HB 3112: Psalms in Interpretation

Winter 2026: Offered Online (Synchronous)

Course Description

The Psalms have a special place in the life of the synagogue and church. A major goal of this course is to see how select psalms have fed and informed Jewish and Christian theology in various periods: biblical times, Rabbinic and Patristic periods, the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and down to modern times. To help understand the anthology’s arrangement, the course will also interact with recent scholarship on the shape and shaping of the Psalter.

See “Interpreting Psalms and the Psalter” for some reflections on how I teach the psalms.

  • Prerequisites: BF 1001; RM 1000 or GTR 6000.
  • Requirements: Weekly readings, weekly discussions, psalm memorization and/or psalm composition, two papers. The course includes an arts component.
  • Syllabus: Download the latest version (Winter 2021).

Required Texts (Winter 2021)*

Discovering Psalms
Jerome F.D. Creach. Discovering Psalms: Content, Interpretation, Reception. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020. ISBN 978-0802878069.
Order the paperback in Canada or the USA.
Alternatively, an eBook is available from the book’s UK publisher.
The End of the Psalter
Alma Brodersen. The End of the Psalter: Psalms 146–150 in the Masoretic Text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2018 (reprint of 2017 Walter de Gruyter edition). ISBN: 978-1481308991.
Order the paperback in Canada or the USA.
Alternatively, access an eBook through the AST Library.
NJPS Translation
NJPS = The New Jewish Publication Society of America translation of the Tanakh (JPS, 1985). If you wish to purchase a hard copy with notes and supplementary essays, I highly recommend Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds., The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition (Oxford / New York: Oxford University Press, 2014). Any other edition will do, including those offered through Oxford Biblical Studies Online (AST Library subscription) and Sefaria (free).

* Please note that textbook selections for my courses often change with each iteration of the course.

Making Sense
Margot Northey, Bradford A. Anderson, and Joel N. Lohr. Making Sense in Religious Studies: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing. 3rd ed. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 2019.
This title includes basic advice on things like reading religious texts, writing essays and book reviews, making oral presentations, and learning languages. It should help you master fundamental tasks in nearly any course in religion or theology.
SBLHS2
The SBL Handbook of Style, 2nd Edition, is the definitive style manual for biblical studies and related disciplines.
A blog (sblhs2.com) and free Student Supplement (PDF) should cover the issues most common to term papers. The AST library copy is in the reference section at PN 147 S26 2014.
Serious students of biblical studies will want a copy of their own. Order one from SBL Press or elsewhere online. ISBN 978-1589839649.
See my resources page for further advice on writing, style, and research.

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