02_Booij_351_351_374 30/10/15 13:01 Pagina 355 355 PSALM 118 AND FORM CRITICISM 355 In his view, Psalm 66 is in vv. 1-12 mainly hymnic, while Psalm 67 is a “mixed poem”; Psalms 124 and 129 are considered to be compo- sitions of a secondary type, using material and forms from individual laments and songs of thanksgiving 18. Crüsemann’s thoroughly form- critical discussion of these texts calls for modification. II. Psalm 118: Date and Function In Psalm 118 responsive elements and references to other biblical texts 19 convey the impression that we are dealing with a post-exilic composition. The latter may also be inferred from the phrase “house of Aaron” (v. 3), presupposing that all priests are Aaronides. It was not before Ezra’s time, probably, that the inclusion of priests in the ranks of the Aaronides was completed 20. Psalms can hardly ever be dated with any precision; Psalm 118, however, appears to be an exception. The speaker in vv. 10-12 says that he “warded them (the nations) off by the name of YHWH” 21. This reminds one of what Nehemiah and his fellow combatants did to frustrate the plans of their enemies (Nehemiah 4; 6). The confession in Ps 118,23 that what had happened was “from YHWH“ recalls Neh 6,16b. As will be explained later in more detail, the situation in Nehemiah’s time, after the reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem, fits the psalm remarkably well. Psalm 118 is clearly a liturgical text. The call in v. 19 to open the “gate of YHWH” (v. 20), the blessing in v. 26, and the mention of the altar in v. 27 presuppose a religious procession leading into the temple court 22. In view of its form and its content, the psalm must have been sung in alternating voices. At the beginning (vv. 1-4) 18 See F. CRÜSEMANN, Studien zur Formgeschichte von Hymnus und Dank- lied in Israel (Neukirchen – Vluyn 1969) 155-209. On Psalm 66, however, cf. GUNKEL himself, Einleitung, 64. See also C. WESTERMANN, Das Loben Gottes in den Psalmen (Göttingen 21961) 13. 19 For responses see vv. 1-4, 29. For references see vv. 6 (cf. Ps 56,5.10.12) and 14, 21, 28 (cf. Exod 15,2). 20 See R. DE VAUX, Les institutions de l’Ancien Testament II (Paris 21967) 263-266. 21 ~lyma derived from the verb lwm II. See HALAT (Leiden 31967-1996) 527. 22 Contra F.L. HOSSFELD – E. ZENGER, Psalmen 101-150 (HThKAT; Freiburg i.B. 2008) 316, who take Psalm 118 as a “poetisch imaginierte Liturgie”, performable in different situations.