Reading: Introduction to Psalms (Video Slides)

#10 Introduction to and Overview of the Book of Psalms

 

Notes on the Psalter

150 Poems, originally meant to be sung

Other “Psalms” from Hebrew history have been found (e.g., in the Dead Sea Scrolls)

This collection, as it has been received, has been stable since the first century A.D.

It is divided into five “books” (1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150), each of which ends with a “doxology.” These “books” may reflect stages of development & collection:

Most Psalms of David occur in the first collection

The Psalms of Asaph and “Sons of Korah” occur in the middle

A Psalm of Exile (137) occurs late

The “Psalms of Ascent” (Pilgrim Psalms?) occur in the last section

There are a number of Psalms that have “titles.” These are not part of the actual Psalms, and may or may not reflect original circumstances.

Some “titles” purport to give the original historical context for the creation of the Psalm:

Psalm 3 “A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom”

Psalm 18 “A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul”

Psalm 34 “Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away”

Psalm 51 “A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba”

Psalm 52 “A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech’”

Some “titles” appear to be dedications:

“To the Leader” (5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, etc.)

“To Jeduthun” (39)

Some “titles” appear to give instructions about tunes or performance cues:

“Psalm” – with instrumental accompaniment (e.g., 64)

“Song” – without instrumental accompaniment (e.g., 65)

“According to ‘The Deer of the Dawn’” (22)

“According to ‘Lilies’” (45, 69)

“According to ‘Alamoth’” (46)

“According to ‘The Lilies of the Covenant’” (60, 80?)

“A Maskil” (42, 44, 45, 52, 53, 77, 78, 88, 89, etc.)

“A Miktam” (16, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, etc.)

“With stringed instruments” (61, 67, 76, etc.)

“For the memorial offering” (70)

“According to ‘The Gittith’” (81, 84)

Some “titles” identify the author:

David (73 Psalms – mostly near the beginning)

Solomon (2 Psalms – 72 & 127)

Sons of Korah (12 Psalms – 42-49, 84-85, 87-88)

Asaph (12 Psalms – 50, 73-83)

Heman the Ezrahite (1 Psalm – 88)

Ethan the Ezrahite (1 Psalm – 89)

Moses (1 Psalm – 90)

Most Psalms of David occur early in the Psalter

Most “Praise” Psalms occur late in the Psalter

Psalms 120-134 are identified as “Songs of Ascent” and appear to have been a collection used by festival pilgrims:

note how they begin in distress and at a distance from Jerusalem (120)

anticipate seeing Jerusalem (122, 125, 132)

speak of traveling (121, 126)

and end in worship at the Temple (134)

Psalm 119 is an acrostic (as are 9, 34, & 37), with groupings of 8 parallel couplets beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet (22 X 8 = 176 verses): the “completeness” (“A to Z”) of the Word/Law/Precepts of Yahweh

 

Understanding Hebrew Poetry

Most obvious literary device: Parallelism

Synonymous—two (or more) lines that say the same thing using different words

“My soul is full of troubles,
        my life draws near to Sheol.” (88:3)
“He established a decree in Jacob,
        and appointed a law in Israel.” (78:5)

Antithetic—two lines that declare opposite ideas in order to support the same conclusion

“I hate the double-minded,
        but I love your law.” (119:113)
“He did not spare them from death,
        but gave their lives over to the plague.” (78:50)

Stairlike—three or more lines that build up an idea by expanding on terms used in the previous lines

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
 and do not forget all his benefits—
       who forgives all your iniquity,
       who heals all your diseases,
       who redeems your life from the Pit,
       who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
       who satisfies you with good things as long as you live
       so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (103:2-5)

 

Literary devices that do not translate well:

• Rhythm & meter—cadence for recitation
• Assonance—repetition of vowel sounds
• Consonance—repetition of consonant sounds
• Alliteration—repetition of word-beginning letters

Subtle and complex literary devices:

• Enveloping—surrounding an inner verse with a repeated chant or refrain (see 118:1, 29):

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
 his steadfast love endures forever!”

• Chiasm—reflexive repetition of lines , phrases or ideas in clear parallelism (see 114):

Psalm 114

When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
      Judah became God’s sanctuary,
       Israel his dominion.
              The sea looked and fled;
              Jordan turned back.
                     The mountains skipped like rams,
                     the hills like lambs.
              Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
              O Jordan, that you turn back?
                     O mountains, that you skip like rams?
                     O hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
            who turns the rock into a pool of water,
            the flint into a spring of water.

 

Understanding & Using the Psalms

• Individual Lament:

Cries of the individual in times of distress

5,6,10,13,22,26,35,38,39,40,42,43,51,54,55,56,57,59,64,69,70,86,88,102,109,120,130,142,143

• Communal Lament:

Cries of the community in times of distress

60,74,79,80,90,108,123,137

• Hymns of Praise:

Celebrations of Yahweh’s goodness & character

8,9,19,29,30,33,34,65,66,67,68,76,95,96,97,98,99, 100,103,104,111,113,116,117,134,135,138,144,145, 146,147,148,149,150

• Songs of Confidence:

Declarations of trust in Yahweh

3,4,7,11,12,16,17,18,20,23,27,28,31,36,41,46,50,58, 62,63,71,77,82,83,85,89,91,92,93,94,114,115,121,124,125,126,129,139,140,141

• Royal Psalms:

Song in praise of Yahweh as Israel’s true king and the monarch who rules on Yahweh’s behalf

2,21,24,45,47,61,72,110,132

• Psalms of Zion:

“National Anthems” that praise the earthly residence of Yahweh

14,48,53,84,87,122

• “Thank” Psalms:

Expressions of appreciation for Yahweh’s deliverance

75,118,136

• Wisdom or Priestly Instruction:

Poems which contain condensed teachings to be passed along by memorization

1,15,25,32,37,44,49,52,73,78,81,101,105,106,107,112,119,127