Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries

Volumes 15–16

Series Editor: David G. Firth

Consulting Editor: Tremper Longman III

Psalms

An Introduction and Commentary

Tremper Longman III

Inter-Varsity Press

An imprint of InterVarsity Press Downers Grove, Illinois

InterVarsity Press, USA

P.O. Box 1400

Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426, USA

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© 2014 by Tremper Longman III

Tremper Longman III has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press®, USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA® and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: intervarsity.org.

Inter-Varsity Press, England, is closely linked with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: uccf.org.uk.

Unless otherwise indicated Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, niv® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

First Published 2014.

Image: © Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

USA ISBN 978-0-8308-4285-8

UK ISBN 978-1-78359-163-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

CONTENTS

General preface

Author’s preface

Chief abbreviations

Select bibliography

Introduction

1. Title of the book

2. Titles to the individual psalms

3. Composition, collection, organization, use

4. Genre and types of psalms

5. Poetic style

6. The theology of the book of Psalms

7. The Psalms as a mirror of the soul

8. Worship

9. How to read this commentary

Commentary

Book 1 Psalms 1–41

Book 2 Psalms 42–72

Book 3 Psalms 73–89

Book 4 Psalms 90–106

Book 5 Psalms 107–150

GENERAL PREFACE

The decision completely to revise the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries is an indication of the important role that the series has played since its opening volumes were released in the mid-1960s. They represented at that time, and have continued to represent, commentary writing that was committed to both the importance of the text of the Bible as Scripture and a desire to engage with as full a range of interpretative issues as possible without being lost in the minutiae of scholarly debate. The commentaries aimed to explain the biblical text to a generation of readers confronting models of critical scholarship and new discoveries from the Ancient Near East, while remembering that the Old Testament ...