A STUDY OF ITS IMAGERY AND THEOLOGY PSALM 63 IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PSALTER

I intend it as a highest commendation to say that Zieba has written an "old fashioned" critical study. By that I mean there are no short-cuts, no facile arguments, and no easy assumptions. Instead what we get is a closely reasoned, knowingly offered analysis of the Psalm. That close reading is framed by a well informed introduction to the world of poetic imagination and by theological reflection at the end. This study is a model of how to do careful research in an interdisciplinary context with outcomes that are well grounded. This study is the outcome of fine work, sure to be referenced much in time to come. WALTER BRUEGGEMANN Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia

Psalm 63 has often been called 'the pearl of the Psalter'. It has been used at morning prayer in the monastic and church offices through the centuries, and along with corresponding imagery in such as 42-3, 84 and 143 has been prominent in Jewish and Christian piety at times of weariness and thirsting for the presence of God. Zbigniew ('Ziggy) Zieba takes this familiar psalm and explores its rich imagery and metaphorical language not only in the context of psalmody, but also of similar prophetic texts in Isaiah and Jeremiah and of the poetry of the ancient Near East, particularly from Sumer and Ugarit. A later tra• jectory is also explored with reference to poets such as George Herbert and Henry Vaughan. Through this detailed study the reader not only learns much about the poetry and imagery of the psalms in general but also finds new ways of using Psalm 63 in particular for personal reflection and private prayer. Dr SUSAN GILLINGHAM Reader in Old Testament, , and Fellow and Tutor in Theology, Worcester College, Oxford

Hebrew poetry (within the context of Ancient Near Eastern analogies) still has much to reveal. Thor• ough studies of imagery and metaphors in the Psalms, like this one of Zbigniew Zieba, help us to understand more of its mysteries. ERHARD S. GERSTENBERGER Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Marburg University, Germany

Zieba's study of Psalm 63 and its significance in the wider context of the Psalms and the is an important contribution to our understanding of how metaphor functioned in the ancient Near East. It offers insights into the theological meaning of the psalm which are of continuing relevance, showing how these ancient texts, once we understand the figures they use, continue both to inspire and to encourage. Zieba's approach is accessible without losing scholarly integrity: a rare virtue. I hope that his book will find a wide readership. Dr ALASTAIR HUNTER Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow

Psalm 63 is well-known for its beauty and its poetic nature, and Dr Ziebas study is a fine aid to the ap• preciation of the way this psalm and other psalms work as poetry. ^ JOHN GOLDINGAY David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California

Zbigniew Zieba is Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at St. Marys Col• lege, Oscott, Birmingham, England. He holds the M.A. degree in Theol• ogy from the Catholic University of Lublin, and the S.S.L. degree from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, and the PhD from Durham University. He also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has an interest in biblical poetry and has written a number of articles on the subject. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and has been ordained since 1996.