Abstract:
The article identifies the root metaphors used in Ps 32 and uses these to
identify the purpose and strategy of the psalm as a means of
communication between its author and its original audience. It argues
that the psalm should not be read as a psalm of thanksgiving with
wisdom elements, but a wisdom-teaching psalm which replicates a
psalm of thanksgiving. The author and/or editors used the composition,
which is ascribed to King David, as a means of exhorting members of
the in-group in a post-exilic setting in Judah to trust in YHWH and to stay
faithful to him. The implied author’s experience of suffering because of
pent-up guilt, as well as an authoritative first-person address by YHWH,
was used in conjunction with a range of wisdom features by the author
to communicate this message to its original audience.
