About Psalms

The Psalter is a collection of songs and prayers. The title comes from the Greek word psalmos. The Hebrew name is Tehillim, which means "Book of Praises"!

Structure:
Book 1: Psalm 1-41
Book 2: Psalm 42-72
Book 3: Psalm 73-89
Book 4: Psalms 90-106
Book 5: Psalms 107-150

It is likely that Psalms 1-72 were on one scroll and Psalms 73-150 on another. This is probably the reason for the doxology in Ps. 72:18–20 that concludes the first scroll. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran in the 1950s, and in particular manuscript 11Q5, shows how different compilations of psalms circulated for different types of use during the Second Temple period.

To the leader – "the prominent and resplendent one":
Many of the psalms have an introductory description. Fifty-five times, a word is used that has traditionally been translated as "choir leader" or "praise leader." The Hebrew verbal noun natsach has the basic meaning of "to shine from a distance" and describes someone who leads, presides, and supervises. It denotes something that is pure, radiant, and prominent—that outshines everything else and stands firm. Just as stars were used for navigation, the word was used for both supervisors and music leaders—all Levites in service, see 1 Chron. 15:21; 23:4. A leader is also someone who shows the way. When Dan. is described as one who "stood out" among others in Babylon, the Aramaic variant of this word is used, which could be translated as "he outshone all others," see Dan. 6:3.

Reading the psalms from a messianic perspective adds another dimension. Jesus is the shining star and master singer—forever worthy of all our praise. He is the light of the world, see John 8:12; the star of Bethlehem, see Matt. 2:2; and the morning star, see Rev 22:16; 2 Pet. 1:19. It is to him—the author and finisher of our faith—that we fix our eyes, see Hebrews 12:2. Jesus himself often quoted from the Psalms. When he hung on the cross, he cried out in a loud voice and repeated the first words of Psalm 22 in Aramaic, see Matt. 27:46. This psalm, which describes in detail how Jesus is rejected, crucified, and mocked, concludes with a description of the glory of his kingdom. Jesus' last words on the cross, "Into your hands I commit my spirit," see Ps. 31:6, show his total trust and surrender to the Father. It adds extra depth that both Psalm 22 and Psalm 31 have the opening note that they are written to and for the leader – "the one who shines from afar." This is 1,000 years before Jesus utters the Spirit-inspired words on the cross.

In the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, 56 psalms begin with the words eis ho telos, which means "for/to the end." The word telos is used to mean the end and completion, but can also mean the highest civil leader. There may be a duality here in the meaning of the ultimate leader. This wording is also found in three other places in the translation. In Josh. 3:16, it is said that the Jordan River "came to an end" so that the Israelites could cross, and in Dan. 11:3, it is said that a period of time "came to an end." In the New Testament, Paul quotes the Septuagint about Moses' radiance "coming to an end," see 2 Cor. 3:13. It is likely that those who worked on this translation had an understanding of something that would come to completion. This may indicate that these psalms speak in a special way about the Messiah, see Luke 22:37; Rom. 10:4. The following psalms begin with this phrase: 4-6, 8, 9, 11-14, 18-22, 30, 31, 36, 39-42, 44-47, 49, 51-70, 75-77, 80, 81, 84, 85, 88, 109, 139, 140. It may be helpful to know that these psalms were considered prophetic in early times.

Daily psalms:
Jewish morning prayers always conclude with the recitation of a daily psalm. This is a tradition that dates back several thousand years. The Greek translation of the Psalter indicates several of these days of the week in the introduction to these psalms.

Sunday – Ps. 24
Monday – Ps. 48
Tuesday – Ps. 82
Wednesday – Ps. 94
Thursday – Ps. 81
Friday – Ps. 93
Saturday – Ps. 92

Selah
The Hebrew word selah appears 71 times in a total of 39 psalms. Its meaning is unknown, but based on how the word is used, it appears to be some kind of musical marking. A common explanation is that it is a pause to allow time to reflect on the text that has just been sung, perhaps an instrumental interlude. In modern synagogues, it is also interpreted as a reprise or as a signal for the rabbi chanting the psalm to change pitch. The word selah is similar to the Hebrew word sela, which means high mountain, see Ps. 18:3. The word selah can also mean "lift up," "raise," or "strike." In that case, selah can correspond to the musical term fortissimo (very strong) – i.e., strike the cymbals, shout for joy now during the climax of the psalm! In the same way that a mountain has a peak and a base, with sloping sides in between, the word can mean to bend down or to hang something up. The meaning is then to weigh something on a scale and becomes an exhortation to "weigh" and ponder the preceding words. Another meaning can be "forever" or "always" and indicates a response from the congregation, similar to the way the word amen is used today in the sense of "let it be done." What we know for sure is that it marks some kind of interruption.

Instrument:
It is important to remember that these poetic texts were written to be sung! One could say that psalms are the music of the heart, sometimes quiet and contemplative, often with elements of jubilant insight—sometimes weighed down by sorrow and Lam, but also flowing with joy and gratitude and renewed hope. Two main types of harps are used: kinnor and nevel. Kinnor is a smaller instrument with 5-15 strings. Nevel, which is believed to have been invented by David for temple music, see 1 Chron. 23:5, is a larger instrument with a sound box. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, a kinnor had ten strings and a nevel twelve.

Numbering:
English Bible treats the opening words of the psalms as an introduction, while the hebrew text treats this as the first verse.

The division into chapters also differs between different translations. The Aramaic, Greek, and Latin translations from the Hebrew text combine Psalm 9 and 10 into a single psalm, but divide Psalm 147 into two, etc. The Catholic Church uses the Latin translation Vulgate, which is why the chapter divisions differ by one number between Catholic and Protestant Bibles.

Alphabetical psalms:
Several psalms follow an alphabetical pattern. In this so-called acrostic style, each line is based on the twenty-two Hebrew consonants in order. In some cases there are two verses, and in Psalm 119 there are eight verses per letter. In total there are eight alphabetical psalms in the Psalter. Four in the first book, see Ps. 9–10; 25; 34; 37, and four in the last book, see Ps. 111; 112; 119; 145. The first four chapters of Lam. and the conclusion of Proverbs also have similar acrostic patterns, see Lam. 1–4; Prov 31:10–31.

The Hebrew letters are more than just letters; they are characters that have a deep meaning and great symbolism. They also have a numerical value. The symbolism reinforces the verse and gives it a clearer meaning. Since the theme of the verse often follows the symbolism of the letter, this explains why the subject of the psalm sometimes shifts abruptly. The Core Bible explains the meaning of the letter and also writes in square brackets what it further symbolizes. The word or words beginning with the letter in question are also written in bold to indicate their special meaning for the verse. The Hebrew words are modified with both prefixes and suffixes, which means that a Hebrew word often corresponds to several English words. One example is the personal pronoun for "I," Hebrew ani, which is added as a prefix to the verb jadah to become "I will praise" in Ps. 9:2. It is pronounced odeah and corresponds to three English words.

The acrostic psalms are not randomly distributed, but help to frame different sections. Only three psalms (Psalms 8, 24, and 33) in the first book mention how God created the world. These psalms are followed by an acrostic psalm (Psalms 9-10, 25, and 34). This may be an expression of reinforcing and confirming God's creation through a well-ordered psalm. Psalms 34 and 37 frame four psalms (Psalms 34-37) that deal with innocent suffering. Immediately after these four psalms, there are four psalms (Psalms 38-41) about self-inflicted suffering. Knowing about this division helps those who are suffering to pray and apply the "right" psalm depending on whether the cause of their suffering is innocent or due to their own conscious mistakes.
Written: Most of the psalms were written between 1000 and 700 BC. The oldest songs date from 1400 BC and the youngest from 450 BC, when Ezra compiled the book.

Table of Contents

Persons (56) ^BETA

Places (53)

Unique Words (308)