Lecture 2: Psalms
Anthology of Praise
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Hebrew titles
o Tehillim ‘praises’ – title of biblical book
o Tepillot ‘prayers’ – term found in the psalms
 Greek psalterion (stringed instrument) – gives our word ‘psalms’
 Compilation of different prayer and hymn collections
o Different attributions
o Different periods of Israel’s history
o Different theologies
 Many different ways of grouping psalms – anthology of anthologies
 LXX numbering differs from HB, suggesting malleability of material
o Pss 1-8 same
o HB 9-10 = LXX 9
o HB 114-15 = LXX 113
o HB 116 = LXX 114-15
o HB 147 = LXX 146-47
o Pss 148-50 same
 Comparable to hymns and prayers from other Ancient Near Eastern civilizations
o Ps 104 similar to Egyptian Hymn to the Sun Disk (Aten)
o Petitions, hymns of praise and thanksgiving
Structures
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Five books (parallel to Torah)
o Psalms 1-41
o Psalms 42-72
o Psalms 73-89
o Psalms 90-106
o Psalms 107-150
First four conclude with doxology/blessing (41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52; 106:48)
Psalm 150 serves to conclude the last section - and whole book of Psalms
Psalm 1 introduces the book – exhortation to observe Torah
o Not the only way to structure the collection
Ps 72:20 ‘the prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended’
o Concludes Book Two
o However, eighteen more psalms attributed to David in Books Three-Five
Collection ‘of the sons of Korah’
o Pss 42-49, 84-85, 87-88
o Sons of Korah – Heman (Ps 88) and Asaph (Pss 50, 73-83)
o Active in Temple worship (cf. 1 Chron 6:31-43; 15:19; 25:1; 2 Chron 20:19)
Collection ‘Songs of Ascent’
o Pss 120-134
o Pilgrims heading to Jerusalem?
Thematic groupings
o “Elohistic Psalter” Pss 42-83 – uses Elohim more than Yhwh (crosses books 2 & 3)
o Theme of divine kingship Pss 93-99
o Hallel psalms Pss 104-06; 111-13; 135; 146-50 – use hallelu-yah
Repetitions
o Ps 14 = Ps 53 except for switch from Yhwh to Elohim (Elohistic Psalter)
o Ps 40:13-17 = Ps 70
o Ps 108 = Ps 57:7-11 + 60:5-12
The book of Psalms is therefore the result of a long process of compilation and editing. Each sanctuary or
place of worship, pre-eminently but not exclusively Jerusalem, and each priestly family, would have had its
own collection of hymns and these different collections were gradually combined into the book we now know
as Psalms (Coogan 2018, 442).
Variety of Contexts
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Monarchy – psalms that refer to King and Temple
Exile (e.g., Ps 137) – destroyed Temple (Ps 51:18-19)
Pentateuchal traditions – Ps 78 and 105
Anthology complied before Hellenistic period (end of 4th century BC)
o No evident Greek influence
o LXX (3rd century BC) lists Psalm 151 as ‘outside the number’ of the psalms
Otherwise, except for contextual references, no way of dating the psalms more precisely
Attributions and titles
Most psalms have these introductory notes, which were added by ancient editors (Coogan 2018, 442).
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In Ancient versions – titles are first verse of the psalm or part of first verse
In modern translations they are not
o Versification begins after the title or note, giving the impression that these are external
to scripture, but they are not
o St Augustine commented and preached on the titles as scriptural texts
Titles can be short (Ps 98) or very descriptive (Ps 18)
They can attribute authorship (Ps 78) and/or describe circumstances of composition (Ps 51)
Seen some of these attributions – ‘sons of Korah’; Asaph; David; Solomon; Moses
‘Of David’ ‫לדוד‬
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Most common title – 73 Psalms
13 of these psalm titles have further notes linking the psalm to an event in David’s life (e.g. Ps
51)
Chronicler especially portrays David as poet and musician, creating Temple liturgy (1 Chron
23-26)
o David an icon of liturgy, like Moses of law and Solomon of wisdom
Unlikely most attributed to David are written by him – recognized within the psalter
o Reference to Solomon’s Temple (Pss 68 & 122)
o Reference to Babylonian destruction of Temple (Pss 69:35-36)
o Ps 72:1 ‘of Solomon’ – 72:18-19 ‘the prayers of David son of Jesse are ended’
David’s Liturgical Authority
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Despite Psalter’s own diversity of attribution, evidence of growing ascription to David
o Masoretic Text: 73 psalms attributed to David
o Dead Sea Scroll psalter: 75 and not the same as MT
o LXX: 84 ‘of/to David’
o Rabbinic tradition: all 150 psalms (despite titles and attributions to the contrary)
‘Of Solomon’ Pss 72 (royal psalm; cf. 1 Kgs 10:1) and 127 (building Temple; cf. 2 Sam 12:25)
‘Of Moses’ Ps 90
More than one attribution – Pss 39; 62; 77; 88
Rubrics: ‘to the leader’ x55
Psalms and Liturgy
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Narrative books place hymns in context: Exod 15; Judg 5
Hymns and prayers found in Jeremiah, Job, Jonah
Hezekiah’s prayer: Isa 38:9-20 (cf. Hab 3)
Some Psalms repeated in narrative books
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o Psalm 18 = 2 Sam 22
o Psalm 105:1-15; 96; 106:1, 47-48 = 1 Chron 16:8-36
Writing of prayers continued up to Common Era
o Tobit, Judith, Daniel (Prayer of Azariah and Song of Three)
o Dead Sea Scrolls
o New Testament canticles
Form Criticism: Hermann Gunkel 1862-1932
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Individual and communal laments/petitions
Songs of thanksgiving
Royal psalms
Hymns
Mixed forms
Petitions/Laments
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Individual – first person address; most frequent form, 40+ psalms
o 1. Address to God
o 2. Description of distress (metaphorical language)
o 3. Prayer for divine deliverance
o 4. Cursing of enemies
o 5. Expression of trust in divine response
o 6. Claim of innocence/acknowledgement of guilt
o 7. Vow in thanks for deliverance
o 8. Thanksgiving
Not all elements always present nor in this order
Communal – similar, except community suffering, appeal to history of God’s action on behalf
of Israel
Many of the other genres of forms used are expansions of one or more of the elements of the petitions (Coogan
2018, 445).
Songs and Hymns
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Songs of Trust (cf. petition element 5)
Songs of Thanksgiving (cf. petition element 8)
Hymns – praise of Yhwh
o Divine kingship – Yhwh’s dominion over the cosmos (e.g. Ps 29), language draws on
creation myths
 ‘Yhwh is king’ Ps 93:1; 97:1; 99:1 (cf. 47:8; 96:10) – psalms reflect coronation
narratives (2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13; Prov 30:22)
 Israelite annual ceremony of divine enthronement, like Babylonian New Year
Festival?
o Creation hymns (very similar to above): Ps 104 resembles Akhenaten’s Great Hymn to
the Sun (cf. Day 2013)
o Celebration of God’s action in Israel’s history (cf. communal petitions) Ps 78; 105:722; 106; 114
o Creation related to God’s work for Israel Ps 135 & 136
Liturgical Psalms
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Context of public worship
Covenant renewal (Deut 27; Josh 24; 2 Kgs 23)?
Question and answer format (Ps 136)
o Ps 24 suggests a procession
Hymns for Pilgrimage
o Jerusalem (Pss 84 & 122)
o Other sanctuaries (Ps 95)
Royal Psalms
• King as speaker
Petitions (Pss 101; 144:1-11)
Thanksgiving for victory (Ps 18)
• King as subject
Wedding hymn (Ps 45)
Coronation (Pss 2; 72; 110)
Petition (Ps 89)
Prayer for victory (Ps 20)
Thanksgiving for victory (Ps 21)
• Davidic covenant (Ps 78; 89; 132)
• Hymns of Zion – importance and divine protection of Jerusalem (Ps 46; 48; 76; 87)
Wisdom Psalms
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Issues common with wisdom literature and its purpose
Content, rather than form-critical category (like royal/Zion psalms)
Psalm 37 – acrostic, proverbs about divine justice
Psalms 49; 73 (see Saur 2015)
Torah psalms (Pss 1; 19; 119)
o Late psalms(?) – hence torah refers to Pentateuch
o Book of psalms—divided into five—opens with torah psalm
Evades categorization – Psalm 68
The fluidity of the psalms, especially in the overlapping classifications, cautions us against making these formcritical categories too rigid; rather, they should be taken as a starting point for interpretation (Coogan 2018,
449).
Perennial Appeal
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Limited or no reference to Sitz im Leben of Psalm usage
o No mention of biblical rituals (e.g., Passover, Tabernacles, Sabbath)
Universal applicability, across times and seasons
They are by and large concerned with fundamental aspects of the human condition, with individuals and
communities who are, or feel, ill, threatened, and persecuted, or happy, grateful, and trusting (Coogan 2018,
449)
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In this way, psalter seems to address similar concerns to Wisdom Literature; might we expect
there to be similar purposes?
o Living a good life
o Foundation of civilization
o Theodicy/Tun-Ergehen-Zusammenhang
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Day, John. ‘Psalm 104 and Akhenaten’s Hymn to the Sun.’ Pages 211-28 in Jewish & Christian Approaches to
the Psalms: Conflict & Convergence. (Oxford: OUP, 2013).
Coogan, M. D. The Old Testament: a Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (Oxford:
OUP, 2018).
Forti, Tova. ‘Gattung and Sitz im Leben: Methodological Vagueness in Defining Wisdom Psalms.’ Pages 20520 in Was There a Wisdom Tradition? New Prospects on Israelite Wisdom Studies. Sneed, Mark R. ed. AIL
23 (Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2015).
Saur, Markus. ‘Where can Wisdom be Found? New Perpsectives on the Wisdom Psalms.’ Pages 181-204 in
Was There a Wisdom Tradition? New Prospects on Israelite Wisdom Studies. Sneed, Mark R. ed. AIL 23
(Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2015)