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Encounteringthe Book of PsalmsA Literary and Theological Introduction

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C. Hassell Bullock

Bullock/Psalms.book Page 3 Thursday, September 20, 2001 9:22 AM

C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of PsalmsBaker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2001. Used by permission.

© 2001 by C. Hassell Bullock

Published by Baker Academica division of Baker Book House CompanyP.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—with-out the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printedreviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bullock, C. Hassell.Encountering the book of Psalms / C. Hassell Bullock.

p. cm. — (Encountering biblical studies)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-8010-2245-21. Bible. O.T. Psalms—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. II. Series.

BS1430.2 .B85 2001223'.206—dc21 2001035974

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTER-NATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copy-right 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of theChurches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible,copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches ofChrist in the USA. Used by permission.

Ilustration credits:

The illustration on page 31 (top) is taken from Klaus Seybold, Introducing the Psalms, trans. R.Graeme Dunphy (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark), 1990. Used by permission.

The illustrations on pages 31 (bottom), 32, 33, 40, 51, 70, 128, 138, 152, 153, 157, 168, 180, 184, 191,193, 211, and 228 are taken from Othmar Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near East-ern Iconography and the Book of Psalms , trans. Timothy J. Hallett (New York: Seabury, 1978). Usedby permission.

The photographs on pages 89, 91, 108, 110, 113, 172, 192, 216, 219, and 234 were taken by ChrisMiller.

For information about Baker Academic, visit our web site:www.bakerbooks.com/academic



To the memory ofRev. Britts E. and Mrs. Lucinda R. Nichols,

my father-in-law and mother-in-law,who lived in the spirit of the Psalms.

“Blessed in the sight of the LORDis the death of his saints.”

Psalm 116:15





7

Contents in Brief

Editor’s Preface 11

Publisher’s Preface 12

To the Student 14

Author’s Preface 15

Abbreviations 17

Part 1Encountering the Literary and Hermeneutical Dimensions of the Psalms

1. “Begin the Music”: Introducing the Psalms 21

2. Listening to the Symphony of Praise: Interpreting the Psalms 35

3. The Seams of the Garment of Praise: The Structure of the Book 57

Part 2Encountering the Psalms as Wor-ship and Historical Reflection

4. The Psalms in Worship and Faith 85

5. Encountering Theology and His-tory in the Psalms 99

Part 3Encountering the Psalms as Liter-ary and Theological Types

6. “Praise the LORD, O My Soul; All My Inmost Being, Praise His Holy Name”: The Psalms of Praise 121

7. “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”: Psalms of Lament 135

8. “I Love the LORD, for He Heard My Voice; He Heard My Cry for Mercy”: Psalms of Thanksgiving 151

9. “The LORD Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want”: Psalms of Trust 165

10. “You Are My Son; Today I Have Become Your Father”: Psalms of the Earthly King 177

11. “The LORD Reigns”: Psalms of the Heavenly King 187

12. “My Mouth Will Speak Words of Wisdom”: The Wisdom Psalms 199

13. “The Law of the LORD Is Perfect, Reviving the Soul”: The Psalms of Torah 213

14. “May They Be Blotted Out of the Book of Life”: The Imprecatory Psalms 227

Notes 239

Select Bibliography of the Psalms 245

Glossary 249

Subject Index 253

Scripture Index 257



8

Contents

Editor’s Preface 11

Publisher’s Preface 12

To the Student 14

Author’s Preface 15

Abbreviations 17

Part 1Encountering the Literary and Hermeneutical Dimen-sions of the Psalms

1. “Begin the Music”:Introducing the Psalms 21OutlineObjectivesNames of the BookNature of the BookPlace of the Book in the

CanonDavid’s Place in the BookTitles of the Psalms and

Special Terms• Author Titles• Historical Titles• Titles of Literary or Mu-

sical Genre• Titles with Musical

Terms• Titles with Musical

TunesMusical InstrumentsSingingStudy QuestionsKey Terms

2. Listening to the Sym-phony of Praise: Inter-preting the Psalms 35OutlineObjectivesScanning the Orchestra:

Hebrew Poetry• Parallelism

• Synonymous Parallelism• Antithetic Parallelism

• Strophe• Chiastic Structure

Reading the Psalms through the Psalmists’Experience

Reading the Psalms through the Editors’Experience

Reading the Psalms through the Readers’Experience

Reading the Psalms through the Apostles’Experience

• Typology• Messianism

Reading the Psalms through the Literary Critics’ Eyes

Reading the Psalms through the Students’Experience

• Principle 1: Determine Who Is Speaking

• Principle 2: Determine if the Psalm Is Personal or Corporate

• Principle 3: Determine for What Purpose the Psalm Was Written

• Principle 4: Determine the Emotional Orienta-tion of the Psalm

• Principle 5: Determine the Genre of the Psalm if Possible

• Principle 6: Determine if There Is a Refrain or Re-curring Words and Phrases

Study QuestionsKey Terms

3. The Seams of the Gar-ment of Praise: The Struc-ture of the Book 57OutlineObjectivesThe Fivefold Division of

the PsalterThe Editorial Seams of the

Book: Books 1–3 (Pss 1–89)

• Book 1 (Pss 1–41)• Book 2 (Pss 42–72)• Book 3 (Pss 73–89)• Summary

The Editorial Seams of the Book: Books 4–5 (Pss 90–150)

• Book 4 (Pss 90–106)• Book 5 (Pss 107–50)• Summary

The Final Shape of the Book: Psalms 1 and 146–50

• The Date of the Final Compilation of the Psalter

A Consideration of Authorship in the Shaping of the Book

• Authorship• The Davidic Psalms• The Korah Psalms (Pss

42–49; 84–85; 87–88)• The Asaph Psalms (Pss

50; 73–83)• Songs of Ascents (Pss

120–34)Study QuestionsKey Terms

Part 2Encountering the Psalms as Worship and Historical Reflection

4. The Psalms in Worship and Faith 85OutlineObjectivesThe Psalms as an Expres-

sion of Shared Humanness

The Psalms as an Expres-sion of Our Fragmen-tary Life

The Psalms as Preincarna-tional Revelation

The Psalms in the Qumran Scrolls

The Psalms in the New Testament

• The Psalms in the Gospels

• Paul’s Use of the Psalms• The Psalms in the Epistle

to the Hebrews



Contents

9

• SummaryThe Psalms in Temple

WorshipThe Psalms in Synagogue

WorshipThe Psalms in Christian

Worship• The Church until the

Reformation• The Psalms in the Refor-

mation Church• The Psalms into the

Twenty-First CenturyHiding the Psalms in

One’s HeartSummaryStudy QuestionsKey Terms

5. Encountering Theology and History in the Psalms 99OutlineObjectivesIsrael and CreationThe Patriarchs in Retro-

spectThe Exodus• Egyptian Bondage• Crossing of the Red Sea

SinaiThe WildernessConquestLife in the LandThe MonarchyThe Exile and ReturnSummaryStudy QuestionsKey Terms

Part 3Encountering the Psalms as Literary and Theological Types

6. “Praise the LORD, O My Soul; All My Inmost Being, Praise His Holy Name”: The Psalms of Praise 121OutlineObjectivesThe Anatomy of PraiseForm and Description of

the Psalms of PraiseMajor Themes of the

Psalms of Praise• Creation

• Creation by the Word of Command

• Creation by Deed• Creation by

Understanding• Creation by Power• The Beauty and the Lan-

guage of Creation• Universality of God’s

Presence and Reign• God’s Work in Israel’s

HistorySummaryStudy QuestionsKey Terms

7. “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”:Psalms of Lament 135OutlineObjectivesDefinition and Descrip-

tion of the Psalms of Lament

Subcategories of the Psalms of Lament

Identity of the Enemies/Evildoers in the Psalms

SummaryStudy QuestionsKey Terms

8. “I Love the LORD, for He Heard My Voice; He Heard My Cry for Mercy”: Psalms of Thanksgiving 151OutlineObjectivesDescription of Form and

Content• Introduction• Report of Crisis• Deliverance as an Ac-

complished Fact• Conclusion

The Life Situation (Sitz im Leben) of the Psalms of Thanksgiving

Content of the Individual Psalms of Thanksgiving

Community Psalms of Thanksgiving

Theological Implications of the Psalms of Thanksgiving


9. “The LORD Is My Shep-herd, I Shall Not Want”:Psalms of Trust 165OutlineObjectivesDefinition and Descrip-

tion of the Psalms of Trust

The Individual Psalms of Trust

• Psalm 4• Psalm 16• Psalm 23• Psalm 27• Psalm 62• Psalm 73

The Community Psalms of Trust

• Psalm 90• Psalm 115• Psalm 123• Psalm 124• Psalm 125• Psalm 126


10. “You Are My Son; Today I Have Become Your Father”: Psalms of the Earthly King 177OutlineObjectivesIdentifying the Royal

PsalmsThe Setting of the Royal

PsalmsThe Royal Psalms and the

MessiahSummaryStudy QuestionsKey Terms

11. “The LORD Reigns”:Psalms of the Heavenly King 187OutlineObjectivesDescriptionThematic Emphases• The Lord Is Sovereign in

Righteousness and Justice

• The Lord Is Sovereign in Creation

• The Lord Is Sovereign in Judgment

• The Lord Is the Sover-eign King of the Future



Contents

10

The Messianic Overtones of the Kingship of Yahweh Psalms

Dating the Kingship of Yahweh Psalms


12. “My Mouth Will Speak Words of Wisdom”: The Wisdom Psalms 199OutlineObjectivesWisdom PsalmsDefinition and Descrip-

tion of Wisdom Psalms

Identifying Wisdom Psalms

Structure and Motif in the Wisdom Psalms


13. “The Law of the LORD Is Perfect, Reviving the Soul”: The Psalms of Torah 213OutlineObjectivesDescription of the Torah

Psalms and Definition of Torah

• Description of the Torah Psalms

• Definition of Torah• God’s Ways• God’s Works• God’s Words

Torah Piety as the Spiri-tual Provenance of the Psalter

• Torah and WisdomThe Torah Psalms• Psalm 1• Psalm 19• Psalm 119

• Date of Composition of Psalm 119

• A Profile of the Author of Psalm 119

• The Torah Theology of Psalm 119Psalm 119 and the Na-ture of TorahPsalm 119 and the Pur-pose of Torah


14. “May They Be Blotted Out of the Book of Life”: The Imprecatory Psalms 227OutlineObjectivesThe Imprecatory Psalms

DefinedThe ProblemThe Solutions• The Nature of Poetry

Itself

• Effective Magic• An Inferior Ethic• Prediction over

Pronouncement• Messianic• Human Vindictiveness

over Divine Instruction• Representative of Hu-

man Injustice• The Words of Others• National Rather than

Personal• Distinction between the

Sin and the SinnerInterpreting the Impreca-

tory Psalms as the Word of God

• The Psalmist’s Theologi-cal Perspective

• The “Curses”• Principles of Judgment


Notes 239

Select Bibliography of the Psalms 245

Glossary 249

Subject Index 253

Scripture Index 257



11

Editor’s Preface

The strength of the church and the vi-tality of the individual Christian’s lifeare directly related to the role Scrip-ture plays in them. Early believersknew the importance of this andspent their time in fellowship,prayer, and the study of God’s Word.The passing of two thousand yearshas not changed the need, but it haschanged the accessibility of many ofthe Bible’s ideas. Time has distancedus from those days, and we oftenneed guidance back into the world ofthe Old and New Testaments.

To that end Baker Book House isproducing an innovative series ofbiblical textbooks. The design of thisseries is to put us back into the worldof the biblical text, so that we mayunderstand it as those early believersdid and at the same time see it fromand for our own day, thus facilitatingthe application of its truths to ourcontemporary situation.

Encountering Biblical Studies con-sists of undergraduate-level texts,and two surveys treating the Old andNew Testaments provide the foun-dation for this series. Accompanying

these survey texts are two collateralvolumes of readings, which illumi-nate the world surrounding the bibli-cal text. Built on these basic surveytexts are upper-level college textscovering the books of the Bible thatare most frequently offered in thecurriculum of Christian colleges.

Complementing the series is a setof standard reference books that maybe consulted for answers to specificquestions or more in-depth study ofbiblical ideas. These reference booksinclude Baker Commentary on the Bible,Baker Topical Guide to the Bible, BakerEncyclopedia of the Bible, Baker Theolog-ical Dictionary of the Bible, and Evan-gelical Dictionary of Theology.

The Encountering Biblical Studiesseries is written from an evangelicalpoint of view, in the firm convictionthat the Scripture is absolutely trueand never misleads us. It is the surefoundation on which our faith andlife may be built because it unerr-ingly leads willing readers to JesusChrist.

Walter A. ElwellGeneral Editor



12

Publisher’s Preface

Bible courses must be considered theheart of the curriculum for Christiancolleges and evangelical seminaries.For Christians the Bible constitutesthe basis for both our spiritual andour intellectual lives—indeed for allof life. If these courses are fundamen-tal to Christian education, then thetextbooks used for these coursescould not be more crucial.

Baker Book House is launching aseries of volumes for college-levelBible courses. In this series, Bakerwill publish texts that are clearly col-lege-level. The textbooks for the basiccollege survey courses and for themore advanced college courses on in-dividual Bible books will not be writ-ten for laypeople or pastors and sem-inarians, nor will they be primarilyreference books. Rather, they will bepedagogically oriented textbookswritten with collegians in mind.

Encountering the Book of Psalms at-tempts to build on the basic surveytext, Encountering the Old Testament:A Christian Survey (Bill T. Arnold andBryan E. Beyer). While the surveytext is written for college freshmen,this Psalms volume is intended forupper-level collegians.

Rather than providing a sustainedexegetical analysis of each verse inthe Book of Psalms, this volume sur-veys the entire book with an empha-sis on drawing out its theologicalmessage and its practical significancefor collegians. It consists of appropri-ate introduction and survey materialwith the necessary critical, historical,literary, hermeneutical, and back-ground concerns woven within theexposition of the biblical text.

Guiding Principles

As part of the developing of thisvolume, the series editors, author,and publisher established the follow-ing principles:

1. It must reflect the finest inevangelical scholarship ofour day.

2. It must be written at a levelthat most of today’s upper-level collegians can under-stand.

3. It must be pedagogicallysound. This extends not onlyto traditional concerns likestudy and review questions,chapter objectives and sum-maries for each chapter, butalso the manner in which thematerial is presented.

4. It must include appropriateillustrative material such asphotographs, maps, charts,graphs, figures, and sidebars.

5. It must seek to winsomelydraw in the student by focus-ing on biblical teaching con-cerning crucial doctrinal andethical matters.

Goals

The goals for Encountering the Bookof Psalms fall into two categories: in-tellectual and attitudinal. The intel-lectual goals are to (1) present the fac-tual content of the Book of Psalms,(2) introduce historical, geographi-cal, and cultural background, (3) out-line primary hermeneutical princi-ples, (4) touch on critical issues (e.g.,why some people read the Bible dif-ferently), and (5) substantiate theChristian faith.

The attitudinal goals are alsofivefold: (1) to make the Bible a partof students’ lives, (2) to instill instudents a love for the Scriptures,(3) to make them better people,(4) to enhance their piety, and (5) tostimulate their love for God. Inshort, if this text builds a founda-tion for a lifetime of Bible study, theauthors and publisher will beamply rewarded.



Publisher’s Preface

13

Overarching Themes

Controlling the writing of Encoun-tering the Book of Psalms have beenthree essential theological themes:God, people, and the gospel as it re-lates to individuals. The notion thatGod is a person—one and three—and a transcendent and immanentBeing has been woven throughoutthe text. Moreover, this God has cre-ated people in his image who arefallen but still the objects of his re-demptive love. The gospel is themeans, the active personal powerthat God uses to rescue people fromdarkness and death. But the gospeldoes more than rescue—it restores. Itconfers on otherwise hopeless sin-ners the resolve and strength to livelives that please God, because theywalk in the love that comes fromGod.

Features

The publisher’s aim has been toprovide an exceptionally unique re-

source on the one hand but not to bemerely trendy on the other. Some ofthe distinguishing features we hopewill prove helpful to the professorand inspiring to the student includethe following:

• liberal use of illustrations—photographs, figures, tables,charts

• sidebars and excursuses explor-ing exegetical, ethical, and theo-logical issues of interest andconcern to modern-day collegians

• chapter outline and objectivespresented at the opening ofeach chapter

• study questions at the end ofeach chapter

• a helpful glossary• a bibliography to guide further

study



14

To the Student

Encountering the Book of Psalms in asystematic way for the first time is anexciting experience. It can also beoverwhelming because there is somuch to learn. You need to learn notonly the content of this book of songsbut also important background infor-mation about the world in which thesongwriters lived.

The purpose of this textbook is tomake that encounter a little lessdaunting. To accomplish this a num-ber of learning aids have been incor-porated into the text. We suggestyou familiarize yourself with thistextbook by reading the followingintroductory material, which ex-plains what learning aids have beenprovided.

Sidebars

Sidebars isolate contemporary is-sues of concern and show how theBook of Psalms speaks to these press-ing ethical and theological issues.

Chapter Outlines

At the beginning of each chapter isa brief outline of the chapter’s con-tents. Study Suggestion: Before read-ing the chapter, take a few minutes toread the outline. Think of it as a roadmap, and remember that it is easier toreach your destination if you knowwhere you are going.

Chapter Objectives

A brief list of objectives is placedat the outset of each chapter. Thesepresent the tasks you should be ableto perform after reading the chapter.Study Suggestions: Read the objec-tives carefully before beginning toread the text. As you read the text,keep these objectives in mind and

take notes to help you rememberwhat you have read. After readingthe chapter, return to the objectivesand see if you can perform the tasks.

Key Terms and Glossary

Key terms have been identifiedthroughout the text by the use ofboldface type. This will alert you toimportant words or phrases you maynot be familiar with. A definition ofthese words will be found at the endof the book in an alphabetical glos-sary. Study Suggestion: When you en-counter a key term in the text, stopand read the definition before con-tinuing through the chapter.

Study Questions

A few discussion questions havebeen provided at the end of eachchapter, and these can be used to re-view for examinations. Study Sugges-tion: Write suitable answers to thestudy questions in preparation fortests.

Further Reading

A helpful bibliography for supple-mentary reading is presented at theend of the book. Study Suggestion:Use this list to explore areas of spe-cial interest.

Visual Aids

A host of illustrations have beenincluded in this textbook. Each il-lustration has been carefully se-lected, and each is intended notonly to make the text more aesthet-ically pleasing but also more easilymastered.

May your encounter of the Book ofPsalms be an exciting adventure!



15

Author’s Preface

No collection of poems has ever exer-cised as much influence on the West-ern world as the Book of Psalms.Even though Christianity has ac-cepted the entire Old Testament asthe authentic Word of God, none ofits books has functioned so ecumeni-cally as the Psalms. The Christianhermeneutic differs from the Jewish,admittedly, particularly in the Chris-tian emphasis upon the messianic na-ture of the Psalms, but if Christianand Jew can meet and stand on levelground at all, they come closer to thatstance when they approach thePsalms than with any other book ofthe Old Testament. If we Christianshave, to our shame, imposed an infe-riority complex on certain books ofthe Hebrew Bible, the Psalms havegratefully escaped this misfortune.The mystery of this phenomenon isin part the human element that per-vades these spiritual poems. Theyare replete with evidences of thehuman situation with all its complex-ities. Wherever we are on the spec-trum of human achievement or fail-ure, we can find ourselves somewherein this book. Wherever we are on thespectrum of human life, be it youthor full maturity or declining health orthe throes of death, there is a niche inthis book that provides reflectionupon our condition.

There is another side to this mys-tery that lies in the pale of divineprovidence, beyond the domain ofhuman reason. There God has em-powered us for living and embel-lished our lives with a grace that ex-ceeds our understanding. We drawupon this grace by grace, and by it arerefurbished in life and remindedthat, in the words of the HeidelbergCatechism, “I belong—body andsoul, in life and in death—not to my-self but to my faithful Savior, JesusChrist.” The Psalms infuse us withstrength beyond our human powers

because the God of the psalmists—and of us—hovers over them in loveand mercy. They are his dwellingplace, and there we meet him.

The Psalms are as difficult to inter-pret as any book of the Old Testa-ment, perhaps even the New. Be-cause there are so many human pathsdown which we may walk as we readthe Psalms, the temptation is to as-sume that we can make our ownpaths and thus require the Psalms toauthorize our ways. But the Psalmscannot mean all things to all people,despite their assorted thoughts andemotions. The historical element re-mains the control that draws a circlearound the interpreter and restrictshim or her within a method that doesnot permit a mere reader-responsehermeneutic. Yet the Psalms willspeak on levels of meaning that maybe more a tributary than the main-stream of the text. “Even though Iwalk through the valley of theshadow of death, I will fear no evil”(Ps 23:4a) is probably a good illustra-tion of this. Who would deny thatthis text has comforted millions inthe hour of death, and who woulddeny its comfort yet to millions more!Historically speaking, it probablyhad a reference to some place andtime in David’s life before he facedthe ultimate moment, when itseemed that an untimely death wasapproaching; but spiritually speak-ing, it says far more than that. In-deed, we can put our ultimate mo-ment of life in light of this historicalexperience, whatever shape it tookfor David, and sense the Spirit hidingus under the Almighty’s protectingwings.

If any book of the Bible requiresevery resource we have and can ac-quire to interpret it properly, thePsalms require no less and possiblymore. We must have lived in the ham-lets of human existence before the



Author’s Preface

16

Psalms can speak to us in all theirpower. If we could combine resplen-dent words, profound emotions, andheavenly music into a single lan-guage, then we could begin to hearthe Psalms in their richness and per-haps begin to expound them withsome degree of adequacy. That willalways be our aim.

To take my cue from the Psalmsand express my gratitude to all ofthose who have contributed to thevarious dimensions of this book, Isay:

I am under vows to you, O God;I will present my thank offer-

ings to you. (Ps 56:12)

So as I present them to God, I do it asa public offering of gratitude. Theyare not in order of ascending or de-scending gratefulness, for genuinegratitude is a virtue of equal qualitywherever it is found, even though itsquantity may range up and down thescale. My “thank offerings” go to theboard of trustees of Wheaton Col-lege, who gave me a sabbatical towork on this manuscript at TyndaleHouse in Cambridge, England, in thefall of 1999; to the staff of TyndaleHouse, who made my work thereone of the great study pleasures ofmy life; to my wife Rhonda, whoshared the experience with me, andwho loves the Psalms as I do; to theParkview Presbyterian Church ofOak Park, which gave me time awayfrom my pastoral duties to concen-trate on my sabbatical project; to theRev. Loy Mershimer, who responsi-bly and capably assumed those du-ties on my behalf and just as capablyprepared the key terms and studyquestions for the book; to the AldeenFund of Wheaton College, which un-derwrote some of the bibliographicalwork of this writing project; to theFranklin S. Dyrness Chair at WheatonCollege, in which I sit with honor andgratitude, and to the memory of therevered servant of Christ for whom itis named; to my friend and faithfulbibliographer, Don Patrick, who didall of the bibliographical footworkfor this book, and did it with enthusi-

asm and passion; to the Rev. JamesScott, friend and former student,who read several chapters of themanuscript and offered his percep-tive insights and suggestions; toDaniel Balint, my former teacher’s as-sistant, called into service again, whoread the manuscript with more thanan editor’s eye and assisted in con-structing the sidebars; to my daugh-ter, Becky, who prepared the bibliog-raphy for me; to Professor EugeneMerrill, the Old Testament editor ofthis series, who encouraged me inboth the preliminary and the devel-oping stages; to my colleague and theNew Testament editor of this series,Professor Walter Elwell, whose en-couragement has always been wait-ing for me down the hallway frommy faculty office; to Baker BookHouse and former editor JamesWeaver, who makes his writers feelthat writer and publisher are one andthe same in purpose—to all of these Ifulfill my vows before the graciousGod of the Psalms and present to himmy thank offering in the form of thismanuscript. As John Calvin said ofhis own commentary on the Psalms, Iwould like also to say of this work:

If the reading of these my Com-mentaries confer as much benefiton the Church of God as I myselfhave reaped advantage from thecomposition of them, I shall haveno reason to regret that I have un-dertaken this work.1

And now I humbly dedicate thisbook to the memory of my father-and mother-in-law, Rev. Britts E. andMrs. Lucinda R. Nichols, who livedtheir lives and served the church inthe faith of the psalmists, trusting theGod of this book until their trium-phant transfer to glory. My father-in-law made his transfer on Palm Sun-day of 1992 while we, in our churchin Oak Park, Illinois, were acclaiminghis Lord and ours with David’swords, hundreds of miles away fromhis hospital room:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”“Blessed is he who comes in the

name of the Lord!”



Author’s Preface

17

“Hosanna in the highest!” (Mt21:9/Ps 118:26)

Surely his praise and ours united ashe made his triumphal entry into theheavenly Jerusalem. My mother-in-law made hers in October of 1999 as

Rhonda and I recited Psalms 23 and121 at her bedside. Their lives havetouched mine in ways that havemade the Psalms all the more mean-ingful. So in the words of the Jewishbenediction, “May the memory of therighteous be for a blessing.”

Abbreviations

Old Testament

Genesis Gn

Exodus Ex

Leviticus Lv

Numbers Nm

Deuteronomy Dt

Joshua Jos

Judges Jgs

Ruth Ru

1 Samuel 1 Sm

2 Samuel 2 Sm

1 Kings 1 Kgs

2 Kings 2 Kgs

1 Chronicles 1 Chr

2 Chronicles 2 Chr

Ezra Ezr

Nehemiah Neh

Esther Est

Job Jb

Psalms Ps(s)

Proverbs Prv

Ecclesiastes Eccl

Song of Songs Sg (Song)

Isaiah Is

Jeremiah Jer

Lamentations Lam

Ezekiel Ez

Daniel Dn

Hosea Hos

Joel Jl

Amos Am

Obadiah Ob

Jonah Jon

Micah Mi

Nahum Na

Habakkuk Hb

Zephaniah Zep

Haggai Hg

Zechariah Zec

Malachi Mal

New Testament

Matthew Mt

Mark Mk

Luke Lk

John Jn

Acts of the Apos-tles

Acts

Romans Rom

1 Corinthians 1 Cor

2 Corinthians 2 Cor

Galatians Gal

Ephesians Eph

Philippians Phil

Colossians Col

1 Thessalonians 1 Thes

2 Thessalonians 2 Thes

1 Timothy 1 Tm

2 Timothy 2 Tm

Titus Ti

Philemon Phlm

Hebrews Heb

James Jas

1 Peter 1 Pt

2 Peter 2 Pt

1 John 1 Jn

2 John 2 Jn

3 John 3 Jn

Jude Jude

Revelation Rv





Part

1Encountering the Literary

and Hermeneutical Dimensions of the Psalms





21

Outline• Names of the Book• Nature of the Book• Place of the Book in the Canon• David’s Place in the Book• Titles of the Psalms and Special Terms

Author TitlesHistorical TitlesTitles of Literary or Musical GenreTitles with Musical TermsTitles with Musical Tunes

• Musical Instruments• Singing

ObjectivesAfter reading this chapter, you should beable to

1. Give the names of the Book of Psalms.2. Discuss the nature of the book.3. Summarize the place of the book in the

Canon.4. Assess David’s role in the composition

of the Psalms.5. Discuss the titles of the Psalms and

other special terms.

1 “Begin the Music”Introducing the Psalms



Encountering the Literary and Hermeneutical Dimensions of the Psalms

22

On some religious festival the con-gregation of Israel waited expect-antly in the sanctuary to begin theirworship, summoned perhaps by themusician or a priest to “sing” and“begin the music”:

Sing for joy to God our strength;shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

Begin the music, strike the tambourine,

play the melodious harp and lyre.

Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,

and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;

this is a decree for Israel,an ordinance of the God of Ja-

cob. (Ps 81:1–4)

It is rare in the Bible to have such avivid picture of worship with its mu-sical accompaniments as we havehere in Psalm 81. The musical settingsets the stage for the awesome ser-mon that follows in verses 6–16. It is asuccinct summary of Israel’s history.In fact, one could cut this page out ofIsrael’s national journal and have asynopsis of God’s action that broughtIsrael into being (vv. 6–10), alongwith Israel’s unfortunate response(vv. 11–16).

The Book of Psalms is a record ofGod’s call and of his people’s re-sponse, enacted a thousand times inhistory. The Psalms are a photographalbum of ancient Israel in its relation-ship to God and a mirror of our ownrelationship and reaction to God whosummons his people and promiseshis presence and secures the future.Any time we try to interpret thePsalms, a journal of Israel’s life—sofilled with joys and sorrows, in-scribed with aspirations and fail-ures—we will find ourselves experi-encing a catharsis of the soul.

But before we imbibe deeply of thespiritual riches of the Psalms, weneed to deal with some pedestrianmatters that will orient us to ourstudy.

Names of the BookThe Hebrew title of this book is ap-

propriately Tehillim (“praises”), forpraise is a central feature of thepoems that comprise this collection.Yet interestingly, although this wordin its singular form (tehillah “praise”)occurs many times in the psalmsthemselves, it only occurs once as atitle to an individual psalm (Ps 145,“Praise of David”).

The major Greek versions ren-dered another Hebrew word, miz-mor (“song”), found often in the ti-tles of individual psalms, as psalmos,and they gave the book the titlePsalmoi (“Psalms”). This was the titleby which the New Testament writ-ers knew the book (Lk 20:42; Acts1:20). The common English title, ofcourse, is “The Psalms,” and wereadily see its derivation from theGreek versions.

Another popular English title,“Psalter,” comes from Alexandrinus,a fifth-century A.D. copy of the Greektranslation known as the Septuagint,which called the book Psalterion,meaning “stringed instrument.”1 Theword actually occurs several times inthe Greek text of the Psalms where itgenerally translates the Hebrewword kinnor (“lyre”), and sometimesnevel (“lyre”). Alexandrinus elevatesthis word to the title of the book.

Nature of the BookThe Book of Psalms is a diversified

collection of sacred poems. Many ofthem are in fact prayers. While weshall not attempt a description ofthese poems at this point, the book isan anthology of prayers, worshipsongs, and poems sung and spokenin public and private worship. Thepsalmists spoke on their own behalfas well as Israel’s. All of the Psalmsmay not have been sung in the tem-ple. While some were written for thatpurpose, others were written for pri-vate use and were subsequently

Tehillim

mizmor



“Begin the Music”

23

adapted for public worship. TheBook of Psalms then was not compa-rable to hymnbooks in our modernchurches. Although it containedmany of Israel’s temple hymns, theywere not likely collected with thatpurpose in mind. Rather the book,whose composition spans severalcenturies, was a repository of publicand private faith. It was more like theBook of Common Prayer than a hymn-book, even though i t divergessharply from both genres.

In the history of Israel and theChristian church the Psalms havehad extensive use in both public andprivate worship,2 which is very mucha reflection of the original purpose ofthese sacred poems. John Calvin, oneof the great commentators on thebook, found the Psalms to be a guidefor life. He remarked that “in consid-ering the whole course of the life ofDavid, it seemed to me that by hisown footsteps he showed me theway, and from this I have experi-enced no small consolation.”3 Evenwhen David took the wrong turn inthe road, he showed us the way weought not go and then the way to re-turn to the main path (e.g., Ps 51).There is no book of the Bible that af-fords such spiritual catharsis as theBook of Psalms. Calvin acknowl-edges this when he calls the book “ananatomy of all parts of the soul.”4

Place of the Book in the Canon

The Book of Psalms is contained inthe third division of the Hebrew Bi-ble, the Writings, known in Greek asthe Hagiographa. By their varied na-ture the Psalms belong in this sectionof the Hebrew Bible, since, in thestrictest sense of the terms, they areneither Torah nor prophecy. Theyhave, of course, elements of both ofthem. It is rather interesting thatsome commentators have seen astrong prophetic character in thePsalms. Perhaps that is because thepsalmists are interpreters of Israel’s

spiritual life. A prophetic strain runsthrough them. Calvin referred to thepsalmists as prophets,5 and BrevardChilds, commenting on Psalms 89and 132, recognized the propheticmodel that came to characterizemuch of the Psalter: “To be sure, thepsalmist has developed this traditionalong di f ferent l ines from theprophet, but increasingly the pro-phetic model poured its content intothe idiom of the psalmist.”6

In fact, Childs recognized that themajor thrust of the collection wasprophetic in that the Psalms an-nounced the Kingdom of God: “ThePsalter in its canonical form, far frombeing different in kind from the pro-phetic message, joins with the proph-ets in announcing God ’s comingkingship.”7 We might say that thePsalter was the repository of the pro-phetic spirit and the archive of theprophetic hope.

David’s Place in the Book

Modern scholarship has raised se-rious questions about David’s role inwriting the Psalms. Some insist thathe wrote all of the seventy-threepsalms attributed to him, while oth-ers doubt that he wrote many, if any.Those who fall somewhere in be-tween acknowledge that he couldhave written some of them, perhaps asignificant number.

The Talmud attributes all of thePsalms to David.8 While only sev-enty-three psalms actually carry thenotation that David was the poet,they do so in the larger setting of thepoetic reputation that the Books ofSamuel and Chronicles lay out for us.The writer of Samuel paints a portraitof David the musician, first as onewho plays the lyre (kinnor) (1 Sm16:14–23), and then as one who com-poses psalms. The writer of Samuelrecords David’s lament over Saul andJonathan (2 Sm 1:17–27), a poem thathas much in common with the la-ments of the Psalms. However, it is

Writings




24

person specific, mentioning bothSaul and Jonathan by name, whereasthe psalmic laments are not so spe-cific. This lament, according to the su-perscription, was written in the Bookof Jashar, evidently an ancient collec-tion of poetry. The one other refer-ence to that book is the notation thatJoshua’s famous words upon his de-feat of the Amorites (these are alsopoetry) were also included in it (Jos10:12–13). The literary link betweenDavid’s poetry outside the Psalmsand the poetry within, however, isbest represented by his song of praise“when the LORD delivered him fromthe hand of all his enemies and fromthe hand of Saul” (2 Sm 22), which isessentially a duplicate of Psalm 18.The other poetic composition attrib-uted to David in Samuel is the LastWords of David recorded in 2 Samuel23:1–7. Thus the psalmic associationswith David are well attested in theBooks of Samuel.

Written after the Judean kingdomhad passed into history, the Books ofChronicles also take this informationvery seriously. Still in that late time,or, perhaps we should say, especiallyin that late period, David’s musicallegacy was lodged in the nationalmemory. Thus David took his placealongside the priests as founder ofthe musical tradition of the temple.He assigned musical duties to theLevites (2 Chr 23:18; see Ezr 3:10), di-rected the manufacture of musical in-struments for the temple (1 Chr 23:5;2 Chr 7:6; 29:26), and designated thetimes when the Levites were to per-form certain musical duties.

One might argue against Samueland Chronicles about David’s musi-cal role in the temple and contendthat it was the result of layers of tra-dition mounting up in David’s col-umn. Yet, his reputation was obvi-ously an enormous one, and hisportrait, painted with such carefuland personal details in the Books ofSamuel, was not likely an inventionof Israel’s imagination. Therefore, thegeneral setting of David’s life andlong reign as laid out in Samuel andfollowed by the Chronicler gives agenerous touch of realism to the

strong association of David with theBook of Psalms.

Titles of the Psalms and Special Terms

In this section we will consider thespecial terms that occur in thePsalms, so that we may understand,as best our current knowledge will al-low, the fuller dimensions of thebook.

With the rise of form criticism, thestudy of the Psalms titles became asecondary matter, and the form crit-ics generally assumed they were lateand could be ignored as having anymeaning in the interpretation of thePsalms. However, a more intentionaleffort has been made in recent yearsto understand the role of the titles inthe study of the Psalms. Just whenwere the titles added to the Psalms?Were any of them original? What didthe composer who prefixed the titlesintend by them? Or how was the edi-tor who added them trying to en-hance the Psalms? These are difficultquestions. While some of the titles,perhaps most, may have been addedlong after the composition of thePsalms, they nevertheless must notbe viewed as a haphazard exercise.

But even though a logical connec-tion has to be assumed between agiven title and the psalm, it is oftendifficult for us to see. This is particu-larly noticeable in the historical titles.While pieces of the historical situa-tion may be discernible, and certainverses may qualify as assessments orreflections of that experience, theconnection may still not be obvious.As the centuries have passed and lifehas changed, the meaning of these ti-tles has been lost. Even by the time ofthe Greek translation, the translatorswere often stumped by them andcould only make a guess at theirmeaning. As research continues andthe Psalms titles continue to be theobject of serious study, perhaps wewill eventually know much moreabout their meaning. Yet, unfortu-




25

nately, the meaning of some of theterms may remain forever obscure.

Author Titles

The authorship question is a diffi-cult one because we cannot be abso-lutely sure how to read some of thesuperscriptions in which individualsare mentioned, nor can we be surethat the titles were original to thepsalm itself. One term is the simplepreposition “to,” “by,” or “of” (He-brew le). Archaeologists have identi-fied this term on many jar handlesfound in Israel, where it designatesthe owner of the jar, “belongingto. . . .” This is not quite the same asfinding a poem with the same desig-nation. In this latter context, it couldmean “to,” in the sense of dedicationto that individual, or “by,” carryingthe nuance of authorship. Basedupon the information of the Books ofSamuel and Chronicles, I suggest thatwe understand the term in the autho-rial sense unless there are indicationsto the contrary, whether in the super-scription or the content of the poemitself. This is the view of Calvin.9 Thispreposition is prefixed to the namesof David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph,the sons of Korah, and the two Ezra-hites. It is a bit difficult to ignore all ofthese associations and deny that anyof them are authorial. At the sametime, to put David in a category byhimself and deny his compositionalrole, while allowing others, is hardlya defensible view either,1 0 eventhough we may admit that the titlesof the Psalms are in many instanceslater than the original composition ofthe psalm.

Some scholars have resorted to aliterary explanation of the term, as-serting that “to/by/of David” ismerely literary convention, desig-nating a particular quality of po-etry.11 However, it is not easy to de-fine precisely what that quality is. Sothis must remain a rather arbitrarytheory.

As table 1.1 shows, many of thepsalms have no names attached tothem at all. The highest concentra-tion of these (twenty-eight) are inBook 5 (Ps 107–50); but we should

also note that Book 5 also contains fif-teen Davidic psalms, which counter-balance the heavily Davidic Book 1(Pss 1–41) with the final collection.Perhaps this concentration of anony-mous psalms suggests that the activ-ity of psalm writing had becomequite broad and a practice of the com-mon people. The names that appearin the headings are noteworthy indi-viduals or groups in ancient Israel.We may assume that if the writer of apsalm had a recognizable name, heor the compiler might be more likelyto attach it to his composition. Or ifthe public knew of the association ofsuch a name with a particular psalm,it is more likely that it would havestuck to the psalm in the transmis-sion process.

Historical Titles

Thirteen psalms have superscrip-tions that contain historical informa-tion: Psalms 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56,57, 59, 60, 63, and 142. A look at table1.2 will show that all of these psalmsare Davidic and refer to some in-stance in or information about hislife. But we might ask why other his-torical persons outside of the Da-vidic era are not mentioned in thePsalm titles.

While some interpreters of thePsalms handily dispose of these his-torical titles with a dismissive word,the Davidic association has a legiti-mizing effect on the psalms in whichsuch a title appears. While acknowl-edging the paucity of information,Leslie McFall suggests that a super-scription was put on a psalm as soonas it was composed. He points toHezekiah’s psalm in Isaiah 38 andHabakkuk’s psalm in Habakkuk 3.Moreover, we have superscriptivenotes for six compositions in theBook of Proverbs, which seem to beintegral to those compositions (Prv1:1; 10:1; 24:23; 25:1; 30:1; 31:1).12

Just how close in time to David’slife the historical titles were added tothe psalms is not possible to tell, butthey represent an effort to clothe thepsalms in historical garb, that is, toadd a touch of realism to them. Thatdoes not mean that they were con-




26

trived. In fact, the historical associa-tion may come from a personal con-nection between the poem and theauthor. In regard to the broad-rang-ing nature of these poems, DerekKidner comments that “the nucleusof the psalm—some germinal phraseor sequence—which came to Davidin the crisis itself,” may be the idea hedeveloped at a later time as he re-flected upon the event or era.13

Titles of Literary or Musical Genre

Other titles fall into the literary ormusical category and suggest someliterary form or a musical notation.Unfortunately, certainty about the

meaning of some of these terms canno longer be achieved, but we willdiscuss the more generally acceptedunderstanding of them.

1. Song (shir). In the Book ofPsalms, as would be expected,this term occurs in reference tosongs rendered in the temple.However, it also had a secularusage (Prv 25:20; Eccl 7:5). Itseems to suggest a vocal ratherthan an instrumental rendering.This word occurs in conjunctionwith other words. One such con-nection is with the Hebrew wordmizmor (psalm). The differencebetween these two words may

Table 1.1

Author Titles in the Psalms

Bk 1 (1–41) Bk 2 (42–72) Bk 3 (73–89) Bk 4 (90–106) Bk 5 (107–50)

Moses Ps 90

David Pss 3–32 (tak-ing 9 and 10 as a single psalm), 34–41

Pss 51–65, 68–71 (taking 70 and 71 as a single psalm)

Ps 86 Pss 101, 103 Pss 108–10, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138–45

Solomon Ps 72 Ps 127

Asaph Ps 50 Pss 73–83

Sons of Korah Pss 42–49 (taking 42 and 43 as a single psalm)

Pss 84–85, 87–88 (both “sons of Ko-rah” and “He-man” are noted in Ps 88)

Heman Ps 88 (both “sons of Ko-rah” and “He-man” are noted)

Ethan Ps 89

Anonymous Pss 1–2, 33 Pss 66–67 Pss 91–100, 102, 104–6

Pss 107, 111–21, 123, 125–26, 128–30, 132, 134–37, 146–50

shir




27

Table 1.2

The Historical Titles of the Psalms and Their Historical Texts

Ps 3 Ps 7 Ps 18 Ps 34 Ps 51 Ps 52

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Ab-salom.2 Sm 15:13–31

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concern-ing Cush, a Benjamite.2 Sm 16 (Noth-ing is known of Cush, but David had ene-mies among the Ben-jamites. See 2 Sm 16:5–9; 20:1.)

For the direc-tor of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD thewords of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:2 Sm 22:1–51 (duplicate)

Of David. When he pre-tended to be insane before Abimelech,who drove him away, and he left.1 Sm 21:10–14

For the direc-tor of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committedadultery with Bathsheba.2 Sm 11–12

For the direc-tor of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”1 Sm 22:6–23

Ps 54 Ps 56 Ps 57 Ps 59 Ps 60 Ps 63 Ps 142

For the di-rector of music. With stringed in-struments.A maskil ofDavid.When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hid-ing among us?”1 Sm 23:19; 26:1

For the di-rector of music. To the tune of “A Dove on DistantOaks.” Of David. A miktam.When the Philistineshad seized him in Gath.1 Sm 21:11–16

For the di-rector of music. To the tune of “Do Not De-stroy.” Of David. A miktam.When he had fled from Saul into the cave.1 Sm 22:1

For the di-rector of music. To the tune of “Do Not De-stroy.” Of David. A miktam.When Saul had sent men to watchDavid’shouse in order to kill him.1 Sm 19:11–17

For the di-rector of mu-sic. To the tune of “TheLily of the Covenant.” Amiktam of David. For teaching.When he fought Aram Naharaimand Aram Zobah, and when Joab returned and struck down twelve thou-sandEdomites in the Valley of Salt.2 Sm 8:13–14

A psalm of David.When he was in the Desert of Judah.1 Sm 23:14; 24:1

A maskil of David.When he was in the cave. A prayer.1 Sm 22:1; 24:1–7

be that “song” (shir) is vocal and“psalm” (mizmor) is accompa-nied by a musical instrument.14

When used together they wouldsuggest accompanied singing.Another connection occurs asthe headings for Psalms 120–34,and the phrase is usually trans-

lated “songs of ascents” (shirhamma‘aloth). It is generally be-lieved that these psalms weresung on special pilgrimages toJerusalem. This may be sug-gested by the use of the verb “togo up” in Ezra 2:1 and a noun de-rived from the verb in Ezra 7:9,




28

both describing the “going up”from the Babylonian exile. Laterthe term applied to the fifteentemple steps leading up to thetemple proper, where the templesingers sang these psalms, oneon each step. Some would, infact, translate this phrase as“songs of the steps.”

2. Psalm (mizmor). As alreadystated, this word, used fifty-seven times as a technical term inthe Psalter,15 suggests a musicalform. As a verb it means to playa musical instrument. In fact, infour of its occurrences in thePsalms the musical instrument isspecified (Pss 33:2; 98:5; 144:9;147:7). Thus, the meaning of thenoun is a poetic form intendedfor musical accompaniment. Inthe Septuagint (LXX) this wordis normally rendered as psalmos,from which we get our word“psalm.”

3. Miktam. There is no consensuson the meaning of this term, sothe translations usually render itin transliterated form as we havedone here. It occurs in the titlesof Psalms 16, 56, 57, 58, 59, and60, which are all Davidic psalms.Some scholars have suggestedthat it is related to the Hebrewnoun ketem (“gold”), and theywould render its meaning as “agolden psalm.” But this view isnot widely accepted. SigmundMowinckel connects it to theAkkadian verb katamu (“tocover”), associates it with atone-ment, and translates it “atone-ment psalm.”16 Hans-JoachimKraus connects the LXX transla-tion “pillar inscription” (stel-ographia) with the only occur-rence of the verb ktm in Jeremiah2:22, for which he suggests themeaning “to be indelible.” Hehypothetically suggests that “ste-lographic publication” mightmake sense, especially in view ofthe LXX translation of the wordmiktam.17 B. D. Eerdmans offersan even more attractive interpre-tation, even though it too is hy-pothetical. He proposes that, in

view of the perilous situation thetitles of these psalms suggest, theword suggests the covering ofthe lips in secrecy. So “a silentprayer” might be the best trans-lation, for David could not haveprayed a prayer out loud in anyof these situations.18

4. Maskil. This term too is gener-ally transliterated because theopinions on its meaning varywidely. It occurs in the titles ofthirteen psalms: Psalms 32, 42,44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 74, 78, 88, 89,and 142. The word also occurs inthe text of Psalm 47:7. Commen-tators have rendered it “artisticsong” or “didactic song” becauseit comes from the verb “to be wiseor skilled.” If we are thinking interms of the “didactic” poem,most of these psalms, with the ex-ception of Psalms 32 and 78, donot fit into that category well.Kraus points to 2 Chronicles30:22, which describes leviticalactivity with the participle of thisroot (skl) and submits that “pre-senting songs and poems in askilled, intelligent, and artisticway has something to do withthe explanation of” maskil.19 TheLevites were evidently singingwell-crafted songs. Perhaps thatcomes as close to the meaning ofthis term as we can get with ourpresent knowledge of ancient Is-raelite poetry.

5. Shiggaion. This term occurs onlyonce in the Psalms, in the head-ing of Psalm 7, but the pluralform also occurs in the poem ofHabakkuk (Hb 3:1). It comesfrom a verb which means “to err”or “wander,” but neither Psalm 7nor Habakkuk 3 is a penitentialpsalm or strictly a lament. A. F.Kirkpatrick suggested that it hassomething to do with the ec-static, passionate character of thepoetry.20 Kraus connects it to theAkkadian word segu (“lamenta-tion”) and suggests “agitated la-ment.”21 We simply will have towait for further information be-fore we can speak confidently.

miktam

maskil




29

6. Tehillah (“song of praise”). Interest-ingly, this noun, which in its plu-ral form came to be the Hebrewdesignation of the entire book ofPsalms, occurs as a genre ofpsalm in Psalm 145, but else-where in the body of the Psalms itis used in the sense of “praise”(22:25; 33:1; 34:1; 40:3; 48:10; 65:1;71:8; 100:4; 106:12, 47; 119:171;147:1; 148:14; 149:1). In Nehemiah12:46 this noun occurs in conjunc-tion with “song” (“song ofpraise”=shir tehillah). In view of somany obscure terms, we can begrateful that the meaning of thisone is so clear.

7. Tefillah (“prayer”). This noun ap-pears in the titles of five psalms:Psalms 17, 86, 90, 102, and 142. Italso occurs in Habakkuk 3:1 inthe phrase “a prayer of Ha-bakkuk the prophet.” It is thegeneral term for prayer in thePsalms as well as in the Old Tes-tament. As a term for genre,Kraus proposes that it applies toa prayer of lament or a biddingprayer.22

Titles with Musical Terms

We can only wish we knew moreabout the music of ancient Israel thanwe do. The information we do have israther laconic, but it is sufficient to in-form us that music played a large rolein ancient Israel and in the temple.The following musical terms occur inthe Psalms.

1. Lamenatstseakh (“to the choir-master”). This expression oc-curs in the title of fifty-fivepsalms and in Habakkuk 3:19.The verb from which this nounderives (natsakh) means “tolead,” “to excel,” or “to be at thehead,” and is so used in Ezra 3:8;1 Chronicles 23:4; and 2 Chron-icles 2:2.23 The verb occurs in adifferent Hebrew verbal stem(piel) in 1 Chronicles 15:21 in thesense of “to play the lyre.” JohnAlexander Lamb, basing hisview on the Akkadian ritualtexts, proposes that this termmeans “to be recited by the offi-cial in charge.”24 Others have

suggested that it was a specialtitle for David, meaning “himwho excels.”25 The idea of thechoirmaster, in the sense of theone who leads, is still a possibil-ity and is just about as attractiveas any of the other proposals.

2. Binginoth and ‘al-neginoth. Thefirst of these terms, binginoth, ismade of the preposition “with”(b) and the noun neginoth, whichmay mean “stringed instru-ments” or “stringed accompani-ment,” the latter indicating themanner of performance. Thephrase occurs in the titles ofPsalms 4, 6, 54, 55, 67, and 76,with the variant ‘al-neginath (“onstringed instruments”) in Psalm61. The verb from which it de-rives (ngn) means “to run overthe strings.”26 We can be prettycertain then that these psalmswere to be recited or sung to thestrains of stringed instruments.

3. ‘al-hashminith (“according to theeighth”). This particular phrase,according to some, suggeststhat the instruments are tunedfor the bass singers (“accord-ing to the eighth”). Kraus sug-gests that it refers not to thevoice but to the instrument,“on the eight-stringed (instru-ment).”27 It occurs in the titlesof Psalms 6 and 12. The phrasealso occurs in 1 Chronicles15:21, where it is joined withthe verb “to play a stringed in-strument,” and the instrumentis identified as the lyre. There-fore, it seems that the term isnot the instrument itself butthe range of voice.

4. ‘al-muth,‘almuth labben, and ‘al-ala-moth. These three phrases areconsidered by some to be variantsupon one meaning. They may bethe counterpart to the precedingphrase, referring to the femalerange rather than the male.28 Theterm ‘al-alamoth occurs in the titleof Psalm 46 and in 1 Chronicles15:20, where it may mean “ac-cording to maidens.” A. S. Gor-don proposes that these are theinstruments tuned for the maid-

tefillah

lamenatstseakh




30

ens, that is, in a soprano key.29

The longer term ‘almuth labben oc-curs in Psalm 9, and the shorterterm ‘almuth is found at the end ofPsalm 48 (v. 14).

Titles with Musical Tunes

At this point we begin discussing aseries of terms that are often inter-preted as tune names.

1. ‘al-gittith (“upon gittith”). Psalms8, 81, and 84 carry this term intheir titles. The Targum sup-poses this to be a musical instru-ment that originated in Gath.But gath also means winepress,and in the LXX the title is “ac-cording to the winepress” (hyperto mn le mnomn), suggesting a vintagesong.30

2. ’al-tashkheth (“Do not destroy ”).This clause occurs in the titles ofPsalms 57, 58, 59, and 75, whereit immediately follows the open-ing phrase, “to the choirmaster.”Some scholars have referencedIsaiah 65:8 where this expressionoccurs and seems to refer to avintage song, and thus have seenit in the Psalms as an expressionof a song tune.

3. ‘al-’ayyeleth ha-shachar ( “on thehind of the dawn”). This phrase oc-curs only in the title of Psalm 22.If we are to understand it as atune, then we should under-stand it in the sense of “set to thehind of the morning.”31

4. ‘al-shoshannim and ‘al-shushaneduth (“on the lilies” and “accord-ing to the lily of testimony”). Bothare likely hymn tunes, the firstoccurring in Psalms 45 and 69,and the second in Psalm 60 (“ac-cording to the lily of the testi-mony”) and 80 (“to the lilies, atestimony”). The LXX inter-preted the word shoshannim as“those who change.” L. Delekatbasically agrees with this trans-lation and refers these psalms to“those whose situation changesfor the worse.”32 The word ‘eduth(“testimony”) in the secondphrase is as problematic as thefirst noun of the phrase. Perhapsit could refer to the oracle of

Psalm 60:6–8, but there is nosuch oracle in Psalm 80.33 Thebest we can do is leave the mat-ter on the idea that it is a hymntune and not try to figure out thedetails, especially since we nolonger have the tune and haveno idea what kind of musicalsetting it provided for thesepsalms.

5. ‘al-yonath ’elem rekhoqim ( “set tothe dove of the far-off terebinths”).34

This expression occurs only inthe title of Psalm 56, and our un-derstanding is insufficient to in-form us why this tune was ap-plied to the psalm.

MusicalInstruments

Ancient Near Eastern literaturegives us quite a bit of informationabout the various musical instru-ments used during the Old Testa-ment period. This is especially true ofancient art. Although we do not haveany art forms from Israelite society,most likely because of the Old Testa-ment’s opposition to images, this isnot true of Israel’s neighbors, andmusical instruments figure promi-nently among the cultural artifactsrepresented in this art. The Psalmsmention a number of musical instru-ments, which we can classify in threegroups: (1) percussions, (2) winds,and (3) strings.

Two percussion instruments arementioned in the Psalms: the hand-drum or tambourine (Pss 81:2; 149:3;150:4)35 and cymbals (Ps 150:5; 1 Chr13:8; 15:16–17). The tambourine (toph)was used in processions, especially atvictory celebrations.36 Psalm 68:24–25describes a procession in the temple:

Your procession has come into view, O God,

the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.

In front are the singers, after them the musicians;




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with them are the maidens playing tambourines.

Cymbals (tsiltselim)37 were alsoused in Israelite worship. Archaeo-logical discoveries from the LateBronze and Early Iron Ages inCanaan give the impression that thisinstrument was used widely duringthat time.38 Psalm 150 lists cymbals inthe orchestra of praise: “Praise himwith the clash of cymbals, / praisehim with resounding cymbals” (v. 5).One cannot be certain about the dif-ference between the “clash of cym-bals” and the “resounding cymbals,”but perhaps the difference was in themethod of performance rather thanthe instrument.

The second category of instru-ments is the wind instruments. Thosementioned in the Psalms are the horn(shofar; 47:5; 81:3; 98:6; 150:3), thetrumpet (khatsotserah), and the flute(‘ugav; Ps 150:4). The horn was likelythe ram’s horn, which was used to an-

nounce important occasions (Ex20:18; 2 Sm 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:34, 39, 41–42; 2 Kgs 9:13) and to sound alarms(Ps 81:3). By the nature of the instru-ment, however, it was not helpful foraccompaniment.

The trumpet seems to have beenthe favorite instrument of the Chron-icler. He uses the noun nineteentimes and the verb six times. It wasprobably of Egyptian origin and is at-tested in the art and literature of themiddle of the third millennium B.C.onwards.39 This instrument replacedthe horn at the coronation of Solomon(971–931 B.C., 1 Kgs 1:34, 39, 41). It ap-pears only once in the Psalms (98:6),where the people acclaim Yahweh asKing with an orchestra and singing.

The third wind instrument men-tioned in the Psalms, and mentionedonly once, is the flute. Flutes made ofbone are attested in Egypt as early asthe fourth millennium B.C.40 The dou-ble flute (halil), which had a brightersound, is attested in Israel. The figureof the man playing the double fluteindicates that it was rather short andas a result would have had highertones than a longer instrument of itsdiameter and material. In the OldTestament this instrument was usedby prophetic bands (1 Sm 10:5),played at festivals (Is 5:12), andplayed on joyful and festal occasions(1 Kgs 1:40; Is 30:29).41

The third group of instrumentswas the strings. They seem to havebeen a favorite accompaniment forsinging. The Hebrew word kinnoroccurs thirteen times in the Psalms,and nevel occurs eight, each proba-bly representing a different type oflyre. Keel distinguishes betweentwo kinds of lyres. One has a sound-ing-box shaped like a jar and acurved yoke, while the other has arounded bottom with a simplesounding-board, and the yoke-armsare only curved slightly.42 Since theword nevel is also used of a largestorage jar (Lam 4:2; Is 30:14), thesuggestion is that the nevel desig-nates the type of lyre with the jarsounding-box.43 It would appearthat the kinnor was more commonlyused in ancient Israel (Ps 137:2).

The clay figure of a woman with a hand-drum or tambourine.

The horn was used in the tem-ple and was the only musical in-strument that came to be used in the syna-gogue.




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Musicians playing the tambourine (left), two types of lyres, and the cymbals.

An Egyptian scene with a flautist ac-companying the singer on the right, as the vocalist cov-ers his ear to sense the resonance of his voice so that he might have better vocal control.




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From the pictures of the lyre in an-cient art, the number of strings var-ied, but some lyres had as many asten strings (Ps 144:9).

As the Psalms show, at times theseinstruments were played in concerttogether to accompany singing(2 Chr 5:12–13), while on other occa-sions the orchestra played to thechanting of praise to God (Ps 150).

SingingThe nature of singing in the taber-

nacle and temple is another difficulttopic. In fact, it is probably not possi-ble to speak generally because prac-tices changed through the centuries ofworship. There is evidence, however,that antiphonal singing was in vogue

A large lyre (nevel) with a sounding-box in the shape of a jar.

A lyre (nevel)with its sound-ing-box in the shape of a jar on a coin of the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66–70).

A lyre (kinnor)with a rounded sounding-box on a coin of the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66–70).

These men, evi-dently captives, are playing the lyre (kinnor or nevel), an instru-ment known in Egypt as early as the second millen-nium B.C.—per-haps imported from Canaan.




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in early times. After David’s slaying ofGoliath, the women offered their pop-ular support as they danced and “an-swered one another” (NIV has simply“sang”): “Saul has slain his thousands,/ and David his tens of thousands”(1 Sm 18:7). The double subject wouldlend itself nicely to antiphonal sing-ing. The refrain of Psalms 118:1–4 and136 definitely anticipates an antipho-nal style of recitation or singing, andPsalm 129 calls for a response as well(v. 1, “let Israel say”).

The Psalter attests to the existenceof singers in the temple (Pss 68:25;87:7). Moreover, the witness of theBooks of Chronicles to the musical ac-tivity in the temple, and particularlyto singers, is not likely the Chronicler’s

invention. Obviously he knew per-sonally about this great tradition, andhe traces it back to the time of David(1 Chr 15:16; 2 Chr 35:15).

The Psalms inform us that the lyreand other instruments accompaniedhymns of thanksgiving (Pss 57:8–9;71:22; 98:5–6). To what extent the con-gregation joined in the singing activ-ity of the choir we cannot say, but it isquite likely that congregational par-ticipation grew with the develop-ment of the temple liturgy.

Study Questions

1. Calvin referred to the psalmists as proph-ets. Although the book of Psalms is not in-cluded in the Hebrew division of theProphets, how is his assessment accurate?

2. Comment on the literary links betweenDavid’s poetry outside the Psalms and thepoetry within. How does this speak to theissue of David’s authorship?

3. Even by the time of the LXX, the logicalconnection between the titles and con-tent of many psalms had become obscure.What might this suggest about the antiq-uity of the titles? And content?

4. Read the thirteen historical titles of thepsalms along with their historical texts in1 and 2 Samuel. Comment on the realismthis adds to the traditional association ofDavid with the psalms.

5. Familiarize yourself with the musical termsand names of the musical tunes and thenread the content of those psalms. Whatdoes this awareness of titles add to a read-ing of the text?

6. What are the three general classes of in-struments mentioned in the Psalms, andwhat are the individual instruments ineach class?

Key Terms

TehillimmizmorWritingsshirmiktammaskiltefillahlamenatstseakh



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