Psalm 22: the worm is the clue

Discussion must focus on the Hebrew text (including text criticism) and its ancient translations, not on archaeology, modern language translations, or theological controversies.
Forum rules
Members will observe the rules for respectful discourse at all times!
Please sign all posts with your first and last (family) name.
Kenneth Greifer
Posts: 661
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:05 pm

Re: Psalm 22: the worm is the clue

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

We all know why Psalm 22 is controversial and what the argument about if it says "like a lion" o r "they dug or they pierced" is about, but I am not sure if this next thing is allowed on B-Hebrew, but I think the real question is: are psalms meant to be prophecies or are they just the psalm writer's life experiences? Is there such a thing as a prophecy written using "I" and "me" but really about a future person's life experiences written as past tense instead of saying "he will" do this or that about another person doing something in the future? Also, the psalm writer does not say it is about someone else. I am not sure if this is a religious question or a basic question about the Hebrew Bible?
Kenneth Greifer
ducky
Posts: 766
Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2019 4:01 pm

Re: Psalm 22: the worm is the clue

Post by ducky »

Hello Kenneth,

Psalms are not prophecies but they are describing the state of the writer or the state of the people at that time of the psalm.
Since Psalms are very personal and they are spread with a lot of life situations - it is considered to be an "eternal" book for each person at each time. Meaning that each person at each time can connect to the psalms personally.

But there are no places of prophecies. there are requests, and wishes, and prayers. But not prophecies.

some commentaries use מדרש=midrash. as a study that read the text in an allegory way and explains it by symbols. (and that is not to contradict the simple reading but it is another layer of study). Anyway, in those commentaries, you would find sometimes that the allegories point to a future event from the time of the psalm. And so, according to this, we say that the Psalms were written with the Spirit of God (not in the Christian view), and so it could be seen as if prophecies are included.

But if we read it as it is, in a simple way - and that is what we do in this forum. There are no prophecies. Just very personal psalms (and also national psalms that refer to the people of Israel and their state).
David Hunter
Post Reply