Encountering the Book of Psalms: A Literary and Theological Introduction (Encountering Biblical Studies) Paperback – Illustrated, July 1, 2004

This is an excellent, single-volume, introduction to the Psalms. The author writes from a thoroughly conservative standpoint, but at appropriate junctures demonstrates his awareness of liberal speculations scattered throughout the recent history of Psalms studies that arise from the various schools of higher criticism. Although he deals with these respectfully and intelligently, he ultimately dismisses them and moves into a scholarly examination of the content of the psalms themselves. Overall, the text is college level but should not be found difficult by readers with a solid high-school education. The pedagogy of the text is excellent: each chapter opens with an outline of the chapter and a set of objectives for the student. The chapter closes with a list of key terms encountered, as well as questions for further study. The book can be used very profitably for individual or group study settings. Bullock divides his examination of the psalms into three major pieces. The first part deals with the literary and hermeneutical issues of psalms studies. Captions (superscriptions) and the difficult terms found in some of them, the relationship of the psalms to music, the literary structure of the book on a macro level (the five books within the Psalms) and micro level (the structure of Hebrew poetry) are all considered in a scholarly but accessible manner. In the second section, the author examines the uses of the psalms in worship and faith, considering the different ways in which they can be approached, as well as a history of the use of the psalms, ranging from the original readers through to modern times. Bullock also explores key theological and historical themes that appear in Psalms. In the final section, the Psalms are considered from the perspective of genre classification. This section is outstanding; the busy pastor or scholar will find plenty of helpful charts that map the genre characteristics to individual psalms. Not only has Bullock presented an excellent approach to classification, he has managed to do so in a manner that is sometimes richly devotional for the reader. Of particular excellence is the final chapter dealing with the imprecatory psalms. The book concludes with a select bibliography, a handy glossary of terms encountered in psalms studies, and a comprehensive Scripture index. Although serious scholars will need to add more books than this to their Psalms library, if you can afford but one book of prolegomena on the Psalms, this one will serve you very well.

This book is extremely helpful to anyone wanting to learn more about, and to benefit more from, the psalms. It guides the reader in the study of psalms as literature, and it provides insights into the psalms as scripture. I refer to it fairly often.

A textbook for my doctoral coursework. Great thorough examination of the Book of Psalms!

Enjoyed the book and the class very much. Shows more depth to the Psalms.

Good!

This book gave me a vast look at Psalms and understanding learning the circumstances that inspired each of the psalms.

I got the kindle version of this book. I was originally very excited to start this book but was quickly bogged down in details and density of the text. The kindle version needs to be reformatted and all the images are black and white (I prefer pictures of places to be in color for a book like this). The book makes some good points but I see this book being more useful if you were taking a class about Psalms rather than just reading for interest.

This product was exactly what I needed. The shipping was fast the customer service was great. I will definitely be back.

Textbook for a university course. Corners a bit bent but otherwise the book is in excellent condition as described.

This book is for a module in a Divinity course.

Imported & good quality. Delivered on time.Since its imported it takes minimum 3-4weeks.