Editor Note: David McArdle, our Bible scholar from Scotland, provides a detailed background for Psalms, one of the most loved books of the Bible. Although it has no poetic flow, it helps us to understand the times and cultures in which they were written… and sometimes why.
Psalms 101:
What You Never Knew About the Middle of the Book
By David McArdle
"The Psalms mirror the faith of Israel. In them we receive windows thatenable us to look out on our brothers and sisters in the faith of more than twenty-five hundred years ago. The Psalms invite us to experience how God's people in the past related to Him. The Psalter bridges the gap between then and now, the ancient world and the present world, probably better than any other book of the Bible." [Patrick Miller]
Tehillim
The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible is Tehillim, which means, "praise songs." The title adopted by the Septuagint translators for their Greek version was Psalmoi meaning "songs to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument." This Greek word translates the Hebrew word mizmor that occurs in the titles of 57 of the psalms. In time the Greek word psalmoi came to mean "songs of praise" without reference to stringed accompaniment.
The English translators transliterated the Greek title resulting in the title "Psalms" in English Bibles.
Date and writers of the Psalms
The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them. However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers. This is the only really reliable information we have as to who composed these psalms, though the commentators have their theories.
Not all the titles contain information about authorship. The ones that do contain this information refer to the following writers. Moses wrote Psalm 90.5 David composed 73 psalms, mostly in the first two books of the Psalter (i.e., Psalm 1—72). Asaph wrote 12 (Psalm 50, 73—83). Korah's descendants were responsible for 10 (Psalm 42, 44—49, 84, 87—88). Solomon wrote one or two (127 and perhaps 72). Heman the Ezrahite wrote one (Ps. 88), and Ethan the Ezrahite composed one (Ps. 89).
Of these the earliest would have been the one Moses wrote (Ps. 90) and it probably dates from about 1405 B.C. Those David composed would have originated between about 1020 and 975 B.C. Asaph was a contemporary of David, so we can date his in approximately the same period. Solomon's psalm(s) seem to have been produced about 950 B.C. Korah's descendants, as well as Heman and Ethan, probably lived after Solomon, but exactly when we cannot identify. Since Heman and Ethan are connected with Ezra as Ezrahites, they probably lived and wrote after the Babylonian exile, as he did.
We can date some of the psalms that do not contain information about their writers in the title, if they have a title, by their subject matter. For example, David seems to have written Psalms 2 and 33 even though his name does not occur in the superscriptions (cf. Acts 4:25). Likewise Psalms 126 and 137 must have been late compositions dating from the time the Jews returned from Babylonian exile or shortly after that.
Most of the Psalms, then, were written between 1000 and 450 B.C. The one by Moses was composed considerably earlier and a few may have been written later, but probably not much later, than 450 B.C.
There is some internal evidence in the Book of Psalms that the Jews collected the individual psalms and compiled them into groups in various stages and that this process took some time. We would expect this because some psalms date hundreds of years after others. Psalm 72:20, for example, seems to mark the end of a collection of David's psalms that antedated the Psalter we now have, but which editors incorporated into the larger work. Psalm 1 appears intended to introduce this collection and, probably later, the entire Psalter. The writer of most of the first 72 psalms (Books 1 and 2 of our modern editions) was David. Editors may have added those by Asaph and Korah's descendants (Psalm 42—50) to this collection later. Solomon (2 Chron. 5:11-14; 7:6; 9:11; Eccles. 2:8), Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:21-22), and Jehoiada (2 Chron. 23:18) all organized temple singing and may have had a hand in compiling some of the psalms. Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.; 2 Kings 18—20; 2 Chron. 29—32), one of Judah's best kings and one who led his people in returning to Scripture, may have added to and organized part of the Psalter (cf. 2 Chron. 29:25-28, 30; 30:21; 31:2; Prov. 25:1). So may Josiah, another reforming king of Judah (640-609 B.C.; 2 Kings 22:1—23:30; 2 Chron. 34—35; cf. 2 Chron. 35:15, 25). The last two books (sections) of Psalms (chapter 90—106 and 107—150) contain more miscellaneous psalms dating from Moses to the return from exile. It seems likely that Ezra, the great renovator of postexilic Judaism, may have been responsible for adding these and perhaps putting the whole collection in its final form.
As is true of modern hymnals, there are smaller collections of Psalms within the larger collections. These smaller collections include songs of degrees (Psalm 120—134), the writings of Asaph (Psalm 73—83), the psalms of Korah's descendants (Psalm 42—49), and t he hallelujah psalms (Ps. 113—118, 146—150).
"The picture that emerges is a mixture of order and informality of arrangement, which invites but also defeats the attempt to account for every detail of its final form. There is some chronological progression, with David most in evidence in the first half, and a clear allusion to the captivity towards the close of Book V (Ps. 137). But David reappears in the next psalm (138), and by contrast, the fall of Jerusalem had been lamented as far back as Psalm 74." [Derek Kidner]
Each of the five books or major sections of the Psalter ends with a doxology, and Psalm 150 are a grand doxology for the whole collection. The earliest evidence of the fivefold division of the Book of Psalms comes from the Qumran scrolls, which scribes copied early in the first century A.D. Undoubtedly the Psalter was in its final form by the close of the Old Testament canon, namely, by 400 B.C. The fivefold division may have been an intentional attempt to replicate the fivefold division of the Torah (Law, Pentateuch), which was the foundation of Israelite life and faith.
“The editor of this our first collection of Psalms placed a significant at the head of the whole collection of 150 psalms. He did so for the same reason that Matthew places the Beatitudes at the beginning of Jesus’ teaching. It is as if he were saying: ‘You should read all the psalms that follow in the light of this one.’ For life lived in the fellowship of God and in humble obedience to Him is the real way of life. [cf. Psalm 25.12; Micah 6.8].” [G A F Knight]
Scope
Historically the psalms cover a period of about 1000 years, from the time of Moses (ca. 1400 B.C.) to the Israelites' return from exile (ca. 450 B.C.).
In terms of subject matter they deal with selected events of that millennium. They provide us with the thoughts and feelings of those who went through the experiences recorded, especially their God-directed thoughts and feelings.
"Of all the books in the Old Testament the Book of Psalms most vividly represents the faith of individuals in the Lord. The Psalms are the inspired responses of human hearts to God's revelation of Himself in law, history, and prophecy. Saints of all ages have appropriated this collection of prayers and praises in their public worship and private meditations." [Allen Ross]
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Part 2: found on the Verse-By-Verse page of August 4Him2U issue.
