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Theophany as Verbal Icon: Hermeneutics of the Storms in Psalms 29, 18, and 77
[Thesis]. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester; 2019.
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Abstract
In this thesis, I consider the hermeneutics of three Psalms storm theophanies: theophany in Pss 29, 18, and 77 as verbal icon. In an Introduction, I sketch the need for this project, state my aims, and introduce my own background in the United Church of Christ (USA). Ch 1, I begin by reviewing reading practices in the ancient world, and move into a discussion of what a hermeneutics of a thunderstorm theophany would imply. In Ch 2, I describe thunderstorms' power in nature and in the cult in Ancient Israel and I survey approaches to theophany in recent research. I suggest that ritual worship practice might carry over into the reading experience of theophany psalms, making the reading of these psalms an experience of God's presence. In Ch 3, I explore theophany in the reading experience as a ritual act: Psalms theophany as a verbal icon. I propose using a model developed from biblical prose theophany for Psalms theophany, with the reader serving as 'character' who encounters Yhwh. Psalms' Davidic titles, I propose, give the Book of Psalms a narrative context in ordinary life, serving as a model for readers' application of their own stories. Using reader-response theory and anthropology, I explore how readers might fill in the gaps of a text's storm description and 'perform' the storm of a Psalms theophany, creating a liminal space outside ordinary life. In Chs 4-6, I explore the idea of theophany as verbal icon in Pss 29, 18, and 77. Ps 29 serves as an example of theophany in temple worship which, I suggest, might carry over into a ritual reading experience. The psalm might serve to attract Yhwh, and it orients the cult in the proper direction. Its praise, then, can be seen as having a 'primordial power' to unite heaven and earth in the temple as well as in the event of reading. In Ch 5, I approach theophany through the character of David in Ps 18. I interpret the theophany as a literary motif in the life of David the literary character, serving as a model for readers to find healing after crisis and inviting them to see their whole lives as a divine gift. Finally, I suggest that Ps 77, too, might serve as a present event for readers. I propose that this psalm daringly imagines a new use for old traditions, enabling Yhwh's presence to be heard in silence and seen even when hidden. In a short conclusion, I reflect on the idea of a verbal icon and the 'synergy' it implies between God and readers. I give a short personal reflection and suggest directions for further scholarly and popular conversation around Psalms: embodiment, the embodied imagination, and how to think afresh about what it means to read the Bible.