A Table in the Wilderness
The Rhetorical Function of Food Language in Psalm 78
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
“Can God set a table in the wilderness?” (Ps 78:19) In A Table in the Wilderness, Michelle Stinson considers the rhetorical power of the language of food in the hands of the biblical writers. Through a careful analysis of two key food-based events recalled in Psalm 78—the divine provision of food in the wilderness (vv. 15–31) and the dismantling of food supplies through the Egyptian plagues (vv. 44–51)—Stinson shows how the psalmist’s rhetorical crafting of these accounts seeks to instill confident trust (v. 7) in the possibility of YHWH’s renewed intervention in the present. By considering the psalmist’s employment of food language across the historical recital, as well as comparing the psalm’s use to other associated collections (historical and Asaph psalms), A Table in the Wilderness offers a compelling argument for the rhetorical power of the language of food, a force rooted in food’s multidimensionality, literary flexibility, and the ready accessibility of this quotidian feature of human life.
Endorsements (6)
“With close attention to the text’s rhetorical features, Michelle Stinson’s use of food as a lens for reading Psalm 78 provides a rich and nourishing banquet. Stinson opens up important dimensions of this psalm while also integrating it more fully into other parts of the Psalter. Taste and see, for this is good!”
“Over the past two decades, there has been growing academic interest in meals within the Hebrew Bible. By and large, study has been largely archaeological and historical in nature. Michelle Stinson’s work fills an important void by offering a literary and rhetorical analysis of the function of food within Psalm 78. This study is a welcome contribution to the field and hopefully paves the way for future studies on the function of meals within biblical texts. Highly recommended.”
“Michelle Stinson offers a methodologically sophisticated and literarily sensitive analysis of Psalm 78. Her focus on the multidimensional aspects of food language and its rhetorical potential results in a rich and compelling explanation of this complex poetic presentation of Israel’s story, accounting for its structure, imagery, and connections with other psalms.”
“Stinson argues that food language is the key to unlocking the ‘enigmas’ of the strangely under-examined poem that stands—not by coincidence—at the precise center of the Hebrew Psalter. Through lucid rhetorical, sociological, and agrarian analysis, she shows how a great poet, reflecting on the most basic human need, discloses the pattern of Israel’s experience of God and place, through blessing and bane, across the long course of history. The topic is as urgent as the exegesis is exemplary.”
“Stinson’s volume does much more than simply remind the reader of the significance of food in an agrarian culture; she explores ‘the multi-dimensionality of food’ and how those various dimensions are employed to great rhetorical effect in the biblical text. Stinson’s methodological approach opens new vistas for reading Psalm 78, but even more, her work charts an exciting path for future research on the rhetoric associated with food in the Hebrew Bible. An insightful and engaging work!”
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