Seeing The Psalms

William Brown introduces a new method of exegesis, particularly for biblical poetry, that attends to the metaphorical contours of the psalms. His method as proposed and demonstrated in this book supplements traditional ways of interpreting the psalms and results in a fresh understanding of their original context and contemporary significance. Brown’s pioneering work explores the hermeneutical promises and challenges of interpreting the book of Psalms through the lens of metaphor. While form-critical analysis has been the staple of psalms research for over a century, scholars have by and large overlooked the Psalter’s use of imagery at great theological cost. More than any other corpus in Scripture, the Psalter embodies “incarnational language,” discourse that is as visceral as it is sublime. The psalmist’s use of imager, Brown argues, has the power to captivate the imagination, edify the mind, and cultivate moral discernment and theological reflection.