Die Geschichtspsalmen

In the theological study of the later Psalms, the major lines of Old Testament theology converge as in a concave mirror. A pivotal question here is the reflection of their own history, on which the »historical Psalms« 78, 105, 106, 135 and 136, as they are classified by researchers, placed their emphasis. Each of the historical Psalms creates memories in its own specific way of »salvific primordial time« of the exodus and the possession of the land in order to reinterpret their own present time in prayer. Judith Gärtner describes this identity-forming function of history is in connection with a discourse in cultural studies on »collective memory.« Against the backdrop of current research on the Psalms, the author shows that the historical Psalms are key hermeneutic texts in the Psalter and analyzes them in view of the composition and redaction of the Psalter. In doing so, she creates new perspectives on the origins and the theology of the Psalter.