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Sydnorphyn · #15 (**permalink**) 04-30-2008, 07:38 AM

1. "Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approach," edited by David Firth and Philip Johnson - 0830828338 - a great introduction to theological and exegetical issues - very current and readable.

2. "Psalms," Interpretation series, Lames L. Mays. 080243155x - EXCELLENT single volume commentary; the focus in this commentary is the big picture, not detailed exegesis. It is a "Preachers" commentary but does not compromise the content and issues surrounding Psalms studies.

3. "The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms," James L. Mays. 0664255582 - Theological and exegetical. Most of the Psalms covered in this tome are traditionally "messianic". Very readable.

4. "How To read the Psalms," Tremper Longman. 0877849412. Traditional in approach. Longman gives considerable attention to the nature of Hebrew Poetry. His approach to metaphor follows Aristotle (note: He does not give attention to conceptual metaphor - see below for an additional recommendation).

5. "The Psalms: An Introduction." James L. Crenshaw. 0802808549. Traditional approach to the Psalms - Poetry and some examples along with an introduction to the theological and exegetical issues.

6. Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor. William P. Brown. 0664225020. An excellent introduction to the metaphor in the Psalms - this is a dense work, but beneficial to wade through - again, the methodology follow Aristotle's understanding of metaphor - see his "Poetics"

7.The Psalms through Three Thousand Years: Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses. William Holladay. 0800630149 - an excellent treatment on how the Psalter has been approached. Attention is given not simply to the biblical Psalms, but also the ANET and its material. A great resource for church and personal study - this is somewhat critical.

8. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, B. Childs. 0800605322. Excellent work on the history and theology of the OT. Attention is given to the inter-textuality the Psalter plays within the OT.

9. An Introduction to the Old Testament: A Canon and Christian Imagination. Walter Brueggemann. Current, readable and reliable. WB engages the current situation of OT studies. The chapters are not long. This is great for the beginner of OT studies.

10. The Art of Biblical Poetry, Robert Alter. 046500430x. Tradition treatment of Hebrew poetry - again, following Aristotle.

11. The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and its History. 0801859441. CRITICAL - if you do not read Hebrew, this will be somewhat frustrating. This is one of the standards in the field of biblical poetry.

12. More than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. G. Lakoff anmd M. Turner. 0226468127. This is WONDERFUL - I just finished a course on reading and understanding metaphor, this was one of the primary texts I engaged. In 1980, cognitive linguistics begain working on the nature and meaning of metaphor - its conceptual nature. This is/was one of the ground breaking volumes in the study - a MUST READ for all Bible readers who wish to understand the metaphorical world(s) of the ancient biblical text/world...this book is a break from Aristotle's position in his Poetics.

13. Metaphors we Live by. G. Lakoff and M. Johnson. 0226468011 - following the above, with more detail and explanation. Again, following cognitive linguistics.

14. Metaphor: A practical Introduction. Zoltan Kovecses. 0195145119. Following the above two titles in theory, this book has exercises at the end of each chapter. A very good introduction.

15.Psalms, Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. G. Wilson. 0310206359. An excellent, current commentary on Psalms by one of the foremost scholars of our generation. This is a MUST.

Ok, that is enough. I have 200 or so articles as well, but they are not catalogued yet. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Grace, peace and the hope of the resurrection.

John