Opferterminologie im Psalter

Sacrifice terminology in the psalms differs substantially from that in the priestly texts and in prophetic cult criticism. The meaning of sacrifice derived from these makes it clear that the psalms go their own way in their perception and interpretation of sacrifice. The reason for the new definition of sacrifice was the templeless era during the Babylonian exile and the unchanged diaspora situation with the Second Temple as a new religious centre. This made it necessary to redefine the relationship between the cult of material sacrifice, prayer and praising God. The psalm poets were not searching for an alternative to the official cult of the Second Temple, even if a certain distance to this was apparent. The fact that the authors of the psalms remained a part of the official cult and set their own priorities is expressed in the psalms by the preference given to offerings of thanks or votive offering as well as by the particular emphasis on the offering of praise to God and the personal relationship between the individual and God in the form of spiritualized sacrifices.