Happy Are Those
Mapping out a Geography of Happiness Through the Psalms
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22112383 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Isabelle Hamley (University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 217-232 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Disability & Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2331-2521 • E-ISSN: 2331-253X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23312521.2024.2441457 |
| OpenAlex | W4405471393 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
Through the Psalms, the ʾašrê sayings do not translate “happy” in the common English sense, but rather reaches for a similar nexus of concepts: good fortunate, something to aspire to, something connected to wholeness, contentment, etc. ʾAšrê stands in opposition to the semantics of suffering, struggle, and unhappiness. True happiness, in the descriptions of the Psalms, is found at the juncture of divine and human action. The paper then traces the occurrences of these ʾašrê sayings through the Psalter. From Psalm 1, happiness is connected to the idea of “flourishing.” However, this is a “flourishing” that is profoundly outward-oriented; it is that which produces fruit for the benefit of an entire community. This flourishing and this happiness occur at the juncture of the individual and the communal: individual happiness is usually contingent on the health of the community and a flourishing community makes it possible for individuals to flourish. The popular notion of the “right to pursue happiness” is, therefore, re-oriented to suggest that “my” happiness or “my” flourishing cannot exclude a consideration of “yours” or “ours” together. The ʾašrê sayings in the Psalms appear often within a context of lament, intimately linking happiness to unhappiness. Being human, the Psalms suggest, is to inhabit a constant struggle between the life God gives and the death that threatens to extinguish it. This is a vision of being human which is deeply truthful, and therefore shapes one’s expectations of life. The shaping of expectations is complex, because lament holds together the sense that suffering is inevitable together with the fact that it is neither normal nor acceptable. The happiness presented in these Psalms links to a wellbeing grounded in a contended life, where desires are shaped to yield connectedness and fruitfulness
Cartography · Geography · Happiness · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |