The Old Testament: An Introduction : Psalms and Wisdom

The psalm's importance to Christians cannot be overstated, since more of the church's services as well as private prayers are drawn from them than from any other part of scripture, yet as Paul Tarazi shows in this conclusion to his Old Testament Introduction trilogy, it is impossible to understand them merely by reading English translations.

Fr Tarazi provides essential background un the language, history, and culture of those who first wrote, used, and edited these psalms, leading to sometimes surprising new understandings of common terms such as "king," "God," "Lord," and "righteousness." Along the way he explains how and why the psalms were used in prayer, and what we can learn about prayer itself. His discussion of Wisdom literature illuminates the very concept of "scripture," and that in turn leads to an in-depth explanation of how the Old Testament and New Testament do indeed make up a single, unified Christian scripture in which the Old Testament has an essential role not inferior to the New Testament.

The Rev. Dr. Paul Nadim Tarazi is Professor of Old Testament at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.