The Penitential Psalms and Wholeness: Penitential Psalms in the Context of Ancient Near Eastern Penitential Prayers
In this article I examine a Mesopotamian therapeutic ritual and its prayer, “My god, I did not know.” It is clear that although the prayer is quite general, its purpose is to reconcile a sick person to his personal deity so that the patient is healed. I will then examine structural and content simil...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2016
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| In: |
Pneuma
Year: 2016, Volume: 38, Issue: 3, Pages: 330-348 |
| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BC Ancient Orient; religion HB Old Testament KBN Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Further subjects: | B
Penitential Psalms
Mesopotamian prayers
African Initiated Churches
critical contextualization
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | In this article I examine a Mesopotamian therapeutic ritual and its prayer, “My god, I did not know.” It is clear that although the prayer is quite general, its purpose is to reconcile a sick person to his personal deity so that the patient is healed. I will then examine structural and content similarities with Pss 38 and 51. Thus, the paper’s methodology is comparative and form critical. I conclude that Pss 38 and 51, like the Mesopotamian penitential prayers and rituals, were ritual prayers through which the faithful Israelite was reconciled to God so that wholeness could be re-established in his or her life. This has implications for wholeness and health today as believers pursue right relationship with their creator. It also has implications for the critical contextualization of the psalms into different cultural contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0747 |
| Contains: | In: Pneuma
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700747-03803003 |