Studies in the Bible and Antiquity Volume 1 Article 2 2009 A Comparison of the Communal Lament Psalms and the Treaty- Covenant Formula Daniel Belnap Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sba BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Belnap, Daniel (2009) "A Comparison of the Communal Lament Psalms and the Treaty-Covenant Formula," Studies in the Bible and Antiquity: Vol. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sba/vol1/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in the Bible and Antiquity by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Title A Comparison of the Communal Lament Psalms and the Treaty-Covenant Formula Author(s) Daniel Belnap Reference Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 1 (2009): 1–34. ISSN 2151-7800 (print), 2168-3166 (online) Abstract Within the corpus of psalms in the Hebrew Bible is a group known as the communal laments. Characterized by their use of the first person common plural pro- noun, some type of calamity experienced by the com- munity, and a petition to God, these psalms incorpo- rate similar imagery, terminology, and structure. This study explores these psalms and suggests that they relate closely to the Hittite treaty-covenant formula found elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, yet differ in that they reflect an ongoing covenantal relationship rather than the establishment of such. Thus, these psalms emphasize Israel’s expectation that God, as the senior covenantal party, will fulfill his covenantal obligations if Israel remained worthy.