Table of Contents

Contents

List of Abbreviations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Contributors xv
Foreword: “Tell It on the Mountain”—or, “And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [as Well]” xvii
   Athalya Brenner-Idan
Editor’s Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: “She Is a Breath of the Power of God” (Wis 7:25) xxi
   Barbara E. Reid, OP
Author’s Introduction: Reading Books 2 and 3 of the Psalms (Pss 42–89) xli

Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42–72) 1
Psalm(s) 42–43 Tears of Connection 3
Psalm 44 Is Israel’s Suffering Redemptive? 17
Psalm 45 When Being Lusted After Is Not Enough 27
Psalm 46 Imagining a World without War 35
Psalm 47 Willing Worship? 41 
Psalm 48 Inverting the Birth Metaphor 49
Psalm 49 You Can’t Take It with You 55
Psalm 50 Protecting the Family 63
Psalm 51 Collateral Damage 71
Psalm 52 Tree of Life 81
Psalm 53 The Fool and Sexual Violence 87
Psalm 54 Dual Obligation 93
Psalm 55 Prisoner of Disgrace 97
Psalm 56 A Voice for Muted Women 107
Psalm 57 God as Mother Bird 113
Psalm 58 Broken Women’s Bodies and the Health of Community 121
Psalm 59 Protestation of Innocence 127
Psalm 60 Co-opting the “Other” Woman 133
Psalm 61 God’s Nurturing Protection 141
Psalm 62 The Positive Value of Silence 147
Psalm 63 Body-Based Prayer 155
Psalm 64 Sharp Tongues 163
Psalm 65 The Earth’s Praise 171
Psalm 66 Women’s Daily Victories of Survival 179
Psalm 67 Universal Gratitude for God’s Bounty 185
Psalm 68 Conflicting Images of Women 189
Psalm 69 Women’s Tears 199
Psalm 70 Shame and Retribution 209
Psalm 71 Persistence in the Midst of Doubt 215
Psalm 72 Irony as Criticism 221

Book 3 of the Psalter (Pss 73–89) 227
Psalm 73 Letting God Off the Hook? 229 
Psalm 74 Jerusalem as Woman 239
Psalm 75 The Earth Totters 247
Psalm 76 Peace through Violence? 253
Psalm 77 Refusing to Be Comforted 261
Psalm 78 God’s “Womb-love” and Memory 269
Psalm 79 Redirected Anger 281
Psalm 80 Covenant Expectations Met and Unmet 289
Psalm 81 Time for Decision—Whose Voice Is Heard? 299
Psalm 82 God’s Hiddenness 307
Psalm 83 Corrupting Retributive Violence 315
Psalm 84 Unrequited Love 323
Psalm 85 Promises to Keep 331
Psalm 86 Need and Devotion 339
Psalm 87 Mother Zion 347
Psalm 88 Meaningless Suffering? 355
Psalm 89 We Told You So 365

Works Cited 375
Index of Scripture References 391
Index of Subjects 405

About the Author

Denise Dombkowski Hopkins is Woodrow and Mildred Miller Professor of Biblical Theology and Hebrew Bible at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. She has authored Journey through the Psalms (Chalice Press, 2002) and (with Michael Koppel) Grounded in the Living Word: The Old Testament and Pastoral Care Practices (Eerdmans, 2010). She and Michael Koppel have co-chaired the Bible and Practical Theology section in the Society of Biblical Literature for six years. The mother of two, she holds PhD and MA degrees from Vanderbilt University and a BA from Syracuse University.

Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the president of Catholic Theological Union and the first woman to hold the position. She has been a member of the CTU faculty since 1988 and also served as vice president and academic dean from 2009 to 2018. She holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was also president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 2014–2015.

Reviews

"In Psalms, Books 2–3, Denise Dombkowski Hopkins employs dissonant listening to the individual psalms, ever looking for intertexts that illuminate the powerful emotions and logic of the original authors. The intertexts involve women whose experiences resemble those voiced by the psalmists. Other female voices—African American, Latin American, and Asian—join Denise in a plea to implement social justice, combat racism and sexual trafficking, adopt sustainable agricultural practices, and bring healing to a broken world."James L. Crenshaw, Robert L. Flowers Emeritus, Professor of Old Testament, Duke University

"Psalms, Books 2–3, in the Wisdom Commentary series, is a rich resource with a multivoiced format that honors the Psalms' own interpretability. Instead of using their considerable exegetical expertise to pronounce a single meaning for each psalm or verse, the author and contributors point out a variety of ways in which the psalms can be understood and appropriated. The writers care deeply about the Psalms as a living spiritual resource, but like the psalmists themselves, they wrestle and protest as well as offer thanks and praise. They repeatedly offer differing views on such issues as the merits of submission and humility (religious attitudes that men sometimes find all too convenient to impose on women). They remind us that different people, contexts, and situations may require different religious responses. I believe that men as well as women will benefit from the detailed discussions, rich bibliography, and varied viewpoints presented in this commentary."Marti J. Steussy, MacAllister-Petticrew Professor of Biblical Interpretation Emerita, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis

"Denise Dombkowski Hopkins offers lay readers and scholars a critically important resource for feminist approaches to the Psalms. Connecting Psalms scholarship with issues of concern in the world today—such as race, violence, and human treatment of the earth—Dombkowski Hopkins invites readers to a conversation about the Psalms that is simultaneously grounded and provocative, informed and wide-ranging. Deeply aware of the important role of social and cultural location and the many different ways that readers identify as feminist, this commentary is a vital contribution to and firm foundation for further feminist interpretations of the Psalms."Amy C. Cottrill, Denson N. Franklin Associate Professor of Religion, Birmingham-Southern College

"Dr. Dombkowski Hopkins's commentary on Psalms 42–89 provides an exemplary model of commentary writing that significantly widens the scope of the conversation for such a time as this. Her range of expertise, from ancient Near Eastern culture to eco-feminist hermeneutics, is compelling and instructive. More than offering a single reading strategy, her commentary is critically wise, generously inclusive, and urgently relevant."Dr. William P. Brown, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Can another commentary in the field make a significant contribution? This volume, covering Books 2 and 3 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-89), definitely breaks new ground. Each psalm receives extensive coverage treating form-critical, historical, linguistic and theological issues. Scholars will rejoice to see Hebrew words discussed, and general readers will enjoy the accessible style of the commentary."America Magazine

"This book is a powerful look at the role of women as reflected in the psalms. It is extremely well documented and reads like literature coming out of a theology program. The book is instructive as it offers so many feminist insights to ponder."Catholic Press Association award, first place in Scripture, academic studies

"One of the many strengths of this volume is found in Hopkins's rhetorical focus on the structures and literary patterns of these psalms. A welcomed addition to Psalms scholarship, especially for those who approach the biblical text with an eye toward literary-theological reflections."Nicholas R. Werse, Catholic Books Review

"Like all entries in the series, this is a work of solid scholarship that many readers will find illuminating and at times fruitfully provocative."The Bible Today