ABSTRACT
This chapter applies the theoretical approach developed in Part 1 to the first of three contested biblical texts: the appropriation of psalms by Christian apostles in the book of Acts. This chapter systematically analyses the use of OT texts in the book of Acts using Gadamer's model of the hermeneutical experience. This analysis reveals how the psalm genre is typically used in moments of crisis, inviting a Lesespiel that is both free and constrained. Free, because the text is heard in new ways relevant to the present situation, with less concern for the horizon of the speaker than a historical or prophetic text. Constrained, because the seriousness of the Spiel means players do not behave arbitrarily. Spiel occurs within a horizon the reader is already thrown into. Their historical situation raises the question: ‘what to do about Judas?’. The resurrection of Christ is likewise presupposed, and this allows them to see the relevance of the OT text through the lens of christological typology. The reading of psalms in the first century is neither arbitrary nor slavishly bound to tradition, but playful.
