Old Testament Introduction by Robin Routledge

Author:Robin Routledge [Routledge, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: azw
ISBN: 9781783594887
Publisher: Inter Varsity Press UK
Published: 2016-07-20T16:00:00+00:00

9. The Writings

Psalms1

Composition and structure

The Hebrew title of the book is tĕhillîm (praises); ‘psalms’ comes from the Greek psalmoi. It contains 150 psalms, divided into five books (1 – 41, 42 –72, 73 – 89, 90 – 106, 107 – 150), each ending with a doxology (41:13; 72:18–19; 89:52; 106:48; 150). The possible parallel with the five books of the Torah may indicate the significance of the Psalms in teaching.2

‘Psalm’ generally translates mizmôr, which appears in many titles, and may indicate accompaniment by musical instruments; ‘song’ (šîr) may be similar. ‘Prayer’ (tĕpillâ) may indicate a lament. There are also several untranslated terms. A šiggāyôn may also be a lament; a maśkîl may be a psalm for instruction; a miktām may be linked with atonement. Some terms suggest musical directions. ‘According to šĕmînît [eighth]’ may suggest an eight-stringed instrument, though the meaning of other terms, including selâ, which appears in many psalms, is unclear.

The book is generally associated with David. The expression ‘of David’ (lĕdāwid) in many psalm titles,3 has traditionally been taken to imply authorship. Other ascriptions include Asaph (50; 73 – 83) and the Sons of Korah (42; 44 – 49; 84; 85; 87; 88).4 However, the headings are not generally regarded as integral to the text. They offer insight into the history of interpretation and should not be dismissed, but attributions of authorship and setting are not definitive.5 The preposition lĕ also has other meanings, including ‘to’, ‘for’, ‘belonging to’ and ‘about’, and headings may indicate, instead, the collection that a psalm belonged to.

The psalter appears to have been made up of smaller collections. The statement in 72:20 ‘this concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse’ suggests that Davidic psalms in Books 1 and 2 formed collections separate from those in Books 3 – 5. Asaph and Korah psalms, and ‘songs of ascents’ (120 – 134) may indicate other collections. Psalms 42 – 83 are often referred to collectively as the ‘Elohistic Psalter’, because the divine name Elohim occurs around five times more frequently than Yahweh, whereas the reverse is true in the rest of the book,6 apparently as the result of editing.7

There is speculation about the growth of the psalter.8 It may be that collections circulated separately and were combined over a period of time. The Elohistic Psalter, made up primarily of David, Asaph and Korah psalms, might have been edited in the north. This was later combined with an earlier (unedited) collection of David psalms, with Psalm 2 added as an introduction to this larger collection. Psalms 84 – 89, sometimes viewed as an appendix to the Elohistic Psalter, might also have been added at this point. Texts from Qumran indicate few variations in this section of the psalter, suggesting that it was accepted in its present form by the second century bc.9 The process by which Psalms 90 – 150 were added is less clear. Material from Qumran suggests that their order was not fixed before the first century ad, though from that time the mt version appears to have increased in prominence.

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