Product Description
This book seeks to contribute to the theory and practice of theological interpretation by explicating the coherence of B.S. Childs' 'canonical approach' and by exemplifying that approach in an interpretation of Psalm 24. In Part 1, concerning theory, Philip Sumpter argues that Childs is committed to a particular understanding of the text which takes into account its literary, historical features as well as its function within the divine economy. This unified vision has hermeneutical implications: The exegete must read the text with a view to its ultimate theological reality. This endeavour requires paying attention to both human intentionality as well as to the more systematic insights of theology. In light of the function of the text in the divine economy, the history of interpretation is also an important avenue to grasping the text in its fullest dimensions. Part 2 exemplifies this approach by showing how the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of the text cohere into a unified vision. Sumpter first reviews methodology, concluding that the poetic function of the text is a key to the psalm's literary coherence. The historical anaylsis leads to the question of the forces at work in composition which, given its cultic roots, leads to questions of the nature of 'heaven'. Theological reflection on this question sharpens our gaze for the contours of the final form itself as well as opens up connections between our psalm and its immediate canonical context (the Psalter) as well as Samuel and Isaiah. In conclusion, Sumpter illustrates how Patristic exegesis was able to wrestle with the substance of the psalm in a more adequate manner than modern existential readings.