Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook

Widely used in personal and public worship, the psalms present multiple interpretive challenges—their poetic form has few, if any, points of contact with English poetry and the images in the psalms can seem just as distant. Furthermore, Mark Futato writes, “their ethics at times seem to go against the grain of the teachings of the New Testament.” Interpreting the Psalms, the second release in the Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis series, provides readers with an enhanced understanding of this difficult genre and strategies for preaching and teaching the Psalms. Professor Futato effectively integrates the insights of the last twenty years of Psalms research, presenting the nature of Hebrew poetry, the purpose of the Psalter, the many interpretive issues in Israel’s songbook, and more. A sample of moving from exegesis to proclamation and a glossary of technical words make this handbook practical and user-friendly. “Futato takes his student by the hand through the complexities of Hebrew poetry, soars high to get a bird’s eye view of the book and its themes, returns to earth and deftly guides through the thorny patch of textual criticism, gives ‘Aha’ moments in explaining form criticism and how the Psalter’s categories refer to Christ, and ends with practical pointers on how to preach the book. Next time I teach the Book of Psalms this will be my text.”