Abstract:
Psalm 73 is a challenging Psalm in which the Psalmist draws on rich imagery to juxtapose
doctrine and experience and to juxtapose the goodness of God with divine retribution.
Drawing on data provided by 15 theological educators within the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus
and the Gulf, this study tests the thesis that the imagery of Psalm 73 will be perceived
differently by sensing types and by intuitive types and that the issue ‘Is God really good to the
upright?’ will be judged differently by feeling types and by thinking types. The findings from
this study are consistent with the broader hermeneutical theory that the psychological type
profile of the reader, in terms of perceiving preference and judging preference, plays a
formative part in shaping the interpretation of biblical material.
CONTRIBUTION: Situated within the reader-perspective approach to biblical hermeneutics, the
SIFT method is concerned with identifying the influence of the psychological type of the reader
in shaping the interpretation of text. The present study demonstrates that this theory holds
true for the way in which theological educators read Psalm 73.
