416 - Theology of the Psalms

Theology of the Psalms
By Hans-Joachim Kraus
Minneapolis, Augsburg, 1986. 235 pp. $24.95.

This book is a translation by Keith Crim of the third volume of Kraus's splendid commentary on Psalms in the German series, Biblischer Kommentar des Alten Testaments. It gives Kraus the opportunity to draw together material from his commentary, to expand on it, and to arrange it in systematic order. He begins, like the proper dogmatic theologian that he is, with a treatment of God and moves through topics like "The People of God," "The King," and "The Individual in the Presence of God," concluding with "The Psalms in the New Testament." The discussion centers on the Psalms themselves, but is related in detail to the rest of the Old Testament. Kraus is more than competent in both theology and technical Old Testament scholarship, and both are employed to good effect in this book. Biblical scholars, theologians, and pastors will find it helpful and provocative. At a few points, scholars will find the discussion already dated (the German edition was published in 1979), and others will find it forbiddingly technical. Neither is sufficient reason to ignore the book. The best news is that the entire commentary is being translated for publication by Augsburg Press.

Ben C. Ollenburger, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.