The witch in Psalm 59: An Afro-centric interpretation

Abstract

In the traditional western interpretation it has been argued that the enemy in the individual lament of Psalm 59 is no more than an unbeliever and a traitor. However, an afro-centric interpretation of the Psalm reveals that this adversary shares various traits with the contemporary African witch. The Psalm contains magical formulas and a counter-curse that is comparable to traditional African ways of dealing with the problem of witchcraft. It is argued that this content makes the Psalm an ideal protective text that can be added to the list of Psalms already used by African churches for protection against magical assaults.