Worship as Social Creativity: Social Identity and the Form of Psalm 79
The form of Ps. 79 is often assessed as disoriented and disorienting. This study examines how the disoriented form of Ps. 79 creatively bolsters communal identity in the face of affliction primarily on the basis of the psalmist’s contention that God remains faithful to the covenant community. When o...
| Published in: | Journal for the study of the Old Testament |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2022
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2022, Volume: 46, Issue: 4, Pages: 516-529 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Psalmen 79
/ Identity theory
/ Form criticism
/ Worship service
/ Asaph Psalms
/ Psalms
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| RelBib Classification: | HB Old Testament ZA Social sciences |
| Further subjects: | B
Social Identity Theory
B Psalms B Worship B Psalms of Asaph B Psalm 79 B Form Criticism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The form of Ps. 79 is often assessed as disoriented and disorienting. This study examines how the disoriented form of Ps. 79 creatively bolsters communal identity in the face of affliction primarily on the basis of the psalmist’s contention that God remains faithful to the covenant community. When one assesses the form of the psalm through the framework of social identity theory, three social creativity strategies become apparent, which facilitate a positive reassessment of social identity following crisis, namely, (1) the psalmist redefines the valence of the community’s state of affliction as an attribute that should inspire God’s compassionate response, (2) the psalmist engages in downward social comparison by villainizing adversarial nations for their arrogance and iniquity, and (3) the psalmist embraces the community’s commitment to worship. Consequently, the psalm’s medium and message enable recovery from its life setting. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/03090892221081153 |