Week 5 Prompt Blog: Point of Interpretation

In Book Two (sections 105-109) of his work, On Christian Teaching, St. Augustine speaks of the significance of history and specifically chronology to understanding and interpreting Christian text. He uses several examples which include the misconceptions of the age of Christ at his death and the relationship between Platonic ideas and Christ’s teachings to support this significance. The point that St. Augustine ultimately makes regarding the interpretation of Christian texts is that in order accurately understand events or ideas depicted in religious texts, we must know which historical events or ideas preceded or surrounded the writing of those texts.

This point is especially pertinent to the Psalms, considering both their historical and abstract nature. Many of the Psalms refer to specific historical events, often major events in the history of the Hebrew people. A modern day reading of these Psalms will mean little without a knowledge of these events and the order in which they occurred. While this is true of a lot Christian text, it is especially pertinent to the Psalms because of the abstract way in which these events are mentioned. Unlike other portions of both Hebrew and Christian texts which give clear recounts of historical events (which explains why these texts are so highly valued as historical documents), the Psalms refer to historical events through metaphors and personal comparisons of the struggles or joys that characterized these events. Because of this, it is very easy for a reader unfamiliar with Hebrew and Christian history to miss these references in the Psalms even though they are often integral to understanding the use or context of the texts. Additionally the cries of need for God and the Thanksgiving found in the Psalms make often surround historical events, and knowing an individual Psalm’s chronological relation these events is necessary to really understand the Psalm.