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Analyzing the Psalms: With Exercises for Bible Students and TranslatorsThe purpose of this textbook is to introduce Bible students and translators to the basic compositional structure and literary style of Hebrew poetry, especially the lyric-liturgical poetry found in the Book of Psalms. Wendland follows a "discourse analysis" approach--examining different aspects of the poetic texts as an integrated whole. His primary focus is upon the formal features of the psalms, but elements of content (key terms) and function (psalm types or genres) also receive due consideration. TABLE OF CONTENTS1. Introduction to the Book of Psalms1.1 The origin of the word psalms1.2 A brief history of the Psalter1.3 The numbering of the psalms1.4 Text critical issues1.5 Books and other groupings within the Psalter1.6 Paired psalms1.7 Hebrew titles of the psalms1.8 Why sing a new song to the LORD in your language 2. Categorizing the Psalms According to Genre 2.1 The five major functions2.2 The five minor functions2.3 Conclusion: The importance of genre in the study of the Psalms3. Connected Parallelism: The Internal and External Structure of Paired Lines in the Psalter3.1 Preparing to study the poetic devices of Hebrew3.2 The nature of connected parallelism: Internal structure3.3 The nature of near parallelism: External structure3.4 A summary of the semantic relations between parallel lines4. Distant Parallelism: The Marking of Text Boundaries in the Psalter 4.1 How separated parallelism reveals text boundaries4.2 How convergence and harmony reveal text boundaries4.3 Summary of the marking functions of separated parallels4.4 Some extended patterns of parallelism5. Lower-Level Stylistic Features of Hebrew Poetry5.1 Repetitive language5.2 Figurative language5.3 Rhetorical questions5.4 Condensed language5.5 Varied language5.6 Phonological resonance5.7 Multifunctional language6. Content: What the Psalmists Pray and Praise About 6.1 The cast of psalmic participants6.2 Topics and themes in the Psalter6.3 Key terms of the Psalter7. A Ten-Step Method for Analyzing a Complete Psalm 7.1 The ten steps7.2 Sample analyses of selected psalmsAppendix: Organizing a Biblical Poetry WorkshopRecommended ReadingIndex