Sunday, November 23, 2008

Abby's Psalms, for my Old Testament Class

The assignment is at the end. I have included the full text of Ps 23 and Ps 146, then my versions of them. I welcome any and all feedback. The assignment is due at classtime tomorrow morning (8am PST). This is a first draft.

Psalm 23 – Individual song of trust

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Abby’s Ps 23
1 Father-Mother God is my guardian. She provides all I need.
2 He gives me a soft featherbed in a safe shelter. She shows me fresh spring water where I can fill my water bottle.
3 He creates great beauty in sunsets, forests and mountains, which enrich my experience. She shows me the way of life that I can follow to glorify Her.
4 Even when I am depressed or feel that death is approaching, I am not afraid, because You are here. Your security alarms and healers remind me that I am always safe.
5 You have set up an all-you-can eat buffet for me where I can find fellowship even with those who hate me. You have publicly chosen me. I am filled up full.
6 Your grace and lovingkindness will always bless me. I will stay in your home for all of the days of my eternal life.


Psalm 146 A communal song of thanksgiving

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:

8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:

9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

Abby’s Ps 146
1 Sing to God, “Halleluiah!” I sing to God, “Halleluiah!” 2 I will praise Him all the days of my life. For as long as I take breath on this earth, I will praise Her.
3 Do not put your reliance on the leaders of the world. They live such a short while and cannot help you. 4 When their hearts stop, they will be buried or burned. Their edicts will die with them.
5 Those individuals who rely on God are blessed. They have faith in Her 6 who created the universe with galaxy clusters, all their stars, all their planets and all of the life in them. He is Mind and Truth.*
7 She brings justice to under-represented and ill-served individuals. He feeds the hungry. She frees those who are in bondage. 8 He opens the eyes of the blind and ignorant. She takes the load from those who are burdened. God loves those who stay on the path. 9 He houses the strangers. She comforts orphans and the bereaved. He derails those who are on the wrong track.
10 God is omnipotent and omnipresent. She will be our only leader forever. Sing to God, “Halleluiah!”
* The seven synonyms for God are Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle.


Assignment: Two of the critical features to paying attention in the reading of Psalms as poetry are parallelism and form. Parallelism stands as the distinctive feature of Hebrew poetry and replaces the rhyming words at the ends of lines that define English verse. For Hebrew the rhyme, contrast, extension, illumination, clarification, intensification is in the ideas of the line. Coogan provides an initial exploration of this on p. 461. However, his categories are too restrictive and if you study the relationships you will see that the lines connect in several different ways. The second feature to pay attention to is the form of the Psalm or the type of Psalm. This tells us about the content of the Psalm and helps us anticipate how the Psalm will develop and its major structural features. A classification of all 150 Psalms by their forms occurs on p. 462.

Using the above information, select two Psalms of differing forms (i.e. one can be communal lament, the other individual song of trust). Write a contemporary version of each Psalm. In rewriting the Psalm you need to preserve its form. That is if the original has 12 verses, yours should have 12 verses. Where the original shifts its concern and focus, yours should make the shift. For every step in the structure of the original Psalm yours should follow the same steps. So it is important to get a sense of how this particular Psalm's structure fits the overall structure for that type. An example of structure for a lament Psalm is provided for you on p. 463. You will also need to preserve the parallelism of the verses. You do not need to create the same relationships that the original Psalm has in each line, but your lines need to reflect an understanding of this feature of Hebrew poetry. In effect, your version of the Psalm will show a grasp of the issues raised by the original Psalm and how this may be voiced by a 21st century person. Be sure to communicate this in the type of Psalm you select as well as the issues you choose to focus on. Indicate what your original Psalm is when you rewrite it.