Rashi's Commentary on Psalms 1-89 (Books I-III) (review)

Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 331 Reviews past (for example, why Psalm 90 was designated a "Psalm of Moses") or with particular events in the life of David (as in Psalm 3). Throughout the work Davidson clearly translates critical problems and scholarly proposals in a way that should be appreciated by both a scholarly and a general audience. If there is a problem with Davidson's treabnent of individual psalms it might be the occasional failure to present the full complexity of an issue. For example, in his discussion of Psalm 1 he defmes torah (Ps 1:2) as "the five books of Moses," and he follows this same conclusion relatively closely in the commentary on Psalms 19 and 119 as well. Such an identification seems problematic for at least two reasons: first, if the term refers to a written text in Psalm 1 the text might be the Deuteronomic legislation, given the fact that Psalm 1 borrows its description of the benefits of meditation on torah from Josh 1:7-8; second, Psalms 19 and 119 are more vague in the way they speak of torah, leaving open the possibility that the term has a range of meanings in the Psalter, not one that is uniform. Despite this small quibble, Davidson's work has much to commend it. Its greatest strength is the author's perpetual linking of psalm texts with passages that contain similar linguistic and theological features. Davidson gives a clear sense of how particular psalms are related to other psalms, other Hebrew Bible texts, and New Testament passages. In sum, Davidson works with an awareness that the Psalter is situated within scripture. Since his primary goal is to offer a theological reading of the Psalms. to show how the Psalter contributes to contemporary Jewish and Christian faith, he seems to have accomplished his goal in remarkable fashion. His work is a welcome addition to recent efforts to reclaim the use of the Psalms in meditation and worship. Jerome F. D. Creach Barton College Wilson, NC 27893 jcreach@barton.edu RASHI'S COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 1-89 (BOOKS I-III). By Mayer I. Gruber. USF Studies in the History of Judaism 161. pp. xiv + 448; x + 48. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1998. Cloth, $89.95. As the world of Jewish studies has reawakened to the importance of medieval Jewish biblical exegesis, both in biblical studies as well as for its historical and literary insights. the need for better editions and translations Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 332 Reviews has never been more apparent; the same, it should be added, is the case with regard to medieval Christian exegesis. The present volume, by Mayer Gruber, is a significant advance in correcting this deficiency. The edition consists of the Hebrew text of Rashi's commentary on Psalms 1-89, an annotated English translation, and an introduction; a planned second volume will complete the work. As he explains in the forward to the Hebrew section, Gruber has selected as the basis for his edition the Austrian National Library Hebrew ms. 220, a thirteenth or fourteenth century Ashkenazic manuscript containing Rashi's commentaries on "all twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible without the biblical text"; the author does not enter into the discussion of whether the commentaries on such books as Chronicles or Nehemiah were actually written by Rashi. He aims for as nearly accurate a transcription as possible, even to the extent of reproducing such scribal practices as including Hebrew numerals above sequential words that the scribe realized he had written in reverse order. Moreover, he intends "to reproduce exactly" the scribe's text "with all its inconsistencies in punctuation." However, although he claims to have consulted "some seventy" manuscripts (in the English introduction he mentions sixty-one), he has not chosen to share with the reader what must have been at least some important variants: there is no critical apparatus. While it must be admitted that even a partial apparatus might have made the volume too unwieldy, it is to be regretted that the author has not seen fit to include any type of annotation, utilizing other manuscript traditions, to the Hebrew transcription of Rashi's commentary. There are, however...