogical function. She considers individual psalms and the place and function of wisdom in the Psalter.
In chapter 1, Petrany outlines a history of scholarship on wisdom in the Psalter. Wisdom language, themes, and teachings are found as “moments” in the book of Psalms, in which lament and praise predominate, and scholars disagree on the significance of such wisdom elements. The author explores how scholarship on form criticism has explored wisdom in the Psalms, and then focuses on scholarship on wisdom and the final form of the Psalter; however, she argues that such scholarship has missed the pedagogical role and implications of such wisdom psalms. By focusing on horizontal and vertical dynamics of speech in the Psalms, Petrany calls attention to a pedagogical and liturgical function engaging the speaker's address with audience in worship. Petrany also acknowledges a theological component: “The direction of discourse reveals how a speaker and audience relate to each other and how either or both relate to God through the act of speaking” (39).
Chapter 2 presents an analysis of communicative speech in wisdom, in which the passages themselves construct the oral context (speaker, audience, mode of address, etc.). Petrany outlines “directional trends of discourse,” patterns of call and response, and relation between horizontal and vertical speech. She then moves on to address such discourse in the Psalms; vertical orientation includes supplication and prophetic address, while horizontal orientation includes identified address (to a specific audience). Petrany concludes that the Psalms “present a vastly more variegated communicative landscape than what one finds in the wisdom books” (184).
In chapter 3, Petrany explores wisdom and instruction in nonwisdom psalms, wherein wisdom elements are incorporated in a subtle or implicit way. She analyzes Psalm 25 (lament), Psalm 62 (trust), Psalm 92 (thanksgiving), and Psalm 94 (mixed/lament) to explore how the wisdom elements function within psalms of different genres. She concludes that wisdom elements are incorporated in the Psalms in different ways, but all have a theocentric focus on instruction/teaching. The instructional value in such psalms involves horizontal address to a human audience and vertical address of prayer to the divine “to form an integrated lesson on life” (117).
Chapter 4 explores Psalms 1, 37, and 49, which involve mostly horizontally directed speech, and their place within the Psalter. Petrany notes connections to and differences from wisdom texts, but concludes that despite the wisdom parallels, these psalms contain other nonwisdom elements and thematic and lexical links to surrounding psalms. The pedagogical function, she argues, “lies beyond a simple association with the biblical wisdom corpus” (168).
In chapter 5, Petrany explores the role of wisdom in the shape and function of the entire Psalter. She focuses on Psalm 73 as a significant midpoint in the Psalter between Psalms 1 and 145, both of which demonstrate wisdom associations. Psalm 73 questions the prosperity of the wicked while the innocent suffer, a question with wisdom roots. It follows on the conclusion of Davidic prayers (Ps 72:20), thus connecting the covenantal crisis of divine absence with the wisdom question of Psalm 73. Petrany notes that Psalm 73 demonstrates how the Psalter “engages the wisdom tradition while maintaining a uniquely psalmic approach to problems” (208).
Chapter 6 offers conclusions and comments on the theological implications of the observations.
The book presents a careful and insightful analysis of wisdom elements within the Psalms. It represents a contribution to scholarship on wisdom and the Psalms, on the structure and composition of the Psalter, and on the pedagogical and communicative function of the Psalms. It is most accessible for a scholarly audience, but would also be suitable for graduate students of the Psalms and the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.
