HISTORICAL NARRATIVE AND IDENTITY IN THE PSALMS HARRY P NASUTI Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458 It requires little form-critical sophistication to recognize the difference between the psalms and the narrative material that one finds in a number of other biblical books As both poetry and prayer, the psalms clearly belong to a different literary genre than the prose narrative that relates Israel's history It would, however, be wholly inaccurate to see the psalms as lacking in either historical reference or narrative force A number of psalms contain allusions to Israel's historical narrative, and certain psalms are almost entirely devoted to recounting various aspects of that narrative Form-critical scholarship on the psalms has achieved a fair amount of consensus concerning the role historical allusions play in the literary genres of which they are a part Much less settled are the larger implications of these elements for how one understands such central questions as the biblical view of history and the nature and purpose of worship Indeed, recent attempts to move beyond the standard form-critical understanding of the psalms to a more post-critical perspective have reopened the debate on these issues in a dynamic way The present essay is meant as a contribution to this larger debate As such, it will first review some of the major scholarly positions on the nature of historical allusions in the psalms It will then look directly at the different ways in which the psalms present historical narrative so as to either involve or distance those who use them Following this, a brief examination of certain aspects of the psalms' history of interpretation will suggest that the Jewish and Christian traditions saw a similar dynamic as a significant element in their own approach to these texts indeed, Gunkelsaw the existenceof such narrativeelementsas one of the most distinctive features of Israelite hymns in contrast to those of the surrounding cultures See his Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel (trans James D Nogalski;Macon, Ga.: Mercer, 1998), 54 132 133 Finally, the paper will attempt to draw out some of the larger theological implications of its analysis of the psalms' literary shape and continued usage Historical Narrative and the Cult ' In order to understand the larger issues surrounding historical allusion in the psalms, one can profitably begin with Claus Westermann's imporof History in the Psalms "2 In this tant essay, "The 'Re-presentation' essay, Westermann argues that the recounting of God's past actions was an essential element in Israel's praise of God throughout the psalms.3 By "looking back on" and "extolling" God's earlier deeds, Israel affirmed its faith in God's continuing involvement in history and power to save For Westermann, this affirmation was especially important in times of God's apparent absence, as are depicted in the psalms of lament Such a of God's past actions was a necessary proclamation "re-presentation" that allowed Israel to continue its covenant relationship with God.44 in direct opposition Westermann lays out this view of re-presentation such as Sigmund who saw the to earlier scholars, Mowinckel, of Israel's history as taking place in the form of a cultic re-presentation drama Westermann's problems with such a cultic drama are twofold First of all, he sees no convincing historical evidence that such a drama ever existed in ancient Israel Fundamental to this part of Westermann's argument is his claim that there is little indication "in the Psalms themselves" of any presentation of historical events in the form of a cultic drama.5 2Originally published as "Vergegenwartigung der Geschichte in den Psalmen," Zwischenstation Festschriftfür Karl Kupischzum 60 Geburtstag (Munchen:Chr Kaiser Verlag, 1963), 253-280 Now found in his collectionof essays, Praise and Lament in the Psalms (trans Keith R Crim and Richard N Soulen, Atlanta: John Knox, 1981), 214-249 3Suchrecountingconstituteswhat Westermann has called "declarativepraise."See his classicessay, "The Praise of God in the Psalms," in Praise and Lament, 15-162 4Westermann," `Re-presentation'of History," 246 -'Westermann,"'Re-presentation' of History," 224