A Balanced View of Interpreting the Psalms in Light of their Sitz im Leben

The Sitz im Leben is the “Life Setting” of a Psalm. The term was popularized by Gunkel (1926) and subsequent scholars like Mowinckel (1962). It has been a useful concept for exploring the overall context of a psalm to understand it better.

However, overemphasis on the Sitz im Leben can lead to wrong interpretations of the overall message of a Psalm. Many modern commentaries explore the Sitz im Leben for the Psalms and this can sometimes be very speculative. They sometimes are so focused on finding just the right Sitz im Leben that they ignore key interpretive clues to the meaning of the Psalm.

The structural patterns which point to the major themes of some psalms should not be cast aside for other minor themes or a speculative Sitz im Leben. This presentation will examine Psalm 67 which has a remarkably clear and balanced chiastic structure that shows its major themes. Many commentaries, translation subtitles and translation notes will be examined to show how an unbalanced Sitz im Leben emphasis can skew the clear interpretive meaning of Psalm 67.