Geschichte und Gebet

Anja Klein presents a literary and theological analysis of the historical psalms Exod 15, Ps 78, 105, 106, 114, 135 and 136. Her study focuses on the redactional history of these texts and the demonstration of inner-biblical exegesis within their literary growth. It shows that the reception of biblical history starts with the Song of the Sea (Exod 15) in the narrative context and is then carried into the book of Psalms. It is here that the historical psalms continue the reception with different emphases, which results in an ongoing discourse on biblical history. This dynamic exegetical process can be described as biblical Judaism's search for identity in which the people assure themselves of their history with their God. The literary genre of the texts as prayers evokes a cultic context and allows for an individual appropriation of biblical history.