Remembered space : memory and imagination in Psalms 90-92 and Psalms 105-106

Abstract

Reflecting upon the fall of the Davidic monarchy, with which Book III of the Psalter ends, Book IV is set during and after the exile. Book IV inspires hope to a traumatised people in crisis by providing a renewed theological framework for Israel. While the centre of Book IV focuses on YHWH as the universal king, the introduction and conclusion to Book IV, found in Psalms 90–92 and Psalms 105–106, respectively, build upon collective memories of the shared history of Israel, especially as found in the exodus tradition, the figure of Moses and covenantal theology. In these psalms, it becomes apparent that Israel reimagined their past, present, and future through a process of remembered space consisting of memory and imagination. By combining the model of critical spatiality with collective memory and religious imagination, this study illustrates that remembered space is the component that guided the people of Israel in reconstructing their religious life, identity, and future hope. As a result, it is argued that remembered space is the structuring principle according to which the introduction and conclusion to Book IV of the Psalter is fixed. Remembered space forms an inclusio around Book IV, placing the content of the psalms in this book and the faith community’s experiences of exile and its aftermath into the space of remembered imagining. The post-exilic community used remembered space as a tool that provided them with the ability to reconstruct and reimagine stability, identity, and faith in YHWH as the true universal king through the collective memory of the defining events of their past and creative imagination amid cultural and religious instability, and a fragmented society. Employing remembered space, Psalms 90–92 and 105–106 become a prayer of the Israelite community. Aware of their transience, the community pleads with YHWH to repair their nation, identity, and faith.