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Who Shall Ascend Into the Hill of the Lord? The Psalms in Israels Temple Worship In the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon
This book is the work of two distinguished BYU scholars from different academic backgrounds who have combined their talents to revisit the meaning of Solomon's Temple and what was taught there. The authors propose a reconstruction of the Israelite temple drama based on the work of many Bible scholars, the teachings of the Book of Mormon and New Testament, and a rearrangement of the Psalms so that not just the story told in the drama but also the testimony of the Savior become remarkably clear.
1149 pages, Hardcover
First published July 17, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 9, 2018
This was an excellent look at the possibility that the book of Psalms is a text that has everything to do with the temple, kingship, the enthronement of both Adam and Yahweh and the current king in the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama, the pre-earth councils, and the deification of man. I could go on. This book is huge - over 700 pages. I spent so much time in the footnotes, chasing down so many of the sources, that I thought I would never finish this book. Now I have to read over 100 sources that I have never read, I am going to be busy for quite a while.
The idea that all who participated in the king's enthronement were sacral kings and queens themselves made so much sense. Baker illustrates so well how the Psalms could have been contextualized in a temple setting, at times it felt as if I was actually there. I loved this book. Now I have to reread it... there is just so much here.
The idea that all who participated in the king's enthronement were sacral kings and queens themselves made so much sense. Baker illustrates so well how the Psalms could have been contextualized in a temple setting, at times it felt as if I was actually there. I loved this book. Now I have to reread it... there is just so much here.
July 4, 2022
Who Shall Ascend changed the way I look at the Bible and Book of Mormon. It's lengthy, but it covers so much material that it is the equivalent of reading several books. I frequently reference it as I read the scriptures because it explains so much.
While it covers many topics, the thesis of this book is that the Psalms in the Old Testament were a liturgy for the New Year Festival at the Temple. This is not a theory unique to scholars who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Ricks and Baker take the non-denominational theory of the Psalms as a temple liturgy and show how the Book of Mormon connects to the liturgy. The way they connect the Psalms to the accounts of the teachings of the prophet Abinadi to King Noah and the coronation of King Mosiah unlocked those scriptural passages for me. I read them differently now. This connection has deepened my appreciation for the Book of Mormon as a genuine book that sits in the same tradition as the Psalmist--a tradition that scholars in the 19th century were unaware of, much less the uneducated farm boy, Joseph Smith.
The climax of this book for me came when the authors connected the Psalms to Jesus Christ's appearance to the descendants of Lehi at Bountiful. Their section on Christ's appearance brought those chapters in 3 Nephi to life in a way I did not think possible without having been there to witness the event. They fill in small details based on scholarship on the Old Testament and Ancient Near East that dovetails with this event, highlighting the perfectness of the account.
This book requires some patience, but there is a massive reward. This changed the way I read all scripture.
While it covers many topics, the thesis of this book is that the Psalms in the Old Testament were a liturgy for the New Year Festival at the Temple. This is not a theory unique to scholars who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Ricks and Baker take the non-denominational theory of the Psalms as a temple liturgy and show how the Book of Mormon connects to the liturgy. The way they connect the Psalms to the accounts of the teachings of the prophet Abinadi to King Noah and the coronation of King Mosiah unlocked those scriptural passages for me. I read them differently now. This connection has deepened my appreciation for the Book of Mormon as a genuine book that sits in the same tradition as the Psalmist--a tradition that scholars in the 19th century were unaware of, much less the uneducated farm boy, Joseph Smith.
The climax of this book for me came when the authors connected the Psalms to Jesus Christ's appearance to the descendants of Lehi at Bountiful. Their section on Christ's appearance brought those chapters in 3 Nephi to life in a way I did not think possible without having been there to witness the event. They fill in small details based on scholarship on the Old Testament and Ancient Near East that dovetails with this event, highlighting the perfectness of the account.
This book requires some patience, but there is a massive reward. This changed the way I read all scripture.
April 30, 2014
This book is incredible. Over 770 pages, extremely well documented, extreme number of credible references. It really makes you think of the great significance of temples, and how valuable it bight be to have a festival period yet.
October 8, 2022
The scholarship is outstanding, the book is organized very well, and it is absolutely eye-opening. To think that the Psalms (often considered by myself previously to be beautiful poetry but not necessarily doctrinal) were written to be a temple/Feast of Tabernacles text... wow! I learned so much.
April 28, 2025
This book is fascinating. It's a bit of a slog at times, but keep pushing. Its worth it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews