Copyright © 2012 Samuel Onchonga Asuma All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. SPEECH ETHICS IN THE HEBREW PSALTER A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Samuel Onchonga Asuma December 2012 APPROVAL SHEET SPEECH ETHICS IN THE HEBREW PSALTER Samuel Onchonga Asuma Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Duane A. Garrett (Chair) __________________________________________ Russell T. Fuller __________________________________________ Terry J. Betts Date______________________________ To my beloved family, Gladys, Moraa, Caleb TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE . viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . ………………… 1 Statement of the Problem . 1 Purpose of the Study . 2 Thesis . ……………… 2 Methodology ……………………………………………………………...... 3 Basic Assumptions and Limitations ……………………………………... 5 Summary of Chapters …………………………………………………..... 5 2. HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF OLD TESTAMENT ETHICS . 7 Introduction . ………… 7 Biblical Ethics as an Independent Discipline . 8 Criteria for Old Testament Ethics . 9 Diversity and Unity . … 19 Methodology ……………………………………………………………...... 23 Relevance of Old Testament Ethics ……………………………………… 36 The Basis of Old Testament Ethics ……………………………………….. 43 Philosophical Issues ………………………………………………………. 47 Scope ……………………………………………………………………...... 50 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………51 iv Chapter Page 3. SPEECH ETHICS OUTSIDE THE HEBREW PSALTER . 55 Introduction . …………. 55 Speech Ethics in the Pentateuch . 55 Speech Ethics in Prophetic Literature . 73 Speech Ethics in Wisdom Literature ……………………………………….. 81 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..... 96 4. DOES THE HEBREW PSALTER PROVIDE ETHICAL INSTRUCTION? . ……….. 98 Introduction . ………… 98 Pre-Critical Approach . 98 Form-Critical Approach . 99 Canonical Approach ……………………………………………………..... 102 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 115 5. SPEECH ETHICS IN THE HEBREW PSALTER . 116 Introduction . ……….. 116 Speech Ethics in the Psalms of Lament . 168 Speech Ethics in Wisdom and Torah Psalms …………………………….. 145 Speech Ethics in Royal Psalms ……………………………………………. 149 Speech Ethics and Worship ……………………………………………….. 153 Positive Use of Speech …………………………………………………….. 162 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….164 6. CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………….. 166 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 172 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AJS American Journal of Sociology BDB F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament BHS Biblia hebraica stuttgartensia BI Biblical Interpretation BR Biblical Research BS Bibliotheca Sacra BZAW Beihefte zur ZAW CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly EncJud Encyclopaedia judaica (1972) EvQ Evangelical Quarterly ExpTim Expository Times HTR Harvard Theological Review JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JBR Journal of Bible and Religion JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JRC Journal of Religion and Culture JSOT Journal for the Study of Old Testament JSOTSup Journal for the Study of Old Testament – Supplement Series JSS Journal of Semitic Studies JTS Journal of Theological Studies vi LXX Septuagint MT Masoretic Text NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NIV New International Version NKJV New King James Version NT New Testament OT Old Testament OTL Old Testament Library PC Philosophia Christi PRS Perspectives in Religious Studies SBET Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology SJOT Scandinavian Journal of Old Testament SJT Scottish Journal of Theology TDOT G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren (eds.), Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament VT Vestus Testamentum VTSup Vestus Testamentum, Supplements WBC Word Biblical Commentary WTJ Westminster Theological Journal ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft vii PREFACE The desire to do my research on a topic from the Hebrew Psalter began in the spring of 2007 during lectures by Dr. Patrick Miller at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on the subject of the Ten Commandments. When dealing with the ninth commandment, he remarked that words are probably used as weapons of oppression in the book of Psalms. I spent the summer of that year reading the book of Psalms and discovered frequent use of speech terminology. This discovery raised some curiosity and I wanted to find out why. As a result, this project was born. I would like to acknowledge the tremendous contribution of a number of people who made the completion of the dissertation possible. I would like to thank Dr. Duane Garrett, my supervising professor, who provided much needed guidance and encouragement in the process of framing my topic, doing research, and writing. Also, thanks to Drs. Russell T. Fuller and Terry J. Betts, members of my committee, who helped push the process to the finishing line. I will not forget Dr. Steven Guest, who spent many hours from his busy schedule to read and edit this work. His friendship will always be remembered. Finally, no words of thanks could adequately express my gratitude to my beloved wife, Gladys, and our children, Moraa and Caleb, for their love, patience, and support during the period of writing this dissertation. They sacrificed substantially in order for me to pursue doctoral studies at the seminary, and for that I am deeply grateful. Samuel Onchonga Asuma Louisville, Kentucky December 2012 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Speech is an essential element in human relationship because it is a primary medium through which thoughts of one person are communicated to another. Depending on the kind of thoughts being communicated and the kind of person doing the communication, speech has the potential for good and evil. Speech can begin and maintain relationships thereby promoting stability in society. Sadly, however, it can also destroy such relationships. The possibility of using speech for good and evil might explain why the Bible has a lot to say about speech ethics.1 This study explores what the Hebrew Psalter teaches about speech ethics. The Statement of the Problem One of the strange phenomena in the Hebrew Psalter is its pervasive use of speech terminology. By “speech terminology” here is meant those words and/or phrases that refer to the use and abuse of speech as well as the organs of speech (mouth, lips and tongue). In the Psalter, the psalmists frequently criticize the wicked for misusing speech. 1The term “ethics” as used in this study refers to rules, regulations, and principles that prescribe or forbid a certain type of action. It is not dealing with the abstract conception of ethics that characterizes the work of Greek and Latin philosophers. The reason is that, to the Hebrews, ethics was practical; it was a way of life (see André Neher, “Ethics,” EncJud [Jerusalem: Keter, 1972], 6: 531; John Barton, Ethics and the Old Testament [London: SCM Press, 1998], 14-16; I. Howard Marshall, “Using the Bible in Ethics,” in Essays in Evangelical Social Ethics, ed. David F. Wright [Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1979], 41; James Muilenburgh, The Way of Israel [New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1965], 15). Also, no distinction is made between “ethics” and “morality” because the former is a Greek word and the latter is a Latin word translating the Greek (see Stanley J. Grenz, The Morality Quest: Foundations of Christian Ethics [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997], 23; for a contrary view, see Wayne A. Meeks, The Origins of Christian Morality: The First Two Centuries [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993], 4-5; Shubert Spero, Morality, Halakha and the Jewish Tradition, The Library of Jewish Law and Ethics, vol. 9 [New York: Ktav, 1983], xiii-xiv). 1 Other times, they are heard talking about the kind of speech that the Lord requires and making resolutions on how they will use their speech. This phenomenon raises a number of questions. Why does the Psalter frequently use speech terminology more than any other book in the Old Testament? What does the use of the terminology say about speech ethics in the Psalter? How does speech ethics in the Psalter compare with the speech ethics in the other books of the Old Testament? What contribution does speech ethics in the Psalter make to the study of Old Testament ethics in general? The Purpose of the Study This study will examine the use of speech terminology in the Hebrew Psalter with a view to finding out why the Psalter makes frequent reference to the use and abuse of speech, in order to help the reader understand the teaching of the Psalter on speech ethics and the contribution it makes to the study of Old Testament ethics in general. Thesis The thesis of this study is threefold. First, the Hebrew Psalter emphasizes strongly the need to speak the truth and warns against using one’s speech to the detriment of other people. The Psalter suggests that falsehood defiles a person thereby depriving him access to a holy God for worship. Second, speech terminology appears frequently in the Psalter because words are primarily used as weapons of oppression by powerful members of the community (the wicked) against the weak and the needy (righteous). This situation reflects a time in the history of ancient Israel when justice had failed. And since the weak and the needy did not have any human authority to protect them, they appealed to the Lord to do justice by delivering