Mar 29, 2013

The Importance of Structure for Understanding Psalms


"Paying careful attention to structure is important when learning to read the psalms. Like other forms of communication, the psalms have structure and develop according to certain sets of logic. But rather than all of the psalms sharing one structure, each of the psalms tends to have its own unique structure and tends to develop according to its individual logic. And quite often, unlocking the logic of a psalm’s structure is the key to unpacking its meaning. And the more deeply one can understand the structure of a psalm, the more complete one’s understanding of a psalm will be."

Rolf A Jacobson and Karl N. Jacobson, Invitation to the Psalms: A Reader's Guide for Discovery and Engagement (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 21.

You can access an excerpt from the book here.
 

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