The Composition and Theology of the Fifth Book of Psalms, Psalms 107-145

The fifth book of psalms has a strong liturgical character due to its basic hymnlike structure as well as because of the two collections in the middle (113-18: Pesach-Hallel ; and 120-34, 135-36: Psalms of Ascents with the 'great Hallel'). Both collections, however, are now redactionally intergrated into the context of the fifth book of psalms and have consequently received a post-cultic 'Sitz im Leben/Sitz in der Literatur'. On the one hand it is true that the fifth book of psalms is interspersed with motifs and concepts which are theologically connected to Zion and the Temple. On the other hand, however, it is striking (especially in comparison with Chronicles) that concrete references to the Temple cult are missing. For this reason one can submit the thesis that particularly the fifth book of psalms is post-cultic and meant to be recited/meditated upon as a 'spiritual pilgrimage' to Zion which is the seat of the universal king YHWH and of the God of Sinai who teaches his Torah from Zion. According to the theological perspective of the fifth book of psalms which has the Torah Psalm 119 intentionally placed in the middle of the composition, the psalms are a means of opening oneself to the living Torah of YHWH-in accordance with the programme at the beginning of the Psalter, Psalms 1-2, and in accordance with the closing Hallel, Psalms 146-50, which interprets the recitation/singing of the psalms as the actualization of the way of life (Torah) instilled in the cosmos.