The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament. The title is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

translation, (), meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". The book is an anthology of individual

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

religious

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many are linked to the name of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, but modern mainstream scholarship rejects his authorship, instead attributing the composition of the psalms to various authors writing between the 9th and 5th centuries BC. In the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

, the Arabic word ‘

Zabur The Zabūr (also ''Zabur'', ar, الزَّبُورُ) is, according to Islam, the holy book of David, one of the holy books revealed by God before the Quran, alongside others such as the '' Tawrāh (Torah)'' and the Injīl (Gospel). Muslim t ...

’ is used for the Psalms of David in the Hebrew Bible.

Structure

Benedictions

The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a

doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , '' doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derive ...

(i.e., a

benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

). These divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

: * Book 1 (Psalms 1–41) * Book 2 (Psalms 42–72) * Book 3 (Psalms 73–89) * Book 4 (Psalms 90–106) * Book 5 (Psalms 107–150)

Superscriptions

Many psalms (116 of the 150) have individual superscriptions (titles), ranging from lengthy comments to a single word. Over a third appear to be musical directions, addressed to the "leader" or "choirmaster", including such statements as "with stringed instruments" and "according to lilies". Others appear to be references to types of musical composition, such as "A psalm" and "Song", or directions regarding the occasion for using the psalm ("On the dedication of the temple", "For the memorial offering", etc.). Many carry the names of individuals, the most common (73 psalms—75 if including the two Psalms attributed by the New Testament to David) being 'of David', and thirteen of these relate explicitly to incidents in the king's life. Others named include Asaph (12), the sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Ethan the Ezrahite (1), and

Heman the Ezrahite Heman the Ezrahite ( he, ''Hēmān hā’Ezrāḥī'') is the author of Psalm 88 in the Hebrew Bible, according to the Psalm's colophon. B. Bava Batra connects the name Heman to the semitic root אמנ meaning "trusted," while CYDA speculates ...

(1). The

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, the Peshitta (the Syriac Vulgate), and the

Latin Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...

each associate several Psalms (such as 111 and 145) with Haggai and Zechariah. The Septuagint also attributes several Psalms (like 112 and 135) to Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

Numbering

Psalms are usually identified by a sequence number, often preceded by the abbreviation "Ps." Numbering of the Psalms differs—mostly by one—between the Hebrew ( Masoretic) and Greek (Septuagint) manuscripts.

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translations (

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, Anglican, Calvinist) use the Hebrew numbering, but other Christian traditions vary: *

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

official

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

texts, such as the Roman Missal, use the Greek numbering * Modern Catholic translations often use the Hebrew numbering (noting the Greek number) *

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

and

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translations use the Greek numbering (noting the Hebrew number) The variance between

Masorah Masorah or Mesorah ( he, מסורה) refers either to the transmission of Jewish religious tradition, or to the tradition itself, and may refer to: * The Hebrew vowel points also known as niqqud. * Masoretic Text, the authoritative text of the Tan ...

and Septuagint texts in this numeration is likely enough due to a gradual neglect of the original poetic form of the Psalms; such neglect was occasioned by liturgical uses and carelessness of copyists. It is generally admitted that Psalms 9 and 10 (Hebrew numbering) were originally a single acrostic poem, wrongly separated by Massorah and rightly united by the Septuagint and the Vulgate. Psalms 42 and 43 (Hebrew numbering) are shown by identity of subject (yearning for the house of Yahweh), of metrical structure and of refrain (comparing Psalms 42:6, 12; 43:5, Hebrew numbering), to be three

strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varyi ...

s of one and the same poem. The Hebrew text is correct in counting as one Psalm 146 and Psalm 147. Later liturgical usage would seem to have split up these and several other psalms. Zenner combines into what he deems were the original choral odes: Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4; 6 + 13; 9 + 10; 19, 20, 21; 56 + 57; 69 + 70; 114 + 115; 148, 149, 150. A choral ode would seem to have been the original form of Psalms 14 and 70. The two strophes and the

epode An epodeFrom el, ἐπῳδός, ''epodos'', "singing to/over, an enchanter." is the third part of an ode that follows the strophe and the antistrophe and completes the movement. Evolution At a certain point in time the choirs, which had previo ...

are Psalm 14; the two antistrophes are Psalm 70. It is noteworthy that, on the breaking up of the original ode, each portion crept twice into the Psalter: Psalm 14 = 53, Psalm 70 = 40:14–18. Other such duplicated portions of psalms are Psalm 108:2–6 = Psalm 57:8–12; Psalm 108:7–14 = Psalm 60:7–14; Psalm 71:1–3 = Psalm 31:2–4. This loss of the original form of some of the psalms is considered by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Biblical Commission (1 May 1910) to have been due to liturgical practices, neglect by copyists, or other causes. Verse numbers were first printed in 1509. Different traditions exist whether to include the original heading into the counting or not. This leads to inconsistent numbering in 62 psalms, with an offset of 1, sometimes even 2 verses.

Additional psalms

The Septuagint, present in Eastern Orthodox churches, includes a

Psalm 151 Psalm 151 is a short psalm found in most copies of the Septuagint (LXX), but not in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The title given to this psalm in the Septuagint indicates that it is supernumerary, as no number is affixed to it. The psal ...

; a Hebrew version of this was found in the ''Psalms Scroll'' of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some versions of the Peshitta (the Bible used in Syriac churches mainly in the Middle East) include Psalms 152–155. There are also the Psalms of Solomon, which are a further 18 psalms of Jewish origin, likely originally written in Hebrew, but surviving only in Greek and

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

translation. These and other indications suggest that the current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set.

Primary types

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major in ...

's pioneering form-critical work on the psalms sought to provide a new and meaningful context in which to interpret individual psalms—not by looking at their literary context within the Psalter (which he did not see as significant), but by bringing together psalms of the same genre () from throughout the Psalter. Gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types:

Hymns

Hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s are songs of praise for God's work in creation or history. They typically open with a call to praise, describe the motivation for praise, and conclude with a repetition of the call. Two sub-categories are "enthronement psalms", celebrating the enthronement of

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

as king, and Zion psalms, glorifying Mount Zion, God's dwelling-place in Jerusalem. Gunkel also described a special subset of "eschatological hymns" which includes themes of future restoration (Psalm 126) or of judgment (Psalm 82).

Communal laments

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 136

Communal laments are psalms in which the nation laments some communal disaster. Both communal and individual laments typically but not always include the following elements: # address to God, # description of suffering, # cursing of the party responsible for suffering, # protestation of innocence or admission of guilt, # petition for divine assistance, # faith in God's receipt of prayer, # anticipation of divine response, and # a song of thanksgiving. In general, the individual and communal subtypes can be distinguished by the use of the singular "I" or the plural "we". However, the "I" could also be characterising an individual's personal experience that was reflective of the entire community.

Royal psalms

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 135

Royal psalms deal with such matters as the king's coronation, marriage and battles. None of them mentions any specific king by name, and their origin and use remain obscure; several psalms, especially Psalms 93–99, concern the kingship of God, and might relate to an annual ceremony in which Yahweh would be ritually reinstated as king.

Individual laments

Individual laments are psalms lamenting the fate of the psalmist. By far the most common type of psalm, they typically open with an invocation of God, followed by the lament itself and pleas for help, and often ending with an expression of confidence.

Individual thanksgiving psalms

In individual thanksgiving psalms, the opposite of individual laments, the psalmist thanks God for deliverance from personal distress. In addition to these five major genres, Gunkel also recognised a number of minor psalm-types, including: * communal thanksgiving psalms, in which the whole nation thanks God for deliverance; * wisdom psalms, reflecting the Old Testament wisdom literature; * pilgrimage psalms, sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem; * entrance and prophetic liturgies; and * a group of mixed psalms which could not be assigned to any category.

Composition

Origins

The composition of the psalms spans at least five centuries, from psalm 29 to others clearly from the post-Exilic period (not earlier than the fifth century BC.) The majority originated in the southern

kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...

and were associated with the

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, where they probably functioned as libretto during the Temple worship. Exactly how they did this is unclear, although there are indications in some of them: "Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar," suggests a connection with sacrifices, and "Let my prayer be counted as incense" suggests a connection with the offering of incense. According to

Jewish tradition Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...

, the Book of Psalms was composed by the First Man ( Adam), Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses,

, Solomon, Heman, Jeduthun, Asaph, and the three sons of Korah. According to Abraham ibn Ezra, the final redaction of the book was made by the Men of the Great Assembly.

Influences

Some of the psalms show influences from related earlier texts from the region; examples include various

Ugaritic texts The Ugaritic texts are a corpus of ancient cuneiform texts discovered since 1928 in Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and Ras Ibn Hani in Syria, and written in Ugaritic, an otherwise unknown Northwest Semitic language. Approximately 1,500 texts and fragments h ...

and the Babylonian Enūma Eliš. These influences may be either of background similarity or of contrast. For example Psalm 29 seems to share characteristics with Canaanite religious poetry and themes. Not too much should be read into this, however. Robert Alter points out that the address to "sons of God" at the opening "are best thought of the flickering literary afterlife of a polytheistic mythology" but that "belief in them...is unlikely to have been shared by the scribal circles that produced ''Psalms''". The contrast against the surrounding polytheistic religion is well seen in where their convention of a monstrous sea-god in fierce conflict, such as the Babylonian

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial crea ...

, Canaanite Yam and the

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

which also appears in the Hebrew Bible, is "reduced to an aquatic pet with whom

YHWH The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

can play".

Poetic characteristics

The

biblical poetry The ancient Hebrews identified poetical portions in their sacred texts, as shown by their entitling as "songs" or as "chants" passages such as Exodus 15:1-19 and Numbers 21:17-20; a song or chant () is, according to the primary meaning of the term ...

of Psalms uses parallelism as its primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind of symmetry, in which an idea is developed by the use of restatement, synonym, amplification, grammatical repetition, or opposition. Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially the same idea. An example of synonymous parallelism: * "The is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). Two lines expressing opposites is known as antithetic parallelism. An example of antithetic parallelism: * "And he led them in a cloud by day/ and all the night by a fiery light" (Psalm 78:14). Two clauses expressing the idea of amplifying the first claim is known as expansive parallelism. An example of expansive parallelism: * "My mouth is filled with your praise/ all the day with your lauding" (Psalm 71:8).

Editorial agenda

Many scholars believe the individual Psalms were redacted into a single collection during the Second Temple period. It had long been recognized that the collection bore the imprint of an underlying message or

metanarrative A metanarrative (also meta-narrative and grand narrative; french: métarécit) is a narrative ''about'' narratives of historical meaning, experience, or knowledge, which offers a society legitimation through the anticipated completion of a (as yet ...

, but that this message remained concealed, as Augustine of Hippo said, "The sequence of the Psalms seems to me to contain the secret of a mighty mystery, but its meaning has not been revealed to me." (''Enarr.'' on Ps. 150.1) Others pointed out the presence of concatenation, that is, adjacent Psalms sharing similar words and themes. In time, this approach developed into recognizing overarching themes shared by whole groups of psalms. In 1985, Gerald H. Wilson's ''The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter'' proposed – by parallel with other ancient eastern hymn collections – that psalms at the beginning and end (or "seams") of the five books of Psalms have thematic significance, corresponding in particular with the placement of the royal psalms. He pointed out that there was a progression of ideas, from adversity, through the crux of the collection in the apparent failure of the

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

in Psalm 89, leading to a concert of praise at the end. He concluded that the collection was redacted to be a retrospective of the failure of the

Davidic covenant The Hebrew Bible makes reference to a number of covenants ( he, בְּרִיתוֹת) with God (YHWH). These include the Covenant (biblical)#Noahic covenant, Noahic Covenant (in Book of Genesis, Genesis), which is between God and all living creat ...

, exhorting Israel to trust in God alone in a non-messianic future. Walter Brueggemann suggested that the underlying editorial purpose was oriented rather towards wisdom or sapiential concerns, addressing the issues of how to live the life of faith. Psalm 1 calls the reader to a life of obedience; Psalm 73 (Brueggemann's crux psalm) faces the crisis when divine faithfulness is in doubt; Psalm 150 represents faith's triumph, when God is praised not for his rewards, but for his being. In 1997, David. C. Mitchell's ''The Message of the Psalter'' took a quite different line. Building on the work of Wilson and others, Mitchell proposed that the Psalter embodies an eschatological timetable like that of Zechariah 9–14. This programme includes the gathering of exiled Israel by a bridegroom-king; his establishment of a kingdom; his violent death; Israel scattered in the wilderness, regathered and again imperilled, then rescued by a king from the heavens, who establishes his kingdom from Zion, brings peace and prosperity to the earth and receives the homage of the nations. These three views—Wilson's non-messianic retrospective of the Davidic covenant, Brueggemann's sapiential instruction, and Mitchell's eschatologico-messianic programme—all have their followers, although the sapiential agenda has been somewhat eclipsed by the other two. Shortly before his untimely death in 2005, Wilson modified his position to allow for the existence of messianic prophecy within the Psalms' redactional agenda. Mitchell's position remains largely unchanged, although he now sees the issue as identifying when the historical beginning of the Psalms turns to eschatology.

The ancient music of the Psalms

The Psalms were written not merely as poems, but as songs for singing. According to Bible exegete Saadia Gaon (882–942) who served in the geonate of Babylonian Jewry, the Psalms were originally sung in the Temple precincts by the

Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

, based on what was prescribed for each psalm (lineage of the singers, designated time and place, instruments used, manner of execution, etc.), but are permitted to be randomly read by anyone at any time and in any place. More than a third of the psalms are addressed to the Director of Music. Some psalms exhort the worshipper to sing (e.g. Pss. 33:1-3; 92:1-3; 96:1-3; 98:1; 101:1; 150). Some headings denote the musical instruments on which the psalm should be played (Pss. 4, 5, 6, 8, 67). Some refer to the Levites who sang one of eight melodies, one of which was known simply as "the eighth" (

: ''sheminit'') (Pss. 6, 12). And others preserve the name for ancient eastern modes, like ''ayelet ha-shachar'' (hind of the dawn; Ps. 22); ''shoshanim'' / ''shushan'' (''lilies'' / ''lily''; Pss. 45; 60), said to be describing a certain melody; or ʻalmuth / ''ʻalamoth'' (''mute''; Pss. 9, 46), which, according to Saadia Gaon, is "a silent melody, nearly inaudible." Despite the frequently heard view that their ancient music is lost, the means to reconstruct it are still extant. Fragments of temple psalmody are preserved in ancient synagogue and church chant, particularly in the '' tonus peregrinus'' melody to Psalm 114. Cantillation signs, to record the melody sung, were in use since ancient times; evidence of them can be found in the manuscripts of the oldest extant copies of Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls and are even more extensive in the Masoretic text, which dates to the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

and whose Tiberian scribes claimed to be basing their work on temple-period signs. (See Moshe ben Asher's 'Song of the Vine' colophon to the Codex Cairensis). Several attempts have been made to decode the Masoretic cantillation, but the most "successful" is that of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura (1928–2000) in the last quarter of the 20th century. Her reconstruction assumes the signs represent the degrees of various musical scales – that is, individual notes – which puts it at odds with all other existing traditions, where the signs invariably represent melodic motifs; it also takes no account of the existence of older systems of notation, such as the Babylonian and

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

systems. Musicologists have therefore rejected Haïk-Vantoura's theories, with her results dubious, and her methodology flawed. In spite of this, Mitchell has repeatedly defended it, showing that, when applied to the Masoretic cantillation of Psalm 114, it produces a melody recognizable as the ''tonus peregrinus'' of church and synagogue. Mitchell includes musical transcriptions of the temple psalmody of Psalms 120–134 in his commentary on the Songs of Ascents. Regardless of academic research, Sephardic Jews have retained a tradition in the Masoretic cantillation.

Themes and execution

Most individual psalms involve the praise of God for his power and beneficence, for his creation of the world, and for his past acts of deliverance for Israel. They envision a world in which everyone and everything will praise God, and God in turn will hear their prayers and respond. Sometimes God "hides his face" and refuses to respond, questioning (for the psalmist) efficacy of prayer, the relationship between God and prayer which is the underlying assumption of the Book of Psalms. Some psalms are called "maskil" (''maschil''), meaning "enlightened" or "wise", because they impart wisdom. Most notable of these is Psalm 142 which is sometimes called the "Maskil of David"; others include Psalm 32 and Psalm 78. A special grouping and division in the Book of Psalms are fifteen psalms (Psalms 120–134) known in the construct case, ''shir ha-ma'aloth'' (= "A Song of Ascents", or "A Song of degrees"), and one as ''shir la-ma'aloth'' (Psalm 121). According to Saadia Gaon, these songs differed from the other psalms in that they were to be sung by the Levites in a "loud melody" (Judeo-Arabic: ). Every psalm designated for Asaph (e.g. Psalms 50, 73–83) was sung by his descendants while making use of cymbals, in accordance with 1 Chronicles 16:5. Every psalm wherein is found the introductory phrase "Upon Mahalath" (e.g. Psalms 53 and 88) was sung by the Levites by using large percussion instruments having wide and closed bezels on both sides and beaten with two wooden sticks.

Later interpretation and influence

Overview

Individual psalms were originally hymns, to be used on various occasions and at various sacred sites; later, some were anthologised, and might have been understood within the various anthologies (e.g., ps. 123 as one of the Psalms of Ascent); finally, individual psalms might be understood within the Psalter as a whole, either narrating the life of David or providing instruction like the Torah. In later Jewish and Christian tradition, the psalms have come to be used as prayers, either individual or communal, as traditional expressions of religious feeling.

Commentaries

Many authors have commented on the psalms, including: * Hilary of Poitiers * Augustine of Hippo * Saadia Gaon * Thomas Aquinas * John Calvin *Emmanuel (pseudonym), Jewish Commentary on the Psalms.

Use in Jewish ritual

Some of the titles given to the Psalms have descriptions which suggest their use in worship: * Some bear the Hebrew language, Hebrew description ''shir'' (; Koine Greek, Greek: grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ, song, label=none). Thirteen have this description. It means the flow of speech, as it were, in a straight line or in a regular strain. This description includes secular as well as sacred song. * Fifty-eight Psalms bear the description ''mizmor'' (; ), a lyric ode, or a song set to music; a sacred song accompanied with a musical instrument. * Psalm 145 alone has the designation ''tehillah'' (; ), meaning a song of praise; a song the prominent thought of which is the praise of God. * Thirteen psalms are described as ''maskil'' ('wise'): Psalm 32, 32, Psalm 42, 42, Psalm 44, 44, Psalm 45, 45, Psalm 52, 52–Psalm 55, 55, Psalm 74, 74, Psalm 78, 78, Psalm 88, 88, Psalm 89, 89, and Psalm 142, 142. Psalm 41:2, although not in the above list, has the description ''ashrei maskil''. * Six Psalms (Psalm 16, 16, Psalm 56, 56–Psalm 60, 60) have the title ''michtam'' (, 'gold'). Rashi suggests that ''michtam'' refers to an item that a person carries with him at all times, hence, these Psalms contain concepts or ideas that are pertinent at every stage and setting throughout life, deemed vital as part of day-to-day spiritual awareness. * Psalm 7 (along with Book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk Habakkuk 3, chapter 3) bears the title ''shigayon'' (). There are three interpretations: (a) According to Rashi and others, this term stems from the root ''shegaga'', meaning "mistake"—David committed some sin and is singing in the form of a prayer to redeem himself from it; (b) ''shigayon'' was a type of musical instrument; (c) Abraham ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra considers the word to mean "longing", as for example in the verse in Book of Proverbs, Proverbs 5:19 ''tishge tamid.'' Psalms are used throughout traditional Jewish worship. Many complete Psalms and verses from Psalms appear in the shacharit, morning services (''Shacharit''). The ''pesukei dezimra'' component incorporates Psalms 30, 100 and 145–150. Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei", which is really the first word of two verses appended to the beginning of the Psalm), is read three times every day: once in ''shacharit'' as part of ''pesukei dezimrah'', as mentioned, once, along with Psalm 20, as part of the morning's Shacharit#Concluding prayers, concluding prayers, and once at the start of the Mincha, afternoon service. On Jewish festivals, Festival days and Sabbaths, instead of concluding the morning service, it precedes the Mussaf service. Psalms 95–99, 29, 92, and 93, along with some later readings, comprise the introduction (''Kabbalat Shabbat'') to the Friday night service. Traditionally, a different "Psalm for the Day"—''Shir shel yom''—is read after the Shacharit, morning service each day of the week (starting Sunday, Psalms: 24, 48, 82, 94, 81, 93, 92). This is described in the Mishnah (the initial codification of the Jewish Oral law, oral tradition) in the tractate ''Tamid''. According to the Talmud, these daily Psalms were originally recited on that day of the week by the Levites in the Temple in Jerusalem. From Rosh Chodesh Elul until Hoshanah Rabbah, Psalm 27 is recited twice daily following the morning and evening services. There is a ''Minhag'' (custom) to recite Psalm 30 each morning of Chanukkah after Shacharit: some recite this in place of the regular "Psalm for the Day", others recite this additionally. When a Jew dies, a watch is kept over the body and ''tehillim'' (Psalms) are recited constantly by sun or candlelight, until the burial service. Historically, this watch would be carried out by the immediate family, usually in shifts, but in contemporary practice this service is provided by an employee of the funeral home or ''chevra kadisha''. Many Jews complete the Book of Psalms on a weekly or monthly basis. Each week, some also say a Psalm connected to that week's events or the Weekly Torah portion, Torah portion read during that week. In addition, many Jews (notably Lubavitch, and other Hasidic Judaism, Chasidim) read the entire Book of Psalms prior to the morning service, on the Special Sabbaths#Shabbat Mevarchim, Sabbath preceding the molad, calculated appearance of the new moon. The reading of psalms is viewed in Jewish tradition as a vehicle for gaining God's favor. They are thus often specially recited in times of trouble, such as poverty, disease, or physical danger; in many synagogues, Psalms are recited after services for the security of the State of Israel. Sefer ha-Chinuch states that this practice is designed not to achieve favor, as such, but rather to inculcate belief in Divine Providence into one's consciousness, consistently with Maimonides' Divine Providence#Maimonides, general view on Providence. (Relatedly, the Hebrew verb for prayer, ''hitpalal'' התפלל, is in fact the reflexive verb, reflexive form of ''palal'' פלל, to judge. Thus, "to pray" conveys the notion of "judging oneself": ultimately, the purpose of prayer—''tefilah'' תפלה—is to transform ourselves.)

In Christian prayer and worship

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 134

New Testament references show that the earliest Christians used the Psalms in worship, and the Psalms have remained an important part of worship in most Christian Churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox,

, Presbyterian,

and Anglican Churches have always made systematic use of the Psalms, with a cycle for the recitation of all or most of them over the course of one or more weeks. In the early centuries of the Church, it was expected that any candidate for bishop would be able to recite the entire Psalter from memory, something they often learned automatically during their time as Christian monasticism, monks. Christians have used Pater Noster cords of 150 beads to pray the entire Psalter. Paul the Apostle quotes psalms (specifically Psalm 14, Psalms 14 and Psalm 53, 53, which are nearly identical) as the basis for his theory of original sin, and includes the scripture in the Epistle to the Romans, Romans 3, chapter 3. Several conservative Protestant denominations sing only the Psalms (some churches also sing the small number of hymns found elsewhere in the Bible) in worship, and do not accept the use of any non-Biblical hymns; examples are the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, the Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America) and the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). * Psalm 22 is of particular importance during the season of Lent as a Psalm of continued faith during severe testing. * Psalm 23, ''The is My Shepherd'', offers an immediately appealing message of comfort and is widely chosen for church funeral services, either as a reading or in one of several popular hymn settings; * Psalm 51, ''Have mercy on me O God'', called the ''Miserere'' from the first word in its Latin version, in both Divine Liturgy and ''Hours'', in the sacrament of repentance or confession, and in other settings; * Psalm 82 is found in the Book of Common Prayer as a funeral recitation. * Psalm 137, ''By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept'', the Eastern Orthodox Church uses this hymn during the weeks preceding Great Lent. New translations and settings of the Psalms continue to be produced. An individually printed volume of Psalms for use in Christian religious rituals is called a Psalter. Furthermore, psalms often serve as the inspiration for much of Christianity in the modern era, modern or Contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian Contemporary worship music, worship music in a variety of Contemporary Christian music#Style and artists, styles. Some songs are entirely based on a particular psalm or psalms, and many quote directly from the Book of Psalms (and other parts of the Bible).

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christians and Greek-Catholics (Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine rite) have long made the Psalms an integral part of their corporate and private prayers. The official version of the Psalter used by the Orthodox Church is the Septuagint. To facilitate its reading, the 150 Psalms are divided into 20 ''kathismata'' (Greek: καθίσματα; Slavonic: каѳисмы, ; lit. "sittings") and each ''kathisma'' (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, ) is further subdivided into three ''stases'' (Greek: στάσεις, lit. "standings", sing. στάσις, ''stasis''), so-called because the faithful stand at the end of each ''stasis'' for the Glory be to the Father, Glory to the Father .... At Vespers and Matins, different ''kathismata'' are read at different times of the liturgical year and on different days of the week, according to the Church's calendar, so that all 150 psalms (20 ''kathismata'') are read in the course of a week. During Great Lent, the number of ''kathismata'' is increased so that the entire Psalter is read twice a week. In the twentieth century, some lay Christians have adopted a continuous reading of the Psalms on weekdays, praying the whole book in four weeks. Aside from ''kathisma'' readings, Psalms occupy a prominent place in every other Orthodox service including the Canonical hours, services of the Hours and the Divine Liturgy. In particular, the penitential Psalm 51, Psalm 50 is very widely used. Fragments of Psalms and individual verses are used as ''Prokimenon, Prokimena'' (introductions to Scriptural readings) and ''Stichera''. The bulk of Vespers would still be composed of Psalms even if the kathisma were to be disregarded; Psalm 119, Psalm 118, "The Psalm of the Law", is the centerpiece of Matins on Saturdays, some Sundays, and the Funeral service. The entire book of Psalms is traditionally read out loud or chanted at the side of the deceased during the time leading up to the funeral, mirroring Jewish tradition.

Oriental Christianity

Several branches of Oriental Orthodox and those

s who follow one of the Oriental Rites will chant the entire Psalter during the course of a day during the Daily Office. This practice continues to be a requirement of Christian monasticism, monastics in the Oriental churches.

Catholic usage

The Psalms have always been an important part of Catholic liturgy. The Liturgy of the Hours is centered on chanting or recitation of the Psalms, using fixed melodic formulas known as psalm tones. Early Catholics employed the Psalms widely in their individual prayers also; however, as knowledge of Latin (the language of the Roman Rite) became uncommon, this practice ceased among the unlearned. However, until the end of the Middle Ages, it was not unknown for the laity to join in the singing of the Little Office of Our Lady, which was a shortened version of the Liturgy of the Hours providing a fixed daily cycle of twenty-five psalms to be recited, and nine other psalms divided across Matins. The work of Bishop Richard Challoner in providing devotional materials in English meant that many of the psalms were familiar to English-speaking Catholics from the eighteenth century onwards. Challoner translated the entirety of the Little Office into English, as well as Sunday Vespers and daily Compline. He also provided other individual Psalms such as 129/130 for prayer in his devotional books. Bishop Challoner is also noted for revising the Douay–Rheims Bible, and the translations he used in his devotional books are taken from this work. Until the Second Vatican Council the Psalms were either recited on a one-week or, less commonly (as in the case of Ambrosian rite), two-week cycle. Different one-week schemata were employed: most secular clergy followed the Roman distribution, while regular clergy almost universally followed that of St Benedict, with only a few congregations (such as the Benedictines of St Maur) following individualistic arrangements. The Liturgy of the Hours, Breviary introduced in 1974 distributed the psalms over a four-week cycle. Monastic usage varies widely. Some use the four-week cycle of the secular clergy, many retain a one-week cycle, either following St Benedict's scheme or another of their own devising, while others opt for some other arrangement. Official approval was also given to other arrangementsSe
"Short" Breviaries in the 20th and early 21st century America
for an in-progress study by which the complete Psalter is recited in a one-week or two-week cycle. These arrangements are used principally by Catholic contemplative religious orders, such as that of the Trappists.See for exampl
the Divine Office schedule at New Melleray Abbey
/ref> The ''General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours'', 122 sanctions three modes of singing/recitation for the Psalms: * directly (all sing or recite the entire psalm); * antiphonally (two choirs or sections of the congregation sing or recite alternate verses or strophes); and * responsorially (the cantor or choir sings or recites the verses while the congregation sings or recites a given response after each verse). Of these three the antiphonal mode is the most widely followed. Over the centuries, the use of complete Psalms in the Mass (liturgy), liturgy declined. After the Second Vatican Council (which also permitted the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy), longer psalm texts were reintroduced into the Mass, during the readings. The Mass of Paul VI, revision of the Roman Missal after the Second Vatican Council reintroduced the singing or recitation of a more substantial section of a Psalm, in some cases an entire Psalm, after the first Reading from Scripture. This Psalm, called the ''Responsorial Psalm,'' is usually sung or recited responsorially, although the ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal'', 61 permits direct recitation.

Lutheran and Reformed usage

Überführung der Bundeslade durch den singenden und tanzenden König David

Following the Protestant Reformation, metrical psalter, versified translations of many of the Psalms were set as

s. These were particularly popular in the Calvinist tradition, where in the past they were typically sung to the exclusion of hymns (exclusive psalmody). John Calvin himself made some French translations of the Psalms for church usage, but the completed Genevan Psalter eventually used in church services consisted exclusively of translations by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze, on melodies by a number of composers, including Louis Bourgeois (composer), Louis Bourgeois and a certain Maistre Pierre. Martin Luther's Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott is based on Psalm 46. Among famous hymn settings of the Psalter were the Metrical psalter, Scottish Psalter and the paraphrases by Isaac Watts. The first book printed in North America was a collection of Psalm settings, the Bay Psalm Book (1640). By the 20th century, they were mostly replaced by hymns in church services. However, the Psalms are popular for private devotion among many Protestants and still used in many churches for traditional worship. There exists in some circles a custom of reading one Psalm and one chapter of Book of Proverbs, Proverbs a day, corresponding to the day of the month. Metrical Psalms are still very popular among many Reformed Churches.

Anglican usage

Anglican chant is a method of singing prose versions of the Psalms. In the early 17th century, when the King James Bible was introduced, the metrical arrangements by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins were also popular and were provided with printed tunes. This version and the ''Tate and Brady, New Version of the Psalms of David'' by Tate and Brady produced in the late seventeenth century (see article on Metrical psalter) remained the normal congregational way of singing psalms in the Church of England until well into the nineteenth century. In Great Britain, the 16th-century Myles Coverdale, Coverdale psalter still lies at the heart of daily worship in Cathedrals and many parish churches. The new Common Worship service book has a companion psalter in modern English. The version of the psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer prior to the 1979 edition is the Coverdale psalter. The Psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer of 1979 is a new translation, with some attempt to keep the rhythms of the Coverdale psalter.

Islam

According to the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, God in Islam, God has sent many messengers to mankind. Five universally acknowledged messengers (''Prophets and messengers in Islam, rasul'') are Abraham#Islam, Abraham, Moses#Islam, Moses, David#Islam, David, Jesus#Islamic, Jesus and Muhammad, each believed to have been sent with a scripture. Muslims believe David (''Dāwūd'') received Psalms, or ''

'' (cf. Q38:28); Jesus (''Īsā'') the Gospel in Islam, Gospel, or ''Injeel''; Muhammad received the Qur'an; and Abraham (''Ibrahim'') the Scrolls of Abraham; meanwhile, the ''Tawrat'' is the Arabic name for the Torah within its context as an Islamic holy book believed by Muslims to have been given by God in Islam, God to the Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophets and messengers amongst the Israelites, Children of Israel, and often refers to the entire Hebrew Bible. God is considered to have authored the Psalms.

Psalms in the Rastafari movement

The Psalms are one of the most popular parts of the Bible among followers of the Rastafari movement. Rasta singer Prince Far I released an atmospheric spoken version of the psalms, ''Psalms for I'', set to a roots reggae backdrop from The Aggrovators.

Psalms set to music

Multiple psalms as a single composition

Psalms have often been set as part of a larger work. The psalms feature large in settings of Vespers, including those by Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (84 settings H.149 - H.232) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote such settings as part of their responsibilities as church musicians. Psalms are inserted in Requiem (music), Requiem compositions, such as Psalm 126 in ''A German Requiem (Brahms), A German Requiem'' of Johannes Brahms and Psalms 130 and 23 in John Rutter's ''Requiem (Rutter), Requiem''. * (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) by Orlande de Lassus—1584 * by Mikołaj Gomółka—c. 1600 * ''Psalmen Davids'' (1619), Symphoniae sacrae I (1629) and ''Becker Psalter'' (1661) by Heinrich Schütz * ''Chandos Anthems'' by George Frideric Handel—1717–18 * ''Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Mendelssohn), Zwei englisch Psalmen'' (1842), ''Sieben Psalmen nach Lobwasser'' (1843), ''Elijah (oratorio), Elijah'' (1846), and ''Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Mendelssohn), Drei Psalmen'' (1849) by Felix Mendelssohn * ''Eighteen Liturgical Psalms'' by Louis Lewandowski—1879 * ''Biblické písně'' by Antonín Dvořák—1894 * by Arthur Honegger—1921 * ''Symphony of Psalms'' (38, 39, 150) by Igor Stravinsky—1930 * ''Chichester Psalms'' by Leonard Bernstein—1965 * ''Tehillim (Reich), Tehillim'' by Steve Reich—1981 * ''Four Psalms'' (114, 126, 133, 137) by John Harbison—1998

Individual psalm settings

There are many settings of individual psalms. One of the better known examples is Gregorio Allegri's ''Miserere mei (Allegri), Miserere mei'', a ''falsobordone'' setting of Psalm 51 ("Have mercy upon me, O God"). Settings of individual psalms by later composers are also frequent: they include works from composers such as George Frideric Handel, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Psalms also feature in more modern musical movements and popular genres.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

TehillimForAll
to read Psalms (Tehillim) together with others
Tehillim Online
to read psalms of David in Hebrew or transliterated.
Learn Tehillim Online
to read and hear TEHILIM OF THE DAY in Hebrew.
Full reading and translation of all 150 Psalms

Audiobook—King James Version * Various versions

Translations

* Judaism, Jewish translations: *
Tehillim—Psalms (Judaica Press)
translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org * Christianity, Christian translations: *
Book of Psalms—NIV
*
''Revised Grail Psalms''
(see: Grail Psalms)

Commentary and others

* Online encyclopedia *
"Psalms."
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. * Jewish *
reading of Tehillim—Psalms and many explanation.
*
Psalms (Judaica Press)
translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org *
Penetrating beneath the surface level of the Tehillim—Psalms
*
Reading of Tehillim—Psalms in ancient tunes and explanation.
Also
free series
that teaches how to read the cantilation notes of Psalms * Christian ** **
Commentary on the Psalms
by Gordon Churchyard, at www.easyenglish.bible *
Introduction to the Psalms
by Wilbert R. Gawrisch *
Introduction to the Psalms
a Forward Movement publication ** . , - {{Authority control Psalms, 9th-century BC books 8th-century BC books 7th-century BC books 6th-century BC books Works attributed to David Ketuvim Sifrei Kodesh Anthologies Poetic Books