September 3, 2024 | Daniel L. Segraves, Ph.D.

I had hoped to have the second volume of my commentary on the Book of Psalms finished in time for publication by this year’s general conference of the United Pentecostal Church International. But that was not to be.

Do I have an excuse for not meeting this goal? If I tried hard enough I could probably find many excuses, but I will limit them to two: (1) I enrolled in an online course on Biblical Aramaic not long after the first of this year. This has devoured quite a bit of my time, and it’s not yet finished. I have enjoyed this study, however, and I plan to press on. (2) The reason for the study of Aramaic was to enable me to do some research in the Aramaic Targums. This is relevant to my study of Book Two and Book Three of the Psalter (Psalms 73-106). In connection with this, I wrote and presented an eighteen page paper at the symposium sponsored by Urshan Graduate School of Theology. The paper was titled “Aramaic and LXX Influences on Messianic Psalms 80 and 81.”

I enjoy research and writing. I have especially delighted in my work on the Psalms. This current project follows my book The Messiah in the Psalms: Discovering Christ in Unexpected Places, a 382 page book published by WAP Academic, a division of Word Aflame Press. It is available at pentecostalpublishing.com and amazon.com in hard copy and ebook formats.

So far, the second volume consists of about 114 pages with 213 footnotes. Here is the last paragraph of my comments on Psalm 85:

The physical proximity of Psalms 84 and 85 is not the only indication of their linkage. They are also connected thematically by an idea found in Psalm 84:11 (i.e., “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”) and Psalm 85:12 (i.e., “Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good”). Both psalms are “for the sons of Korah.”

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