Psalms Book 2: An Earth Bible Commentary - by Arthur Walker-Jones

Book Synopsis

Arthur Walker-Jones presents an earth-focused reading of the second book of Psalms by focusing upon the many non-human animals that appear repeatedly in the Psalms. Walker-Jones looks at foxes, sheep, goats, cattle, doves, snakes, lions, snails, dogs and deer, which all appear in Psalm 42-72, taking into account that many of these animals co-evolved with humans and created the particular ecological niche of the highlands east of the Mediterranean.

Walker-Jones moves beyond the standard treatment of animals as mere metaphors for human concerns or background to humans stories that can characterise study of animals in biblical texts and draws on the interdisciplinary field of animal studies, incorporating this into ecocritical analysis. Walker-Jones shows how these two approaches have much in common, including recognizing that the oppression and liberation of humans is interrelated with the oppression and liberation of Earth and all its creatures.

Review Quotes

Drawing from zooarchaeology, paleoanthropology, and animal studies, as well as employing the best of Psalms scholarship, Arthur Walker-Jones offers a rich interdisciplinary study of Psalms 42-72. It is one of the most sophisticated yet engagingly written commentaries in the Earth Bible Commentary series to date. After reading Walker-Jones's commentary, you will not read the Psalms the same way ever again.
William P. Brown, Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary, USA

The subtitle of Psalms Book Two: An Earth Bible Commentary-As A Doe Groans-points to the unique emphasis that Arthur Walker Jones gives to this ecological commentary on Psalms 42-72. He characterizes animals as co-evolved and hence his interdisciplinary and intersectional studies bring the same interpretive lens to humans and animals in his eco-critical reading of the Book of Psalms 42-72. A unique approach in the series to date.
Elaine Wainwright, Professor Emeritus, University of Auckland, New Zealand

About the Author

Arthur Walker-Jones is United Church of Canada Research Chair in Contemporary Theology and Professor of Biblical Literature at the University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.