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The book of Psalms Essay is actually a collection of five books, each of which ends with a note of praise. It is found in the jewish bible or Old Testament. Known as “the book of praises” in Jewish tradition, almost every composition in it is suffused with praise, culminates in praise, or anticipates offering praise to the national deity of Israel. A doxology closes book 1 (Psalms 1–41), book 2 (Psalms 42–72), book 3 (Psalms 73–89), and book 4 (Psalms 90–106). Several psalms of praise close book 5 (Psalms 107–150). In the Psalms the chief calling of God is to respond to the needs of his creatures. The chief calling of his creatures is to offer him praise and spread abroad his greatness.

Multiple Origins

Psalms manuscripts recovered from the caves of Qumran demonstrate that the book of Psalms as passed on to posterity by rabbinic Judaism is not identical in content and arrangement to psalms collections in existence before the standardization of the biblical text of the second half of the first century c.e. For example, 11QPsa, dated c. 50 c.e., contains compositions previously unknown, psalms appended to the standardized collection in Greek and Syriac but absent from the Masoretic Psalter, and many of the psalms in books 4 and 5 of the Masoretic Psalter (used by rabbinic Judaism) but not in the same order. The existence of once separate collections is also evidenced by the inclusion of the same psalm in more than one collection (for example Psalm 14 is the same as Psalm 53). Psalms 42–83 evidence the complexity of the compositional history of the Psalter, in which a generic term for God (Elohim) takes the place of the name of the deity (Yahweh).

As elsewhere in ancient Hebrew poetry, semantic, prosodic, syntactic, morphological, and sonic parallelisms recur across verses, lines, and groups of lines in the psalms and give the psalms their characteristic stamp. A common rhetorical style and vocabulary and similar forms of expression mark the psalms. They share a common understanding of the obligating relationship that binds deity to a nation and king and a common set of expectations regarding the role of the king, the role of the temple, the conduct of war, and the logical precedence of acts of justice relative to acts of piety. Many of these understandings and expectations are reflected in hymns and prayers of other ancient Near Eastern literatures. In a few cases it can be shown that a psalm closely follows a non-Israelite model that originally involved a deity other than Yahweh. Examples are Psalms 20, 29, and 104.

Psalms For David And Solomon

Comments were added to the headings of some psalms so as to situate them in the life of David as known from other sources. Psalm 18 is a unique example because it is found with minor variations in 2 Samuel 22 as an inset in the narrative of David’s life. Psalms unlikely to have been intended for use by a Davidide were labeled as “for” David or “for” Solomon because they were designed to be recited to the king by another (20, 21, 72), because they seem apt in the king’s mouth (124, 127, 131, and 133), or because they make reference to him (122). Psalms 73–89, book 3 of the Psalter, present themselves as another collection of psalms meant for the Davidide king and the Temple singers. Psalms 74 and 79 are the first psalms in the Psalter that clearly date to a time after the destruction of the First Temple, the time of the exile of the sixth century b.c.e.

Psalms 90–150, books 4 and 5 of the Psalter, include a few psalms for the Davidide king from First Temple times (101, 108–110, 138–145), but themes, language, and theology suggest a date in early Second Temple times (late sixth–fifth century b.c.e.) for the majority of the psalms in them. A date for the hymns to Yahweh’s kingship (93, 95–99) is suggested by a superscript to 96 in the ancient Greek translation: “when the house [Temple] was being rebuilt after captivity.” They are prefaced by prayer and prophecy attributed to Moses (90, 91) and an introductory hymn of praise (92). Psalms 102, 105–107, and 137 are clearly postexilic. Psalms 111–117 and 145–150 are collections of psalms that begin and end with Hallelujah, meaning “Praise Yah(weh)!” Psalms 120–134 is a collection of “songs of ascent” of diverse origins intended to be sung by pilgrims as they approached the Temple in festival seasons.

As alluded to above, the “I” of many of the psalms is plausibly understood to be that of the Davidide king. The relationship of national deity to king is very close and is fraught with privileges and obligations. See Psalms 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 60, 72, 89, 101, 108, 110, 132, and 144. Yahweh is bound by oath to the king who rules in Jerusalem, and Mount Zion in Jerusalem is Yahweh’s earthly seat. Zion as the seat of Yahweh’s earthly presence is celebrated in several psalms (46, 48, 76, 84, 87, and 122). The end of the Davidic dynasty, the destruction of Jerusalem and Temple, and the consequent experience of exile and national humiliation are the theme of other psalms (74, 79, 89, 102, 105–107, 137, 147, and 149). Precisely from the point of view of many psalms it might appear that history had dealt a mortal blow to Israel’s faith.

Exile And Communal Prayer

But the theological resources of Israelite faith overcame these devastating events. The tradition of communal prayer in times of national humiliation was not dependent on the “I” of the king. See Psalms 44, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89, 94, 106, 123, 126, and 137, where the “I” behind the “we” is either a Temple singer or a common worshipper who identifies with the whole community (cf. Lamentations 1–5). A single hymn celebrating the kingship of Yahweh is preserved from the First Temple period (47). In the psalm collection whose contents derive largely from the Second Temple period (90–150), hymns celebrating Yahweh as king and judge of all the earth, God of gods, and shepherd and redeemer of Israel are copious and occupy key positions (Psalms 93–100, 135, 136, and 146–150). An earthly king has no role in these psalms. Yahweh remains great in Zion, but now the roles of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are celebrated (Psalm 99).

Hope of a restoration of the Davidic dynasty is not dead (note Psalm 132 among the songs of ascent), but a theology and piety develop in which a Davidic hope is not central. See Psalms 146 and 147, which build on 145 and a long tradition of understanding the locus of the divine presence on Earth as a place of refuge for the poor and needy. That understanding is now disjoined from the concept of the king as God’s viceroy (contrast Psalm 72). The community as a whole is now implied to be God’s viceroy on Earth.

The impact on culture of the thought and poetry of the psalms is almost immeasurable and extends well beyond the realm of religion narrowly defined to include literature, music, drama, law, civil religion, and statecraft wherever Judaism and Christianity are or have been potent cultural factors. The role of the psalms in Jewish and Christian liturgy and in the personal piety of believers is pervasive. The recitation of Psalms 113–118 and 145–150 in Jewish liturgical practice is very ancient. Many other psalms were added from the beginning of the Islamic period on for daily or Sabbath use. In the daily and Sunday readings of Catholic and more ecumenical practice, some 130 of the 150 psalms appear once or more every three years, following traditions hallowed by use in the monastic movements of the Middle Ages and before. The impact on culture of the thought and poetry of the psalms is almost immeasurable and extends well beyond the realm of religion narrowly defined to include literature, music, drama, law, civil religion, and statecraft wherever Judaism and Christianity are or have been potent cultural factors.

References:

Abegg, Martin, et al. The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1999;
Berlin, Adele, and Mark Zvi Brettler, eds. “Psalms: Introduction and Annotations.” In The Jewish Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004;
Gillingham, Susan E. The Poems and Psalms of the Hebrew Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994;
McCann, J. Clinton, Jr. “Psalms.” In The New Interpreter’s Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck, et al. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1996;
Sarna, Nahum M. Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms. New York: Schocken, 1993.

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