Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel

by Hermann Gunkel

Hermann Gunkel's commentary on Psalms (Die Psalmen, HKAT) - by many considered to be his magnum opus - was published in 1926. But he was unable to complete his final work on the Psalms. The severe suffering of his final months of life forced him to hand over his incomplete manuscript, at Christmastime 1931-1932, to his pupil Joachim Begrich. Gunkel died on 11 March 1932. Begrich put the final touches on the organization of Gunkel's last work on Psalms, and it was published in 1933 as Einleitung in die Psalmen: die Gattungen der religiosen Lyrik Israels.

Genres: Old Testament

388 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major interests centered on the oral tradition behind written sources and in folklore.

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gunkel’s work is absolutely critical for anyone interest in form or genre criticism of the Bible. His work on the Psalms, though it’s been refined over the decades, still showcases a methodology that is consistently applied and historically valuable. That being said, this book is definitely a study resource and not a page turner. However, Gunkel manages to add some pretty language about laments and the importance of complain to ancient faith that inspires despite its age. A great resource for students of form criticism but not something I’d recommend outside of that demographic.

[Troy Lizenby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermann Gunkel (died in 1932) left his unfinished Introduction To The Psalms to be completed by his disciple Joachim Begrich. The work was completed and published in 1933. Sixty-five years later, in 1998, it was first translated into English by James D. Nogalski. The massive work succeeds Gunkel's commentary on Psalms (Die Psalmen) published in 1926.

Gunkel's Introduction To The Psalms is the starting point for modern research on the Psalms. The reader will find a thorough examination of the setting of individual psalms, an analysis of different song forms, and a history of the psalter.

Gunkel considers the task of psalm studies to "rediscover the relationships between the individual songs". By identifying which psalms share the same formal structure, each psalm can be understood in the context of its relationship to other psalms and its relevance to the whole. Also, determining the setting of a psalm in the temple worship will help resolve many of the individual difficulties. In the Psalms, an abundance of clues are found to their worship service setting.

Gunkel lays a good foundation for psalm research by providing an overview of the entire material transmitted to us, i.e. songs in narrative books, Job, prophetic books, and hymns of Mary and Zacharius in the New Testament.

Essential to understanding the internal arrangement of the psalter, genre research is foundational. However, in genre research Gunkel is not able to see the key that unequivocally opens every door for understanding the psalm poetry of the Old Testament. Nevertheless, by collecting those elements of various psalms which contain like motifs in the same genre, a new relationship is revealed between the individual psalms and often provides a new understanding.

The genres arose out of the worship events of God's covenant people. Those events gave rise to the chief genres: the hymn, the communal complaint song, the individual complaint song, and the song of thanksgiving of the individual. Gunkel examines each of these major genres, plus several minor ones, extensively.

While Gunkel's work is foundational to psalm research, he admits that his work was only a beginning, and realized that later generations will "take it up, utilize it from every angle, and take it to completion". Claus Westermann, thirty years later, did just that in his Songs Of Lament and Praise. For those who desire to advance the research, and for those who merely want to increase their understanding of the Psalms, Gunkel's work is valuable. In my reading and studying of the Psalms, Gunkel's Introduction To The Psalms will always be near as an indispensable reference.