Sanctuary cult in relation to religious piety in the Book of Psalms

Abstract

The specific thesis that is tested in this study is that there is continual interaction between the sanctuary cult and personal religious experience in the Book of Psalms. The main theoretical argument is that the sanctuary cult had a formative role in creating the piety of the psalmists. The study attempts to explore the specific nature of that relationship and to benefit from the contributions of three major approaches to the Psalms, i.e., the form critical approach (Hermann Gunkel), the cultic approach (Sigmund Mowinckel) and the Psalter-shaping approach (Gerald H. Wilson, James L. Mays, Jerome F. D. Creach, Mark D. Futato, J. Clinton McCann and Walter Brueggemann). The study suggests that the ongoing interaction between the sanctuary cult and personal piety in the Psalms is the result of the creative power of cult. It offers evidence of the possible shaping of the Psalter around the sanctuary motif. It also offers a unique perspective on the piety of the psalmists, suggesting that the psalmists, and particularly the editor(s) of the present shape of the Psalter, promoted the eschatological hope of Israel in the new temple and the heavenly aspect of Israel’s sanctuary.