Grace Institute: The Writings : Psalms Part 1

Psalms Survey of the Old Testament: The Writings Fall 2006

Introduction

Name

In English, this book is entitled Psalms. The entire book is sometimes called the Psalter . The name Psalms comes from the Greek, where the title means a sacred song sung to musical accompaniment [1]. This reminds us that the Psalms are Israel 's hymnbook. In Hebrew, this book is titled, hallel meaning praises. The word hallel, when combined with the first syllable of the covenant name for God, Yahweh, creates the familiar Hebrew phrase, halle lujah, which means, praise Yahweh, or in normal convention, praise the Lord.

Composition

The Psalms were written by numerous people over 1,000 years of Israel 's history. Some of the Psalms were written as far back as the time of Moses in 1500 BC. Others were written as late as the time of Ezra around 500 BC. Most, however, were written in the time of King David. David himself wrote more of the Psalms than any other author, composing 73 songs in this collection. While modern scholars often express doubts as to David's authorship, the bible affirms that the king was an accomplished musician (1 Samuel 16:18) who was also a great patron of the temple musi c (1 Chronicles). He is titled in 2 Samuel 23:1 as the sweet psalmist of Israel .

There is little historical setting for available for most Psalms. Many scholars have wasted time trying to match up each Psalm with a period in David's life or the life of Israel . However, the beauty of the Psalm is that the experiences of the Psalmist are universal experiences. Even when we don't know the exact circumstances of the writer, we can all relate to the feelings and tone from our own lives. Therefore it is not always necessary to know the exact situation of each Psalm [2].

Nonetheless, some Psalms have included the situation in the superscript. For example, Psalm 51 is a Psalm of confession which was written by David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his adultery with Bath sheba. Other Psalms don't have superscripts, but scholars have identified the worship context of the songs. For example, Psalm 2 was song at the coronation of a new king of Judah .

Structure and Compilation

The Psalms were collected and compiled at various times throughout Israel 's history. Various collections and books of Psalms were gath ered together and published as song books and hymnals. There is evidence of heavy editing of the Psalms. For example, Psalm 14 is almost identical to Psalm 53, except in Psalm 14 the name Yahweh is used for God, while in Psalm 53, the name Elohim is used. Psalm 108 is a medley of Psalm 57 and Psalm 60, put together for a new occasion.

Therefore, the final order and arrangement of the Psalms suggests a single editor who brought ancient collections and songs together into the final form [3]. The final form of the Psalms is arranged into five books.

There are some scholars who connect the five books of the Psalms with the five books of the Torah. Most of these connections, however, stretch the connection beyond what is reasonable.

Book I

The first book contains almost entirely psalms of David. The most obvious exception is Psalm 1, which is more of a prelude to the entire book and was probably placed by a compiler/editor much later. Book I ends with a doxology of praise in Psalm 41:13:

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

Book II

Book II also is dominated by Davidic psalms, but ends with a psalm written by Solomon. In Book I, the name Yahweh is the dominant name for God. However, in Book II, the name Elohim is the dominant name. As a result, book II is often called the Elohistic book.

The book also ends with a doxology, in Psalm 72:18-20:

Blessed be Yahweh God (Elohim), the God of Israel ,
Who alone works wonders.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

This post script ind icates that the second book was a collection which predates the final edit of the book of Psalms. The inclusion of a song by Solomon in Psalm 72 suggests that Solomon himself may have edited the second book and added his own conclusion.

Book III

The third book is the shortest, and contains Psalms mostly written by Asaph, Heman the Ezrahite and Ethan the Ezrahite. These were the temple musi ci a ns appointed by David in 1 Chronicles 15:16-17. Many of these psalms were written to the choir director. In 2 Chronicles 29:30, King Hezekiah commands the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David and Asaph. Because the psalms of Asaph are contained primarily in book III, some scholars believe this book was compiled in the time of Hezekiah.

Book III ends with Psalm 89:52:

Blessed be Yahweh forever! Amen and Amen.

Book IV

Book IV begins with a Psalm of Moses, and contains songs written by David for the occasion of bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (Psalm 96, 105-106). It also contains a group of royal Psalms (Psalms 93-99) which were sung in connection with the coronation of a new Israelite king. Book IV ends with Psalm 106:48:

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel ,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, "Amen."
Hallelujah!

Book V

Some of the psalms in book V were written after the exile, suggesting that that the final book was not compiled until the post-exilic period [4]. Book V contains several smaller collections, including the Psalm of Ascents (Psalms 120-134), which were sung as people came up to Jerusalem for festival days. The book ends with a group of Psalms known as the Halle l hymnal (Psalm 146-150), which contain a series of praise hymns emphasizing the call to Praise Yahweh ( halle lujah).

Book V ends with Psalm 150, which also serves as the conclusion to the entire Psalter:

Hallelujah!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise Yahweh.
Hallelujah!

Audience

The Psalms were written to be sung in temple worship. Some of the psalms state this directly in their superscript when they state for the choir director. While some of the psalms are very personal, they were eventually compiled and put into the song book which the people would sing in worship of God corporately in the temple.

The final editing and collection of the Psalms took place in the time of Ezra, very likely by Ezra himself. The audience for Psalms, then, was the returning exiles who needed a guidebook for worshipping God. The Psalter was the hymnbook of the returning exiles guiding them in the relearning the proper way to worship God in the temple.

Footnotes

1. Ronald B. Allen. And I Will Praise Him. (Grand Rapids MI: Kregel Publishing, 1992), 21.
2. Dennis Bratcher. Patterns for Life: Structure, Genre, and Theology in Psalms. (CRI/Voice, Institute, http:www.crivoice.org).
3. Alan P. Ross. Psalms. Bible Knowledge Commentary . John F. Walvoord & Roy B. Zuck, ed. (Victor Books, 1997). Electronic edition STEP file.
4. Alan P. Ross. Exposition of the Book of Psalms. Bible.org. (http://www.bible.org/series.php?series_id=144).

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