With my mouth I will give thanks (Ps 109:30a): The Contribution of Leuven Biblical Scholarship to the Field in the Past 50 Years and the Future of Biblical Studies in Light of Psalm 109

• Main Author: Ibita, Maricel S
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2019
• Subjects: Louvain; Biblical Exegesis; post-global; post-human; postnational; post-truth; Ps 109; inclusive; integrated; contextual; transformational; Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/theology-faculty-pubs/4; https://ixtheo.de/Record/1691069892/Description#tabnav
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Fifty years is a short time for an academic programme of a university that traces its origins to 1425 but it is worth celebrating since 1968 was a turning point for the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in particular as it embraced two distinct language identities; a decision with international consequences. At the Faculty of Theology; this separation of the University into Dutch and French-speaking entities also gave birth to the International Program in English. In this article; I underline that remembering the past makes us better prepared for the challenges of the years to come. In broad brush strokes; this contribution celebrates the importance of the historical-critical method and acknowledges other contributions to biblical research worldwide by the Research Unit Biblical Studies (RUBS) of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies (FTRS) of the KU Leuven. I also suggest that given the contemporary postglobal; posthuman; postnational; and post-truth contexts of the world in general and the academe in particular; biblical criticism has to be interdisciplinary as it strives to be more contextual; integrated; inclusive and transformational. The imagery of the mouth in Psalm 109 will serve as an example of these concerns and characteristics as I briefly look at the psalmist's plea for YHWH not to be silent against evil mouths (109:1-6); the imprecations against one who denies hesed (109:5-20); and the petition and hope for YHWH's hesed uttered by a thankful mouth (109:21-31).