Living Faith in Adversity: The Psalms of Solomon Proposal

Abstract

Pseudepigraphic Literature is a privileged place from which to explore the experience of the faith in Judaism at the turn of the era. This article studies the Psalms of Solomon, specifically Psalms 2, 8 and 17, to determine how the loss to the Romans of jewish soverignty affected this group. To this end, we follow Lloyd Bitzer's theory of the Rhetorical Situation to reconstruct the historical context in which each psalm arosue. Moreover, we analyse the modus vivendi that the psalmists propose at each specific moment to its addressees. In this way, we actualize the guidelines established to maintain faith  and identity of the group during the post-war period. We conclude that faithfulness to the covenant and trust in God as the only one who has the capacity to resolve the crisis are proposed as the keys to maintaining the group's identity.