His Faithfulness is from Generation to Generation (Ps 100:5c): The Coherence of the Eleven Compositions Psalms 90-100

Abstract

Psalms 93-100 are almost generally considered an individual cycle of “YHWH King-psalms.” Here it is argued that Ps 100 is the concluding composition of a cycle consisting of eleven psalms which starts at Ps 90. This major cycle is composed of two sub-cycles of five psalms, Pss 90-94 and Pss 96-100, which frame a pivotal composition of eleven poetic lines, Ps 95. The rhetorical design of the main cycle is determined by content and several formal features. The latter rhetorical means include the use of meaningful numbers like 7, 11, 26, and the strategic positioning of unique significant vocabulary as guide lexemes.

Keywords

• Psalms 90-100
• Psalter Book IV
• YHWH-Kingship-Psalms (YHWH-Melech-Psalms)
• Composition(s) of Psalms
• Structure of Psalms (Groups)
• Biblical Hebrew Poetics