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The Eschatological Hope of the Poor in Psalm 22

Lee Il Rye 1

1서울신학대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study reconstructs the entire structure of Psalm 22 with a chiastic structure, and then derives the understanding of God of the suffering person and eschatological hope from it. With this point of view, Psalm 22 is regarded as a psalm of the poor, and the date of writing is presumed to be after the captivity. Diagnosing the theological significance of pleading the enemy of the poor in Psalm 22 is to suggest a way out for those suffering from poverty and to claim it. The poet (the poor) expresses the pain inflicted by enemies in the petition for enemies as “the limit of human experience” through animal metaphors. This means the great fear that befalls the poet, who has become helpless from the unbearable exploitation and plunder of his enemies. The poet accuses this, and at the same time exposes circumstances such as his own death as the result of God's desertion, then pleads with God (v. 16). However, the poet does not despair and bury himself in the realistic situation neglected due to poverty, but reaches a deep insight into God's salvation, which 'our ancestors' trusted. And when he fills the gap with trust in God, his lament turns into petition. At the peak of such petition he experiences a Stimmungsumschwung. The Stimmungsumschwung experienced by the poet is the hope gained by exposing the unbearable pain of poverty. In Psalm 22, the poet is promised a way to overcome the physical pain of poverty and escape from the tyranny of the enemies who are defined as those who rob the poor of their lives. Suffering from poverty, he is finally promised an end to that hunger (v. 27, above, 21) "Eat and be full," that is, the end of hunger, promised to those suffering from poverty in the frame of the style of 'reversal of the atmosphere', makes them praise. The promise and praise of “eat and be full” of the poor, which was born as the theology of the poor after the captivity (Armentheologie), further expands to cosmic eschatological hope after verses 28-29. Here, God's salvation for the poor is the eschatological hope that signifies God's universal reign. The realization of God's universal rule is accomplished by God alone. God's reign encompasses both space and time.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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