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This study resolves the problem of the thematic coherence of Psalm 119, arguing the Psalm is structurally arranged to show the Psalmist´s own experience of straying and returning to YHWH´s Torah. This has implications for the organisation of the Fifth Book of the Psalter and for the place of Psalms such as 111 and 147, which also reflect on Torah.

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Scholars have described Psalm 119 as the " crux criticorum " of the Fifth Book of the Psalter (Pss 107-150). While the length of the psalm and its insistence on the question of YHWH´s Torah are basic indices pointing to its importance in the Book, the question of its message, that is, the logical development of its theme has remained an exegetical problem. The author proposes a solution, namely, that Psalm 119 is structurally arranged to show the Psalmist´s own experience of straying and returning to YHWH´s Torah. The resolution of the problem has implications for understanding the organisation of the Fifth Book and for the place of psalms such as 111 and 147, which also reflect on the theme of Torah in the final Book of the Psalter.

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Contents: Torah in the Fifth Book of the Psalter - Torah theme in Pss 111 and 147 - Torah theme in the sequences Pss 111-112 - 146-150 - Thematic and structural coherence in Ps 119 - Psalmist´s error and conversion to YHWH´s Torah as thematic key - Ps 119 as centre of Fifth Book (Pss 107-150)

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"...[T]he author is to be congratulated upon the completion of this profound study."
Pieter van der Lugt, Vetus Testamentum 67/2017)

"On recommande ce livre dont l´écriture, très claire et bien soignée comme toute l´oeuvre du reste, rend la lecture aisée."
Paul BÉRÉ, S.J., Revue Biblique April 2017)

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Michael Kodzo Mensah is a diocesan priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Ghana. He studied Theology at the St. Peter´s Regional Seminary, Pedu, and earned the S.S.L. and S.S.D. from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome.

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