Review of:

Ignatius Madueke Chukwukamnaene Obinwa: Yahweh My Refuge: A Critical Analysis of Psalm 71. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2006 (European University Studies, Series XXIII, Theology, vol. 839). ISBN: 3-631-55903-8. 221 pp. Pb. Euro 36,40.

The book is a revised version of a doctoral dissertation defended in 2001 at the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Gorgen, Frankfurt, Germany, under the direction of Professor Hans-Winfried Jüngling. The author has previously published several books in biblical and theological studies and he is presently Rector of Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary in Onitsha, Nigeria. The present book is an exegetical analysis of Psalm 71, and it consists of three parts. The first offers a literature survey and a translation of the psalm based on a solid textual critical analysis. The second part makes a literary analysis of the psalm, discussing its supposedly anthological character and the questions of order and coherence. Finally, the third part analyzes the main theological issues of the psalm.

The book is an exegetical study, in a traditional sense of the word. Its strength lies in an extensive use of dictionaries and concordances, an approach which enables the author to identify a broad spectrum of intertextual connections with other parts of Psalms. Still, the book would have benefited from stronger interaction with the current methodological debate, for example as far as intertextuality is concerned.

Even though the book is an exegetical study, the author acknowledges that Psalm 71 has a message also to contemporary readers (cf. p. 23), and his African context is visible in a few places (cf. pp. 154f., 165f., and 167). The book is of general interest for exegetes working with Psalms and for anyone following the development of African exegetical studies.

Reviewed 2008-02-20 by Knut Holter, School of Mission and Theology, Misjonsvegen 34, N-4024 Stavanger, Norway. E-mail: knut.holter@mhs.no