Psalms The Book of Prayer
The Name of the Book Hebrew Sefer Tehillim book of praises (tehillah praise) Tillim Greek Psalmos LXX title Greek for Hebrew mizmor verses of praise Literally a twanging of a harp string thus an accompanied song Psalmoi - plural http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 2
Challenges in Translation Poetry often uses uncommon words whose meaning may be lost Many superscription words are unknown Maskil, Miktam, Nehiloth,Shiggaion, Muthlabben, Gittith Musical instruction, instrumentation, melody titles, usage instructions? Selah Problem for LXX translators thus the meanings lost long ago Hebrew is much more literal and practical than English Love and Hate are more about actions than feelings God loves Israel because He does good things for them God hates Edom because He does bad things to them http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 3
Challenges in Spiritual Understanding Time setting is still God working within a nation God s purpose and scope for Israel was different than for the Church Very different culture and circumstances e.g., warfare close to home Inspiration includes being inspired for and through the people at the time Sometimes, the perspective is theirs and not God s The Bible COMMUNICATES the Word of God but not every word is God s Job 2:9, I Kings 19:4, Jer 20:7-9, 14-18, Ps 137:7-9 http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 4
Differences in Numbering LXX and Syriac versions have Ps 151 LXX divides Psalms as in DV MT (Masoretic Text) divides Psalms as in AV LXX 9 = MT 9 & 10 LXX 113 = MT 114 & 115 MT 116 = LXX 114 & 115 MT 147 = LXX 146 & 147 Textual criticism sometimes favors LXX, MT or neither http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 5
Organization 5 books of Psalms mirror 5 books of Torah Each book ends with Amen and Amen - Ps 41, 72, 89, 106, 150 (no Amen) The books were edited from earlier collections Psalms of David after 72 which says the prayers of David are ended Duplication 14 & 53, 40:14-18 & 70, et al. Even outside the Psalter Ps 18 and II Sam 22 Books 1, 4, 5 Yahwist, Book 2 Elohist, Book 3 both Refers to the prominent way of naming God YHVH or Elohim Ps 14 is Yahwist while Ps 53 is an Elohist version of the same Psalm http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 6
The Earlier Collections Psalms of David of does not necessarily mean composed by Could be concerning or in the style of David Korahite Psalms: 42 49 Asaph Psalms: 73 83 Songs of Ascents Gradual Psalms: 120 134 Possibly sung on the way to Feasts or on 14 steps of the temple Hallel Psalms Hymns of Praise: 111 118 Possibly sung during the Feasts Ps 1 119 (Torah psalms) may have surrounded an earlier collection http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 7
Authorship and Dates Variety of authors Ps 90 Moses David Solomon Asaph, Korah Ps 137 attributed to Jeremiah in LXX Variety of Dates Moses to Exile Edits within individual psalms, e.g., Ps 51:18-19 http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 8
English Poetry Rhythm Meter Rhyme Connotation Density good poetry is not flowery but dense The old dog barks backward without getting up; I can remember when he was a pup. Density packs imagery and emotion rather than facts There is more to reality than facts Not a textbook or theological treatise, not a teaching document http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 9
Hebrew Poetry No meter so much so it has been suggested that irregular meter was intentional and a poetic feature No rhyme Connotation but rooted in a different culture Density Conceptual beauty Acrostics Parallelism Audio examples http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 10
Parallelism Perhaps a result of antiphonal singing Synonymous Ps 15:1 same thought Antithetic Ps 1:6 contrasts Synthetic Ps 1:1 cumulative effect Also found in Egyptian and Babylonian poems http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 11
Hebrew Music Unlike contemporary Jewish music We have lost it Probably not western Pentatonic? Chant? Nasal? http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 12
Jewish Understanding Praise Elegy Ethics Soncino quotations http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 13
Christian Understanding Jewish understanding + Christological Seems highly accommodated However Luke 24:26-28, 32, 44-46 A case of inspired accommodation The Psalms are like the hymnal of the Bible More literary than doctrinal and are dangerous to interpret for doctrinal positions A collection of thoughts and feelings, not dogma This study is less about teaching and more about the experience of being people of God However they are extensively used by the new testament writers Of the 283 direct quotations from the old testament in the new, 116 are from the Psalms. http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 14
The Psalms in the Early Church In the earliest Church, the Psalms were an integral way of life. Saint Jerome (347-420AD) writes in Letter 46:12: "the toilng reaper sings psalms as he works and the vine-dresser, as he prunes his vines, sings one of David's songs". - cf. Eph 5:19, Col 3:16, James 5:13 Letter 108:30 describing the funeral of Saint Paula states that the psalms were chanted by the clergy, "now in Greek, now in Latin, and now in Syriac; and this not only during the three days that elapsed before she was buried beneath the church and close to the cave of our Lord, but throughout the remainder of the week." After the Roman persecutions ended, the Church in Rome instituted public recitation of the Psalms at the canonical hours http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 15
The Divine Office Our Love Song to God http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 16
Other Names Canonical Hours Breviary Ecclesiastical Office Cursus Ecclesiasticus Cursus Liturgy of the Hours http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 17
Greek leitourgia Liturgy Leitos (from leos = laos, people) meaning public Ergo meaning to do Leitourgos, "a man who performs a public duty" Leitourgia, the public duty itself The work of the people of God What will we do for all eternity? - Rev 4 Our priestly duty a sacrifice of praise Heb 13:10, 15, Rev 5:9-10 http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 18
Public Prayer of the Church The Mass The Liturgy of the Hours Public, communal prayer may seem strange to the American mind Acts 1:14, Matt 18:18-19 When the Church offers praise to God in the Liturgy of the Hours it unites itself with that hymn of praise which is sung in the heavenly places throughout all ages - Sacrosanctum Concilium Vatican II Rev 4:8-11 http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 19
Public Prayer of the Church God could give no greater gift to mankind than to give them as their head the Word through whom he created all things, and to unite them to him as his members, so that he might be Son of God and Son of Man, one God with the Father, one man with men. So, when we speak to God in prayer we do not separate the Son from God, and when the body of the Son prays it does not separate its head from itself, but it is the one savior of his body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who himself prays for us, and prays in us, and is the object of our prayer. He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is the object of our prayer as our God. Let us then hear our voices in his voice, and his voice in ours St. Augustine Discourse on Ps 85 http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 20
History Morning and Evening sacrifice Ex 29:38-39 Sung praises were part of the temple worship I Chron 16:1, 4-9 The early church preserved the Jewish pattern - Acts 3:1 Perhaps originated from the Mass of the Catechumens what has become our Liturgy of the Word http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 21
History Public prayer of the Psalms at the canonical hours resumes in Rome at the end of persecution Saint Benedict adopts Roman breviary (500 s) Rosary as the office for those who did not know the 150 psalms Revised after the Council of Trent Psalms translated by St. Jerome used until 1945 Numerous revisions at and after Vatican II http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 22
Recent Changes More readings Primacy of Morning and Evening prayer Psalms on 4 week rather than 1 week cycle Added intercessions at Lauds and Vespers Added Lord s prayer at Lauds and Vespers restores tradition reciting it three times daily (including Mass) Historically inaccurate information purged from Sanctoral cycle http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 23
The Hours Invitatory before Morning Prayer or Office of Readings Office of Readings Matins Morning Prayer Lauds celebrates resurrection, commends day to God Daytime Prayer Mid-morning, mid-day, mid-afternoon Evening Prayer Vespers giving thanks for the day Night Prayer Compline http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 24
Perspectives Prayer as communal Sanctifying the day through prayer Prayer motivated by love rather than need Serenading one s beloved Sitting quietly with one s beloved Praising one s beloved Prayer of praise and love rather than business http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 25
The words are not magic The goal is not recitation Approach The goal is the experience of mutual love Take the time within the office to experience the prayer among the words You can t love in a hurry http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 26
On-line Resources www.divineoffice.org www.universalis.com not officially the Office http://www.ibreviary.org/en/tools/ibreviary-web.html new Still seems to be working out some bugs but great potential Mobile app http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 27
Study Format Generally study psalms first half, pray the Office second half Feel free to bring breviaries learning how to use them is sometimes the most difficult part of the Office! Less doctrinal than previous studies Will need to fill in a lot of historical information Somewhat uneven not bad Different Offices are different lengths Some psalms may take all night to study sometimes many per night Psalms out of order hence one handout per psalm After a while, we will assess if this format is working http://elmontbiblestudy.org The Psalms 28