John Eaton, The Psalms: A Historical and Spiritual Commentary with an Introduction and New Translation

Bibliographical details:
Eaton, J. H. (2003). The Psalms: A Historical and Spiritual Commentary with an Introduction and New Translation. London: T & T Clark International.

Publisher’s information:
Remarkably enough, there is a scarcity of modern commentaries on the Psalms for the more general reader, despite the fact that, after the Gospels, they are probably the most widely-read part of the Bible. Clergy read the Psalms in rotation as part of the daily offices, the Psalms are a regular part of the Church’s worship, and the Book of Psalms is a spiritual classic in its own right.

No one is more qualified to write on the Psalms than John Eaton. He is a distinguished Old Testament scholar, now retired, and has spent a lifetime studying the Psalms. He has a broad life: in pastoral work, in animal sanctuary work and in concern for the environment and ecology, which gives him great sympathy for these, the most wide-ranging compositions of all.

This commentary is addressed to the widest possible readership. There is a long and fascinating introduction giving a contextual background; then follow the 150 Psalms, each in Eaton’s translation. He explains the background to the Psalms and their content in a way which makes them interesting and relevant to the present. The discussion of each Psalm ends with a related Christian prayer, either from the tradition or written by Eaton himself.

John Eaton lectured in Old Testament at the University of Birmingham until his retirement. He is the author of many books, especially on aspects of the Psalms.

Table of contents:
Preface … vii
Abbreviations … ix

INTRODUCTION … 1

1 The Importance of the Psalms … 3
1a Words from worship … 3
1b Antiquity and integrity of the Psalms … 4

2 The Authors … 5
2a Relevance of headings … 5
2b David … 6
2c Female psalmists … 8

3 Psalm Music … 9
3a The singing … 9
3b The instruments … 10
3c The character of the music … 12
3d The significance of the music … 13

4 The Poetry of the Psalms … 14
4a Patterns of thought: parallelism … 14
4b Stanzas and metre … 15
4c Wording and images … 16
4d Types and forms … 18
4e Alphabetic psalms … 19

5 The Ancient Situations of Psalmody … 20
5a Contexts in history … 20
5b Contexts in worship … 22

6 The Experience of the Holy … 27
6a The unique God … 27
6b The name ‘Yahweh’ … 28
6c Other divine names and titles … 29
6d The fountain of life and the face of God … 31
6e Turning aside to God … 32
6f Zion and the house of the Lord … 33
6g The mystery of God’s new reign … 34
6h The Lord’s royal Servant as channel of salvation … 34
6i Bringing sufferings to God … 35
6j Lament turning to praise … 36
6k Prayer against enemies … 37
6l Counsel and encouragement … 37
6m Knowing God through his tora or word … 38
6n Discovering God in perplexity … 38
6o The question of life after death … 39
6p Community and world before God … 39

7 The Psalms down the Ages … 41
7a The headings … 41
7b Division and order … 42
7c Ancient translations … 43
7d The Dead Sea Scrolls … 45
7e Midrash and synagogue … 46
7f The New Testament … 47
7g Early Christian worship and exposition … 49
7h The Middle Ages … 51
7i The Reformation … 54
7j Eighteenth-century foundations of criticism … 55
7k The nineteenth century … 56
7l The twentieth century and beyond … 57

COMMENTARY … 59

Psalms 1–150 … 61

Appendix … 487
Bibliography of Works Cited … 531
Index … 535

Click here to read the review of the American edition of this book by John Vassar, published in the Review of Biblical Literature.

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