Personal and Private Religious Experience in the Biblical Psalms

The book of Psalms is often drawn upon as a deep well of emotionally connecting literature, in time of praise and of great sorrow, for Christian communities and individuals.

Delving into the history of the Psalter, Dr. Danijel Berković engages in the discussion of understanding of the “psalmist” as individual or corporate to illuminate the distinction between piety in the personal and the private. Questions on the nature of religious and emotional experience, Israelite anthropology and the Hebrew concept of person, and the capacity of poetic language to convey meaning in these, are addressed adeptly through a variety of disciplines. This detailed study provides fresh insight on piety and emotion expressed in the Psalms, and is a valuable addition to psalmist scholarship.