Siphrut 28
Lament psalms are often imagined as private cries to God. Yet most laments are also directed outward—toward friends, foes, and entire communities. The Social Audience of Prayer reveals how the psalmist’s words reach beyond the divine to demand recognition, solidarity, and change from a human audience as well.
W. Derek Suderman offers the first sustained study of the social audience in lament psalms, showing how laments consistently engage both God and society. Through close rhetorical analysis, he uncovers shifts in address that highlight the psalmist’s strategies for confronting enemies, rallying supporters, and provoking divine action. Individual lament psalms emerge here as multifaceted performances that intertwine theological appeal and social persuasion. Suderman situates this insight within a broader canonical framework, examining how psalm superscriptions, the book of Job, and the passion narrative in the Gospel of Mark extend and reshape the social dynamics of lament.
By foregrounding its human audience, The Social Audience of Prayer reframes how scholars understand lament as genre and practice. Suderman demonstrates that laments are not merely vertical cries between an individual and God but complex rhetorical acts that engage God and community together. This study makes a methodological and theological contribution to Psalms research, offering new tools for rhetorical criticism and canonical interpretation. It will interest biblical scholars, theologians, students of Hebrew poetry, and readers seeking to understand how ancient prayers functioned as public, relational acts of faith.
eBook published on:May 5, 2026eBook ISBN:9781646023592Main content:230
Frontmatter
iContents
viiAcknowledgments
ixList of Abbreviations
xiiiPsalms Versification
xvIntroduction
1Chapter 1. “How Many Are My Foes”: The Beginning of Lament in the Psalms
13Chapter 2. “Save Me, O God”: From Divine to Social Address
44Chapter 3. “How Long Will You Attack?” From Social to Divine Address
76Chapter 4. “May His Days Be Few”: Hearing the Rhetoric of Jussives at Work
100Chapter 5. “Against You, You Alone, Have I Sinned”: The Function of Contextual Superscriptions in the Psalms
131Chapter 6. “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” The Function of Lament in Broader Canonical Contexts
159Chapter 7. The End of Lament: Exploring the Rhetorical and Canonical Function of a Biblical Genre
184Bibliography
195Index of Scripture
201Subject Index
207
Posts
Stumble It!
No comments:
Post a Comment