Psalms Through the Centuries, Volume 3. Susan Gillingham

Psalms Through the Centuries, Volume 3 - Susan Gillingham


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be an actual commentary: it was a distinctive cultural history of the Psalter, referring to selected psalms as examples of different types of reception.

      Before submitting that manuscript I had to seek permission to extend this work to a second volume which would then become the commentary. Hence the title Psalms through the Centuries: Volume One for the 2008 publication. It then became clear that I could not write any commentary until I had created another data base, psalm by psalm, adapting the earlier prototype. There was no other Psalms Commentary like it to use as a model, so the preparation time, even given two more sabbaticals and several effective research assistants, took far longer than anticipated. The contract for the entire commentary (Volume Two), was mainly achieved through the mediation of the then Old Testament editors of the Wiley Blackwell Bible Commentary Series, John Sawyer (Newcastle) and David Gunn (Fort Worth), but it was ultimately dependent upon the extraordinary support of the then Publisher for Religion, Rebecca Harkin.

      Using the general chronological and geographical framework established in Volume One, the commentary required a particular format for each psalm. I start by assessing each psalm as part of the process of compilation of the Psalter as a whole, for this represents the earliest stage of its reception in Hebrew; I then look at corresponding evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls; this leads on to examining reception through translation, especially the Greek and Latin versions, which witness to both Jewish and Christian reception; I then turn to the Christian commentary tradition in the New Testament, Church Fathers, and Medieval and Reformation Commentators, and similarly the Jewish commentary tradition in the Midrash Tehillim, the Mishnah, the Targums, and Medieval Commentators. After this I assess non-verbal reception, especially the vast number of illustrated Psalters from the ninth-century onwards, both in the West and the East, at this point mainly Christian. This is followed by an evaluation of musical reception history, particularly from the fifteenth-century onwards, and thence to an assessment of poetic imitations of the psalms and their use in literature and film. At the final stage I explore the different sorts of discourse which develops from the seventeenth-century onwards—political, ethical, historical, and social.

      As I gained speed from experience, Volume Three has taken only three years to write. The format is as for Volume Two, except that here I often approach more contentious psalms thematically, selecting two or three key issues arising from their reception, integrating these themes into the template outlined above. This third volume has been supported by two younger editors representing the Wiley Blackwell Commentary Series, Andrew Mein (St. Andrews) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer (Örebro). Their different skills have vastly improved this present manuscript: Lena has given it meticulous attention to detail and Andrew has brought to it many linguistic, musical and historical insights. I am equally grateful to Catriona King, now Director of the Global Publishing Team at John Wiley & Sons, and also to Juliet Booker, who did so much to promote the publication of Volume Two and prepare the way for Volume Three. Hannah Lee has taken important initiatives in the editorial management of this volume, and to my great relief both the copy-editor for Volume Two (Carolyn Holleyman) and the indexer for that volume (Caroline Jones) agreed to use their skills in this present volume as well.

      Volume Three was begun in employment and completed in retirement. In 2018 Worcester College and the Faculty of Theology and Religion together granted me one essential, final sabbatical. I owe a huge debt to Peter Groves for having taken on administrative and tutorial responsibilities in my absence: Peter’s insights at the academic level have provided a vital support throughout the entire project. I am also grateful for the use of the Bartlett Sisters’ Theology Fund, supported mainly by alumni from Worcester College, for this has paid for much of my research assistance. Various College Officers and Fellows at Worcester played a major part in launching this third volume: for all their practical support in so many ways my thanks extend to Afifi Al-Akiti, Mark Bainbridge, Coleen Day, Scott Scullion, Elizabeth Smith, Emma Standhaft, Carmy Strzelecki, and Phillipa Tarver.

      Post retirement I have been dependent for ongoing funding from the trustees of the St. Luke’s College Foundation, Exeter. David Benzie and his trustees provided for the costs of the permissions and the production of images, and then also for payment of the indexing and other research assistance costs. Their continual support throughout this entire project has been vital.

      Academic colleagues in the Faculty of Theology and Religion here at Oxford have provided much specialist advice. Above all I have valued the support of John Barton—mentor, colleague, and friend of over forty years. Other Faculty members who have also given this project their support in different ways include Hywel Clifford, John Day, John Goldingay, John Jarick, Justin Jones, Laura Quick, Frances Roach, Deborah Rooke, Katherine Southwood, and Jenn Strawbridge. Outside my Faculty Matthew Cheung-Salisbury has been a continuous source of encouragement: his unfailing patience has vastly improved my account of the musical and liturgical reception of different psalms. Outside Oxford, Nicolas Bell, Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge, has offered me invaluable advice about various illustrated Psalters: the Eadwine Psalter appears many times in this volume and has been used in two of the Plates.


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