The Hebrew Bible as a Pastoral Resource : Reinterpreting the Psalter with the Bereaved: A Reader-Oriented Exegesis of Psalm 139:1-18

Abstract

This thesis seeks to investigate how Psalm 139, and biblical texts in general, can be interpreted to facilitate a meaningful reading by bereaved parents after the early loss of a child. By using in-depth interviews with bereaved parents, this study emphasises the reader’s perspective in its exegesis to produce a responsible, contemporary interpretation. I applied insights on the existential challenges of bereaved parents to a reader-oriented exegetical approach to Psalm 139, imagining a hypothetical reader’s creative engagement with the biblical text. To investigate the merit of this approach, the resulting interpretation was then compared to findings from interviews conducted with bereaved parents about their experiences of reading the psalm. This study finds that the individual experience of the reader is hugely influential in the creative process of interpretation. Depending on the reader’s past life and personal convictions, Psalm 139 can be immensely comforting or disconcerting. I conclude that the reader-oriented approach to exegesis is a valuable tool for any biblical scholar and minister, as it can unearth a wealth of relevant, contemporary interpretations inaccessible to the historical approach to exegesis. This thesis contends that scholarly biblical studies, homiletics and pastoral would all benefit greatly from an increased focus on the contemporary reader’s perspective.