Psalms Course Syllabus
Course number:
Course title:
Course dates:
Class location:
DMIN 8253 X5
Psalms
12-16 June 2017
Acadia Divinity College
Instructor name:
Instructor title:
Office hours:
Contact
information:
Email:
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Post:
R. Glenn Wooden
Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies
By appointment
Course
description:
The Psalms have been the hymnbook of Israel and the Church for millennia giving voice to
the joys, hopes, despair, anger, questionings, and other emotions and experiences in the life of
believers. In this course we will examine the various kinds of psalms and explore their use for
public, private, and pastoral use in ministry. The course will be devotional, exegetical, and
experiential. We will employ knowledge of Hebrew poetry as we consider the forms of the
Psalms and how those forms might be relevant to congregations and for ministry, and also
consider how we might better integrate psalms in spiritual formation, worship, and ministry.
Course objectives:
For ministry:
[email protected]
902-585-2227 (office) / 902-692-0703 (cell)
Acadia Divinity College
15 University Ave
Wolfville, NS
B4P 2R6
 You will have read psalms experientially, in light of their poetry and structures.
 You will be able to articulate theological themes from the book and relate them to
Christian life and ministry today.
 You will explore the use of different psalm forms for different phases of personal and
congregational life and ministry.
Spiritual formation:  You will read the Psalms spiritually, for your own edification.
 You will read the Psalter at least two times over the months of January to May, and once
more by the end of July.
For scholarship:  You will use current insights into the features of Hebrew poetic techniques to analyze the
poetry of select psalms.
 You will make use of current analyses of psalm forms to analyze select psalms for their
formal features.
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Required
textbooks:
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Recommended
Books:
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. Rev. ed. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
Brown, William P. Psalms. Interpreting Biblical Texts series. Nashville: Abingdon, 2010.
Brueggemann,Walter. The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary.
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1984.* [See Recommended Books]
Fokkelman, J. P. Reading Biblical Poetry : An Introductory Guide. Louisville:
Westminster John Knox, 2001.
Reardon, Patrick Henry. Christ in the Psalms. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar, 2000.
Schaefer, Konrad. Psalms. Berit Olam series. Collegeville: Liturgical, 2001.
 Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation With Commentary. New York: W.W.
Norton, 2007.
 Bellinger, W. H. Psalms : A Guide to Studying the Psalter. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2012.
 Brueggemann,Walter. Spirituality of the Psalms. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002.
(Extracted from Message of the Psalms, explaining the “orientation” scheme).
 Brueggemann, Walter., and W. H. Bellinger. Psalms. New Cambridge Bible commentary.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
 Johnson, Marshall D. Psalms Through the Year: Spiritual Exercises for Every Day.
Lutheran voices. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2007.
 Reid, Stephen Breck. Psalms and Practice : Worship, Virtue, and Authority. Collegeville,
Minn.: Liturgical, 2001.
A more complete list of books will be made available on the Acadia course management
system, Acorn. You will receive instructions for how to access this to receive information and
submit assignments.
The daily schedule may be altered after class discussion on the first day. The final days for presentations will also be flexible.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Morning sessions (8:30-12:00)
Afternoon sessions (1:00-5:00)
Introduction to the course;
Research and library methods;
Resources
Orientation – Disorientation - New Orientation
Forms of Psalms
Praying the Psalms
Poetry
Psalter introductory matters
Psalms of Disorientation
 Psalms of Lament
 Psalms of Penitence
 Psalms of Imprecation
Presentations
Presentations
Psalms of Orientation:
 Psalms of Creation
 Psalms of Torah
 Psalms of Wisdom
Psalms of New Orientation
 Psalms of Thanksgiving
 Royal Psalms
 Psalms of Confidence
Presentations
Presentations
You must be sure to arrive in time to participate fully on Monday morning. The first morning of class is
important for the rest of the course.
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Course assignments, due dates, and percentage value:
Assignments
1 Read through the entire book of Psalms once before the first day of class.
Read through the book of Psalms once more by 3 August 2017.
Make use of two distinctly different translations: one will be from the JPS Tanakh,
New Jerusalem Bible, or a translation produced by a commentator (not an existing
translation used by a commentator).
2  Read the following required course texts before classes begin: Alter, Brown,
Brueggeman, Fokkleman.
 From Schaefer, Psalms: read the introduction, and the commentary on each of
the following psalms: 1, 2, 8, 13, 14, 18, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35,
37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 48, 50, 51, 65, 66, 69, 72, 73, 74, 79, 81, 86, 88, 90, 91,
100, 103, 104, 111, 112, 113, 114, 117, 119, 124, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136,
137, 138, 139, 143, 145, 147, 150 [these are discussed with some detail by
Alter, Brown, Brueggeman, or Fokkelman].
 Complete reading Schaefer, and Reardon, by 3 August 2017
 Through your research and professional reading focused on psalms, fill out the
total of pages read to at least 2000 pages by 10 August.
3 Practice with Hebrew poetry:
All psalms are poetry. It is not possible fully to engage a psalm without
understanding the poetic techniques. As a means to understanding Hebrew poetry,
you will select one psalm from each of the following pairs of psalms for practice
of poetic analysis. Using the New Revised Standard Version discuss the poetry of
each psalm, line by line and grouping by grouping. This will make use of the what
you read about parallelism, and intensifications by Alter, Brown, and Fokkelmann.
In particular, Fokklemann’s list of questions at the end of the book will be
particularly helpful.
NOTE: these are not exegesis papers, but are for practice at paying attention to
Hebrew Bible poetic technique. This is inductive study, based on the named
author’s works:
1. Psalms of Orientation: 111 or 112
2. Psalms of Disorientation: 32 or 143
3. Psalms of New Orientation: 27 or 65
Page length: 3 pages for each, including the biblical text.
4 Final project: The process for developing your paper.
Book Suggestion:
Based on your current ministry and ministry aspirations, select a book for personal
and professional development, with a focus that has relevance to the psalms. The
book should have the potential to be commended to others for professional
development. Before you make your final decision, you should consult with the
professor after doing your own research on the publication (book reviews) and the
author (academic pedigree, other publications, etc.); you need to ensure it is worth
your time to read. Currency is not a concern for this, unless currency is a
professional necessity: a commentary written by an Orthodox theologian from the
1500s could be helpful when developing a Christological reading of the psalms; a
book written in the 1970s about releasing emotions through the psalms, would lack
the currency required for a chaplain to patients with PTSD for whom psalms might
be a trigger. The selection of a book, or a couple choices should be made in
consultation with the professor no later than mid-April.
Due Date
12 Jun
3 Aug
% Value
9%
12%
12 Jun
12 Jun
3 Aug
10 Aug
9%
1 May
15 May
29 May
60%
(total)
18 Apr.
Prepare a single-page, double-sided, single-spaced report, written with full
sentences and paragraphs. Give the basic bibliographical information, and briefly
explain the relevant credentials for the author(s). Explain the ideas of the book and
their relation to your ministry focus. Note several important insights gained and
questions raised. What are the new lessons learned, either as a new idea or as a
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deeper understanding of the psalms as they relate to your ministry, or as a reaction
to, or critique of, what is proposed in the book? What are hesitations that you
have? If you were talking with the author, what clarifications would you seek? The
reports are due at the beginning of first day of class (8:30, 12 June), and will be
circulated to the whole class, providing a resource pool with a breadth of ministry
foci. The reports will form the basis of class discussion. 10%
Research presentation:
With the same ministry focus in mind, select a psalm (not one in the list for
assignment 2), a genre of psalms, a theme, or other issue focused on the psalms,
for your research paper. This will be a combination of careful exploration of psalm
materials and research, and you thinking about use and application in your context.
You must consult with the professor before finalizing your topic, and should also
consult as you develop it. You will make a preliminary presentation of your
work during the week of classes. This will be based upon your reading and
research to that point, but no submission will be made. 10%
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Research paper:
In light of the class lectures, your research and readings, and exploration of
resources, you will submit a final paper of 10-14 pages (2500-3500 words), with
careful attention paid to application—at least two pages focusing on the theology,
application, and implications of the psalm, or of the theological theme or aspect of
psalms that you decide upon. As part of the assignment, but as an addendum to it,
you will find a focus for the application and explain how you would do it, or
produce something for submission. For example, an exegetical paper on a
particular psalm could include a discussion about the theological and
psychological implications of it, and be accompanied by a creative visual
presentation or a modern rendition of the psalm, or a sermon in manuscript form or
as a recording from an actual preaching event, etc. At the master level students
have done art, videos to enhance the reading of a psalm, preached sermons, and
one choreographed a modern dance for her dance students and they performed it
for the class and in other venues. Those are merely suggestions of the kind of
applications possible.
The research paper will be grounded in traditional kinds of textual and theological
research (30%), and the application will find one focus from the various ones that
might be possible (10%).
Participate knowledgeably (having read the texts and commentary on each psalm)
in class discussions and individual and group projects; participate in the
preparation and leading of class readings of Psalms. Choosing a psalm or
theological theme for the research paper and consult with the professor about the
class presentation, and be prepared to lead the class for the presentation of your
initial research and applications.
10%
12 Jun
10%
15/16 Jun
40%
10 Aug.
10%
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