Psalms

This new commentary on the book of Psalms is remarkable. Almost half of it is devoted to a description of the theology of the Psalter and its position within the theology of the Old Testament and of the Christian Bible as a whole. The book offers theological exegesis, and its intended readership includes students and pastors. Contrary to many traditional commentaries, the Two Horizons series seeks to do justice not only to the sacred text but also to the world and the questions of modern readers. Also, it tries to bridge the gap between biblical studies and systematic theology. The other volume of the series that has appeared is James McKeown’s commentary on Genesis. The editors of the series, J. Gordon McConville and Craig Bartholomew, expect that the series will be heterogeneous, due to “the relative infancy of the project of theological interpretation of Scripture in modern times.” I recommend Grogan’s book to its intended readers. Students and pastors will find a great deal of useful information in it, not only with regard to the theology of the individual psalms and the Psalter as a whole. In the very readable introduction, one finds well-balanced discussions of many aspects, such as the different genres of the psalms, their possible cultic origin, and the composition of the book. These discussions include references to the most innovative theories of modern scholars. [Full Review]