LAUSR

the speakers’ “claim of worthiness” (81). Charney defines kairos as the “right moment” for a speaker to speak, and in chapter 5, she turns her attention to the kairos of first-person imprecatory psalms. Spoken curses explicitly force God to intervene in the speaker’s (in)justice, she argues, novelly observing that the speakers of Pss 7, 35, and 109 undermine their own cases as they speak, “leav[ing] it to God to sort it out and give each party what he or she deserves” (86). And though Israelites do not admit wrongdoing in their lament-psalms as freely as do Mesopotamians, for example, chapter 6 discusses a handful of psalms where the speaker does admit guilt. The structure, themes, and rhetorical strategies for persuading God that Charney outlined in early chapters fall away in Pss 130, 38, and 51: “The guilty seem to lack the standing to enter into the give-and-take of favor-and-praise negotiation” (112). She concludes that the Israelites likely had alternative forums for expiating guilt, rarely resorting to recitation of psalms for this purpose. Charney argues that speakers evaluate their audience and choose the form of address based on what will be most effective. But what rhetorical choices are best when the audience is the speaker him or herself? Chapter 7 explores selfpersuading psalms, where speakers remind themselves of God’s faithfulness or work through their own anger at a God who would allow their enemies to prosper. Her studies of the logos and pathos in Pss 77 and 73 are effective, though her use of the term “wisdom” to describe the lessons the speakers of these psalms learn is confusing in the context of biblical studies. The author uses Robert Alter’s translations of the psalms (New York: W. W. Norton, 2007), though in many instances (p. 52 stands out), Charney’s rhetorical sensitivities outshine even Alter’s lodestar. I found myself wishing that she had provided more of her own translations. Increased use of Hebrew and more detailed reviews of previous literature would have made the text even more useful to scholars. However, this quick and easy-to-read study demonstrates that Charney is indeed a card-carrying biblicist who possesses great insight and a unique point of view.