Additional information
by Ellen T. Charry (Author)
The biblical psalms are perhaps the most commented-upon texts in human history. They are at once deeply alluring and deeply troubling. In this addition to the acclaimed Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, a highly respected scholar offers a theological reading of Psalms 1-50, exploring the various voices in the poems to discern the conversation they engage about God, suffering, and hope as well as ways of community belonging. The commentary examines the context of the psalms as worship--tending to both their original setting and their subsequent Jewish and Christian appropriation--and explores the psychological dynamics facing the speaker. Foreword by William P. Brown.
Back Jacket
The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible enlists leading theologians to read and interpret scripture creedally for the twenty-first century, just as the church fathers, the Reformers, and other orthodox Christians did for their times and places. Psalms 1-50, like each commentary in the series, is designed to serve the church and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.
Praise for Psalms 1-50 in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible
"It is a wonder and a gift to have a systematic theologian slow down and focus attention on the particularity of biblical texts. No one doing theology can do that more effectively than Charry, who considers the Psalms in their ancient orbit but draws them boldly toward contemporaneity for Christian readers. Charry's attentiveness to the recurring issue of suffering and hope is a welcome accent. Her book is a persuasive addition to the growing corpus of books that intend to bring the Psalter more fully into play in the life, faith, and practice of the church."
--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
"This is a very thoughtful, theological reflection on the Psalter. Truly to be commended is the seriousness with which Charry takes up the settings provided by the psalm titles themselves as well as the questions raised by Jewish and Christian interpreters over the centuries. In this way, the commentary allows the theological depth of the Psalter to open up new vistas for the religious life."
--Gary A. Anderson, University of Notre Dame
"Charry's multilayered commentary focuses on the matters that are of most concern to those who pray--struggles with doubt and doubters, evildoers and the problem of evil, the absence and invisibility of God. Grounded in a close reading of the text, this widely useful volume steadily demonstrates how the psalmists discover and rediscover God's faithfulness."
--Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School
General editor: R. R. Reno (editor, First Things)
Series editors: Robert W. Jenson (Center of Theological Inquiry)
Robert Louis Wilken (University of Virginia)
Ephraim Radner (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto)
Michael Root (Catholic University of America)
George Sumner (Episcopal Diocese of Dallas)
Author Biography
Ellen T. Charry (PhD, Temple University) is Margaret W. Harmon Professor of Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. She is the author of several books, including God and the Art of Happiness, and serves as an editor-at-large for The Christian Century.
