| Abstract
|
:
|
Psalm 82--a text notorious of its brevity, yet profound complex concepts is the subject of this thesis. Since the last two extensive works which were published in the late 1960s by James. S. Ackerman and Hans-Winfried Jüngling, there are several other pieces which develop from these two contributions but concentrate only on some aspects of the psalm, and not a comprehensive study of it. It is therefore more appropriate and necessary than ever, that at the beginning of the 21 st century when the academia on the ancient Near East has flourished in leaps and bounds, a re-examination of the scholarship on Psalm 82 will be fruitful venture. Perhaps the most perplexing issue in Psalm 82 is its obvious cultic and polytheistic background with its source remains elusive to scholars. Consequently, to grasp the main intention and purpose of this psalm becomes an equally baffling exercise. This thesis will take up these two pertinent issues. It attempts to take the psalm as a whole. This paper will put forward two arguments. First, the genre of 'cultic prophetic psalm' is not only the most helpful, but also the most befitting approach to grasp its holistic intent. Second, Psalm 82 is seminal in developing a new cultic motif on "righteous judgment" from the cult of the "living and dying god" of the ancient traditions. Therefore, I shall present my thesis as follows: In chapter one, I shall review the past research results on Psalm 82. This sets up a starting point for the thesis and raises the main issues for discussion. It is proposed that Psalm 82 is a cultic prophetic psalm, which is performed in the temple expressing the Israelite belief of a just God. It is proposed that Psalm 82 is a cultic prophetic psalm with performance in the temple and expresses the Israelite belief in a Just God. In chapter two, I shall analyze and present the contents and the structure of the whole cultic drama. It will attempt to prove that the core content of this psalm is 'Belief in the Just God' and that this content is both inherited and developed from the motif of the "living and dying god" in the ancient traditions. Hence, a new cultic motif is formed that the just God of Israel judges the unjust gods and pronounces a death sentence. In chapter three, the whole psalm is submitted under the framework of a cultic drama, and I will attempt to analyze the words and the complex concepts in the psalm. These include "the council of gods", the relationship between "God" and the "gods", the righteous God of Israel judging the unjust gods, the meaning of "the poor", "orphans", "widows" and "the wicked", the usage of the image and meaning of both "the foundations of the earth" and "the shaking of the foundations of the earth", the function of "the nations" and "inheritance", and the significance of the death of the gods. Finally in chapter four, after comparing the concepts and usage of words mentioned above with the myths and stories of the ancient Canaanites. I shall further verify that Psalm 82 mainly absorbs and uses the mythical and religious elements of ancient Canaan. The psalm expresses the firm belief in the just God Yahweh, albeit in a polytheistic setting. By using the idea of "the council of gods" in the ancient Near East, especially in Canaan, the psalm integrates many mythical elements and ideas of the ancient religious traditions, and finally develops a new cultic motif on "righteous judgment" from the cult of the "living and dying god" of the ancient traditions.
|