The Politics of Psalmody: Psalm 60 and the Rise and Fall of Judean Independence

Psalm 60 exhibits two conflicting literary structures. One of these structures is evident by the psalm’s use of chiasmus; the other is evident by the psalm’s use of meter. The identification of these two conflicting structures indicates a two-stage composition of Ps 60. Examination of the chiasmus within the psalm and a consideration of its two-stage composition elucidate the date of Ps 60. While most scholars date Ps 60 to sometime between the late eighth century and early sixth century BCE, careful observation of the psalm’s structure and political references indicates that the two-stage composition of Ps 60 dates to the Hasmonean and Herodian periods. Building on a second- and first-century BCE date for the two-stage composition of the psalm, a text-critical analysis of the psalm indicates that the Greek version of the psalm reflects a Hebrew Vorlage that predates the MT version of the psalm. Consequently, proto-MT Ps 60 seems to date to the end of the first century CE.