Longing for Flowing Streams: Water as Metaphor and Mediator in Psalm 42

Psalm 42 draws from the natural world in order to express something about the inner longing and anxiety the psalmist feels over separation and absence of God in terms of a thirsting hind. In this sense, water functions as a metaphor in Ps 42, expressing what is hard to say “straightforwardly” about...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pettit, David P. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2023
In: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Year: 2023, Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 251-261
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Water / Metaphor / Temple / Bible. Psalmen 42
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HD Early Judaism
HH Archaeology
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Psalm 42 draws from the natural world in order to express something about the inner longing and anxiety the psalmist feels over separation and absence of God in terms of a thirsting hind. In this sense, water functions as a metaphor in Ps 42, expressing what is hard to say “straightforwardly” about vulnerability and longing for the divine, the life giving, and the life-preserving. This article argues that water functions in overlapping manners in the psalm, evoking desire, denoting God, expressing vulnerability, but also indicating one way that the psalmist might experience satisfaction: water. Water in Ps 42, like the temple, is an object of longing. Water functions both as metaphor for the divine and as mediator of the divine.
ISSN:1502-7244
Contains:Enthalten in: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09018328.2023.2267885