Psalms. Place in Canon. Outline

Transcription

1 1 Psalms Place in Canon Heb: often placed first among Writings (modern Heb Bibles, Lk 24:44) some rabbinic traditions placed Ruth first because it ends with ancestry of David no unanimously accepted order & content of Psalms within Judaism, as evidenced by 11QPs a (esp. last 50 or so psalms) LXX: usually second, after Job, but sometimes first frequently followed by book of Odes, a Christian collection of canonical and non-canonical songs frequently sung in the church V: after Job among poetic books because of assumed chronology of Job although Jerome translated Psalms from Hebrew, his translation of this book could not replace the Old Latin version loved by the people (Gallican Psalter) another version, the Roman Psalter, used in Rome canonization process led to new understandings of many psalms: individual psalms now understood corporately as applying to Israel; no longer merely humanity s response to God, but now also as way of righteousness (Ps 1) that reflects God s word to humanity; inclusion of royal psalms (see below) implies new messianic interpretation attribution of entire book to David & historicization of individual psalms led to new relevance of many psalms, for David pictured not so much as a king as a representative of Israel in all its emotional and spiritual variety: sorrow, despair, joy, contentedness, sense of sinfulness, protestation of innocence, distance from God, proximity to God Outline late in development of Psalter, entire collection divided into five books, mirroring the Pentateuch each collection ends with a doxology, which should be seen as the end of the collection, not the individual psalm 1. book one (1-41) 2. book two (42-72) 3. book three (73-89) 4. book four (90-106) 5. book five ( ) Differences in Numbering among Heb, Gk, Latin, & English Traditions: Hebrew/Eng LXX/Vulgate

2 (LXX adds Ps 151, also found at Qumran) Eng follows Heb numbering of whole psalms psalms titles containing more than two words often numbered as separate verses in Hebrew & Greek not numbered in English Date & Authorship most psalms composed in Judah, but some apparently from N Israel (Pss 68; 77; 80; 83; 89) & Babylonia (Ps 137) evidence of use of Canaanite (Pss 19A; 29) & maybe Egyptian (Ps 104) poems most psalms preexilic because of references to king some definitely exilic (Pss 44; 74; 137) & postexilic (e.g., Pss 1; 19B; 119; 126) four stages between the writing of a psalm & the emergence of the book in its present form: 1. psalm composed 2. linked together with other psalms to form a small collection 3. several small collections brought together to form a larger unit 4. larger units brought together to form current book some psalm titles yield information concerning their collection some groups are: 1. several collections of Davidic psalms (73 attributed to David; three such groups are Pss 3-41; 51-70; ) 2. psalms of Asaph (Pss [+50?]) 3. psalms of the sons of Korah (Pss [-43]; [-86]) 4. Songs of Ascents (Pss ), probably asociated with Feast of Booths 5. Hallel psalms (Pss ; ) first group associated with Passover production of an Elohistic Psalter occurred sometime in the postexilic period, when saying the divine name Yahweh was done only with reserve consists of Pss 42-83, in which Elohim outnumbers Yahweh by about 200 to 43; in contrast, in Pss 1-41, Yahweh outnumbers Elohim 272 to 15 this psalter contained a Korahite collection (42-49), a collection of psalms of Asaph (50; 73-83), a Davidic collection (51-65; 68-72), & two miscellaneous psalms (66-67) cf. esp. Pss 14 & 53 possibly other intermediate collections, but evidence unclear Rendtorff suggests Pss an earlier form of the book final stage was grouping of 150 psalms into 5 books as indicated in outline the end of each book contains a doxology (I: 41:13; II: 72:18-19; III: 89:52; IV: 106:48; V: 150:6?) Ps 1 should be seen as intro to entire Psalter & 150 as doxology for entire Psalter possibly 5 books to match the number of the books of Moses (emphasis on law was postexilic; cf. Ps 1 as intro)

3 3 Critical Issues Psalm Titles great variety among different versions & even different mss of same version concerning psalm titles 116 psalms have titles in Heb usually later addition, but most titles probably in place before final redaction of book titles contain different types of information: 1. association with a particular person or group of persons (authorship, editors?) 73 attributed to David, 2 to Solomon (Pss 72; 127), 1 to Moses (Ps 90), various guilds of temple singers (Korah, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, Ethan) 2. supposed historical background to psalm 3. liturgical information (tune name [?], technical terms) 4. type of psalm (e.g., hymn, song) titles may contain more than one of these Technical Terminology 1. shîr cultic songs (associated with Zion temple), often associated with instrumental music 2. mizmor psalm, singing accompanied by instruments 57x 3. la-manesâeahâ for the music director(?) 55x + Hab 3:19 4. miktam (Pss 16; titles) psalm of atonement? (Mowinckel) 5. maskil didactic poem, meditation? (Delitzsch) skilful psalm? (Ewald) 6. selah 71x in Ps, 3x in Haggai associated with relatively older psalms, but usage there maybe not as old as psalms themselves LXX understands it to mean some kind of interlude; most Jewish tradition understands it to mean forever ; Vulgate (OL) omits it some scholars take word from root sll, to lift up, which might mean to lift up the voice (sing louder), to lift up the eyes (repeat the verse), or to come in with loud music or a choral benediction others take word from root slh (Aram sâlı), to turn, bend, pray, indicating the point at which the congregation was to bow down in prayer 7. Sheol from root meaning to ask, possibly in ref. to necromancy refers to place of dead, underworld described in OT as a place of darkness, where dust covers everything only food for inhabitants is dust, & drink is black, murky water described as city with gates & streets, but one which is silent, where things are forgotten a pit, place of corruption & decay, where no communion with God is possible cf. Greek concept of Hades 8. higgaion (9:16) musical flourish? (Mowinckel) 9. shiggaion (Ps 7 title) psalm of lamentation? (Mowinckel) corruption of higgaion? 10. shîr ha-maˆaloth pilgrimage song, processional song (Pss ) 11. tehillah song of praise, hymn (Ps 145) 12. tephillah prayer of lament, prayer of request (Pss 17; 86; ; Hab 3) 13. be-nigînoth on strings (Pss 4; 6; ) 14. ıal-ha-nehâîlîth for flute accompaniment (Ps 5) 15. sheminith from word meaning eight, understood as concerning a lower octave, an

4 4 eight-string instrument, or the eighth stage of some ritual 16. possible song tunes: Gittith (8; 81; 84), Muth-labben, Hind of the Dawn (22), Alamoth (46), Lilies (45; 69; 80; 60: lily of revelation?), Mahalath (53; 88), Dove on Far-off Terebinths (56), Do Not Destroy (57; 58; 59; 75) Psalms in Israel s Worship with advent of form-critical approach of Hermann Gunkel (1926), recent research has focused on problem of Sitz im Leben of individual psalms rather than date & author Gunkel had four major categories of psalms: (1) Hymns; (2) Communal Laments; (3) Royal Psalms; (4) Individual Laments also recognized minor categories, inc. Songs of Pilgrimage, Communal Songs of Thanksgiving, Wisdom Poetry, Liturgical Psalms, Mixed Gunkel s foundations built upon by Sigmund Mowinckel, esp. in The Psalms in Israel s Worship, 2 vols. saw greater connection than Gunkel between Psalms & Israel s cult, so approach sometimes called cult-historical said large percentage of Israel s psalms should be related to Israelite New Year s Festival celebrated in Fall, in which Yahweh s kingship was annually reaffirmed over the forces of chaos other modern approaches to psalms include: 1. Artur Weiser more emphasis on Canaanite rather than Babylonian influence on psalms, but most set within context of Israelite Covenant Festival celebrating Heilsgeschichte 2. H.-J. Kraus assigned psalms to many different cultic ceremonies, rather than one main ceremony 3. Brevard Childs emphasis on final canonical form of book, esp. implications for eschatology 4. Walter Bruegemann approaches psalms from psychological viewpoint, classifying them as psalms of orientation, disorientation, & new orientation 5. Claus Westermann events out of which psalms arose occurred outside temple, but worship was where Psalms originated canonicity of individual psalm reveals its continued usefulness outside its original setting e.g., individual laments or thanksgivings later read in context of community all psalms at later time have some liturgical function, either specific or general Theological Contributions numerous names & appellations for God (e.g., Yahweh of Hosts, Elyon, King, El, Holy One, Shaddai, Lord, Father) indicates rich background of psalmists & complementary perceptions of the God of Israel revelation & hiddenness of God God reveals himself through name, word, & acts, but also capable of hiding his face (10:11; 88:14; 27:9; ), demonstrating his absolute sovereignty & sufficiency of earlier revelations God described as holy (99:5, 9), full of glory (19:1), just (7:9, 11), faithful (31:5), powerful (147:5) exemplifies dsexe, steadfast, neverending love based on covenant relationship with his

5 5 people psalmists acknowledge that all life is from God (36:9) & that he gives order to life (104:2-3, 13-15) Sheol is place of dead, where relationship with Yahweh is cut off (130:1) a few psalms begin to see Yahweh s power as extending even into Sheol (139:8), foreshadowing hope in future deliverance/resurrection (Dn 12:13; 2 Mc 12:44-45) that resulted from collapse of traditional wisdom concepts of God s justice within cause-effect universe Royal Psalms traditionally (following Gunkel) Pss 2; 18; 21; 45; 72; 101; 110; 132 psalms which speak of a Hebrew king royal psalms originally spoke of reigning Israelite or Judahite king, not some future king, but idea of future messiah derived from same ideology exiles & their descendants gave new meaning to royal psalms, so by time of Jesus considered messianic psalms royal psalms really not a distinct genre from point of view of history, style, literature, or liturgy, but contain several different types of material royal wedding (Ps 45 [see v. 6]); prayer for king (Ps 20); Yahweh s exaltation of king (Pss 2; 110) recent French scholars have emphasized analysis by relecture (re-reading) many psalms created in one setting later seen in another setting & perhaps modified accordingly, e.g., royal psalms understood as messianic Text major witnesses: MT, LXX, P, V (Hebrew, Gallican, Roman Psalters), 39 mss from Judean desert (4 commentaries) MT fairly good LXX very close to MT 11QPs a close to MT, but different arrangement & some interesting differences (e.g., constant refrain in Ps 145: Blessed be Yahweh, and blessed be his name forever and ever ) Psalms of Complaint typical structure: 1. invocation of Yahweh s name (56:1a) 2. description of present need (56:1b-2) 3. prayer for help & deliverance (56:6b-7) 4. statement of a vow to be fulfilled now (56:12) 5. God s oracle in reply, not stated but obvious in effect 6. public confession of the help given by Yahweh (56:13) most complaints end with expression of confidence (but cf. Pss 39; 88; 89) J. Begrich, Das priesterliche Heilsorakel, ZAW 52 (1934): 81-92, suggests that change of mood at end of most complaint psalms result of oracle of salvation delivered by priest in temple (Ps 12:5; 60:6-8)

6 6 corporate complaints speak for entire community sometimes explicitly we/us (Ps 44:1), but other times representative individual, maybe king, speaks for people (Ps 89:38-45) ethical problems in the psalms of complaint: 1. apparent lack of confidence in God (Ps 88) 2. desire for divine retribution (Pss 83; 109) 3. hatred of the enemy (Ps 137) Psalms of Thanksgiving typical structure (compare with complaint): 1. invitation to praise Yahweh (118:1-4) 2. account of trouble & salvation (118:10-14) 3. praise, acknowledgement of Yahweh s salvation (118:14) 4. offertory formula (118:21) 5. blessing over participants in ceremony (118:26) 6. exhortation (118:29) no word for thank in Heb originally tôdha meant thank-offering from verb meaning to praise came to mean also thanksgiving psalm originally arose from specific instances of deliverance, esp. of nation (cf. victory song in Jdg 5; Song of the Sea in Ex 15) most extant corporate thanksgiving psalms generalized & used on regular basis, perhaps at an annual harvest festival (Booths) (e.g., Pss 65; 67) or some other festival corporate thanksgivings in I-form correspond to similar laments (e.g., Pss 66:8-12, 13-20; 118:10-12, 25, 27) individual thanksgiving psalms composed by or for ordinary people who had experienced deliverance from illness, return from exile or long journey, release from prison, etc. often accompanied by sacrifice, & performed in presence of family & friends (cf. 2 S 15:7; 1 S 16:2-3), as mentioned in several psalms of complaint (Pss 22:25-26) sacrifice either result of vow (Ps 43:4) or voluntary offering (cf. Lv 7:12, 16) private thanksgiving services too expensive for poor, so probable that public-sponsored thank-offering festivals available for individuals who had experienced some sort of deliverance (Ps 107) Psalms of Confidence exact place in cult uncertain, & affinities with complaint, thanksgiving, & hymn Gerstenberger sees combined cultic & legal setting, where a person falsely accused (by the enemies) speaks confidently of Yahweh s acquittal of him corporate psalms of confidence possibly spoken at major festivals or before embarking on military campaign, so sense of protective psalms (Mowinckel) not foreign to spirit Psalms of Praise (Hymns) expressions of praise to Yahweh alone Yahweh often described as creator of heaven & earth, &

7 7 esp. human race acts of God in history on behalf of his people, power over all possible forces, Yahweh as heavenly king Yahweh has chosen Zion as his dwelling, & Davidic dynasty chosen to rule later psalms praise Law typical features: 1. invocation to Yahweh (8:1) 2. call to worship (96:1-3) 3. praise of Yahweh for his works, deeds, & qualities (8:2-8; 46:4-7) 4. blessings or wishes (29:11; 104:33-35) sub-types include enthronement psalms (psalms of Yahweh s throne-accession) & songs of Zion, each probably associated with particular festival or rite Procession of the Ark these psalms (15; 24; 68; 132) all describe a cultic procession of worshipers into and in the vicinity of the holy city & the temple area to call these psalms liturgical psalms (with Gunkel on Pss 15 & 24) is too general a designation Coronation of the King these psalms (2; 72; 101; 110) associated with coronation of Davidic king or with its reenactment at annual festival (cf. 1 K 1:33-35; 2 K 11:12-14, 19-20; 1 K 12:1) two main parts: anointing in the temple & enthronement in palace not the same as Yahweh s enthronement festival, though probably similar in some ways Royal Wedding Ps 45 scholars have proposed specific historical situations such as Solomon s wedding (cf. title) or marriage of Ahab to Jezebel (cf. 45:12), but could have been used more than once (with substitution in 45:12?) speaker (priest or cultic prophet) addresses first king & then queen Blessing before Battle Ps 20 probably performed on battlefield, away from sanctuary (20:2) speaker is probably cultic prophet Prophetic Psalms Pss 50; 81 related to salvation oracles in complaint psalms Yahweh s divine response to the congregation s request or need Wisdom Psalms originally non-cultic, intended for group instruction or even private meditation setting may have been synagogue, wisdom school, or home later incorporated into Psalter & perhaps used as instruction for congregation all probably postexilic, as seen from frequent emphasis on Law

8 8 & other themes & forms characteristic of postexilic period wisdom psalms not a distinct genre, but collection or combination of various characteristic wisdom forms (proverb, example story, reflection, instruction) used to express typical wisdom themes (mastering life, innocent suffering, grappling with finitude, quest for truth concealed in created order) thus, both form & content necessary in true wisdom psalm