In this twenty-second volume in the Wisdom Commentary Series, Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford presents the final sixty psalms in the Bible from the perspective of a feminine reader or hearer. She employs the lived experience of twelve South African theology students who each provide unique and valuable reflections on several of the psalms a quarter century following the end of apartheid. The author identifies as a “white, relatively affluent female living in suburban North America” who provides a reading of the psalms from her understanding of the world. Having spent a short time in South Africa, she worked with these students and gleaned their experience of praying these psalms from their worldview and circumstances. Their reflections follow discussions of certain psalms, and they present current feelings and responses to the messages of the psalms they follow. To read of the lived experiences of a culture so vastly different from one's own and from the original setting of the texts helps expand one's own understanding of the one who prays the psalms in the modern world.
DeClaissé-Walford provides a scholarly look at Psalms 90 to 150 (Books 4 and 5 of the Psalter) from the position that not only men pray these psalms, but women do as well. A close reading of the specific vocabulary used in these texts presents attributes of God that speak of traditionally feminine qualities, such as nurturing and womb-love, and to God's creative activity in respect to both the heavenly and the earthly realms. The author draws attention to aspects of these psalms that speak to the needs and experience of people of both genders who pray them.
The circumstances the psalms depict, while having a male-oriented nature and source, are equally applicable to the circumstances of women, particularly those who are oppressed by situations in society or their homes. Such women might be limited by their access to healthy food choices and education. They could be victims of conditions beyond their control, such as power inequities or violence in their public and private lives. Finally, these psalms may also speak to those who are just on the margins of being heard, truly heard, in the cultures in which they live. And though the psalms are written from the viewpoint of the male-dominated ancient Israelite society, the messages they present have a quality free of gender or time, making them equally applicable in ancient Israel as in modern middle America or contemporary South Africa. To read the commentary on these prayers from the perspective of the feminine pray-er is an eye-opening experience, even for one who prays them several times each day. DeClaissé-Walford's inclusion of these South African voices provides a profound insight into others in our world who might be praying these psalms at the same time that I am.
A specific and helpful feature that appears in several places throughout the text is the author's inclusion of “Translation Matters” boxes in which she compares certain specific words across different English translations of these texts. Such information is helpful to students who lack a grasp of biblical Hebrew and Greek and the multitude of ways in which a word's meaning can make a significant difference in the modern understanding of the lived experience of the ancient writers.
The author repeats basic information that will help some audiences, such as undrergraduates, studying the psalms at an intro level. She replicates English translations of certain Hebrew words (such as Hallelujah, womb-love, steadfast love). Similarly, she provides information in the chapter introductions then repeats the same information, sometimes even repeating exact phrases, in the commentaries on individual psalms. For this reason, one would have no difficulty skipping and selecting among the various psalms with their accompanying commentaries, for the commentary on any one psalm can be a stand-alone lesson. Such duplicated material may be useful to beginning scholars, although those who are advanced in biblical scholarship would likely find it distracting.
DeClaissé-Walford's well-researched commentary, because of its presentation of the perspective of the feminine pray-er of these psalms, the “Translation Matters” feature, and especially the inclusion of the South African theological students’ experience of these psalms, makes it a must-have for anyone teaching undergraduates this subject.
