INTRODUCING THE PSALMS » Klaus Seybold Translated by R. Graeme Dunphy T&T CLARK LTD EDINBURGHBINBURGH EH 21g Cony) TAT Cake 0 Asti Ei Tandon of Dic ese Enfabrang bled yea Rais, Seg ein Kl M986 ‘Al ghsreed No pao hi pblaion sy beret, cin onyfrmorby on ‘ioneapyon catagothr ‘epi pormanon ef THT Cid ith ay CalpiginPubnionDie Sop Ri Te i DlePamen Eg ‘itl oun lig Ss i Weree PREFACE He who preserves your life emi, He whe cow you with race and me, Hehe mse your ents wih good ings, Tnorder ta your youth ight be eaewed “Arla th igi fom thee Solar wile emore out wangresions rom ws ‘eatuheis mero ieee, So YHWHis merciful thse who far bin, ‘The test fragment reproduced on the cover contains these lines from Ps.tos. It was found in a cave near the ruins of Qumran in the Judean deser, and is known as 4QPs. The Pralter manuscript to which the ewo columns belong wae writen about the time of the birth of Christ (0-0) Ie is tone ofthe oldest pieces to have survived "This fragment might be seen as = symbol of our fragmentary knowledge of the Psalms, A cerain amount is 1 see, and more can be deduced, but there isa great deal which ino longer available tows. This introduction to the Psalms sets itself the aim of pointing out what is visible, explaining what may be derived from it, and hinting at what must have been lost. It attempts to come as close as possible to che Biblical Psalms Is docs 20 by sketching out ‘what has come to light in the long history of research into the Psalms; questions, answers and problems. In this way it seeks to contribute t0 3 historical understanding of this ancient book. ‘Our study will not deal withthe use ofthe Psalter as a volume of meditation and prayer. Nor wll t offer any new {proach to the Psalms for which the author alone may Claim credit, Rather, it builds on the results of scholaely fexegesis and the accumulated knowledge which this has rade available. Ie seeks to bring its readers to read theXI xpoundig the Pslns Bary wih and Early Chrinen Commentaries The Early Chorch The Middle Ager Humanism and Reformacion The Englgherment Fiscoried-Ceil Exegesis [A Selon f Maden Commentaries Genel Works on thease Sources of Illustrations Index of Bible References ur 247 at 249 351 254 34 355 355 237 259 Chapter] ‘THE PSALTER AND ITS TRANSMISSION 1. Terminlogy “Pal and ‘Pser, the ems by which the Bibi book is iowa, are of Greck origin. wos, ‘the paying of 2 sernged instrument (rom yd, to pluck sting Yo play is egufaen othe Hebrew mizmén which also ans 4 ong accompanied by singed instrument. Ln ce plo it serve 364 thle for the enite colton, and thus forthe “rong-book’, a8 for instance in the most important Greek manuscript By the vo-caled Coder Vatinnss of the ath Gentury 40. Trough the Lain form pitas i became the ‘ual term for the texts ofthat Bibi ok, ad hat come common wen erature sad mse "yaspiy refer to a srnged instrument and wansates the coresponing Hebresr expressions for yr and harp, Mant Serpe A, che th century Coder Mecandrina, wer ete $s tle forthe book, on the same sisumpton that thes songs which are to be sung tothe lye, Under thee tes, Psalms, yodpioi, psalmi, and Psalter, yoAriptov, psalterivm, the Boo is tbe found in the erly canons ofthe Grek and Lain Church, often expanded by BiB oF liber “book Examples ofthis are be found in Luke oa and Ate 20 aad th tle page of Coder B, where "Peale can sand jr ‘re toto forthe whole third section of the canon} ths is Confirmed by Luke 24g in the speech ofthe isin Chri everthing must be fulilled thats writen sbovt me in thea of Moses (0) the Prophets) and the Pls “The easly canons of the Church occasionally contin paral les or definitions which give ws an insight noche Hebrew ems of Jewish radon, For example the Li iothe Codes Hierotobymitanus (ast centary ab?) whieh iss the Biblical books bilingully, gives at No. 10 the equation: ‘opepeehi = waefpoy, the former being without doubs the Hebrew sipher thillim, "Book of prase-songs’, “Hymnary’, ‘Book of Laudations' or ‘Praises hus Martin Buber: uch der Pretuogen). Indeed, this seems to have been the usval term in the old synagogues. In is commentary 00 the Pralms, Origen transribes sphercelleim, and Jerome ‘writes inthe Prater juste Hebracos: » tcaus ipse Debraicns sepher tall, quod imerpretacnr volumen bymnornn.” Iie wot quite clear when the book frst came by this tile, Inthe oldest manuserip fagments ites for whole books ate apparently not used. Even the Hebrew manvseripcs Codex Aleppo and Codex Leningradensis, for example, have tno tees, Psst follows, after + blank line, ively from ¢ sng matora (a note ofthe numberof verses) of the Book Chronicles (Fig). Philo of Alexandria and the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (boch mid iy A) speak generally of ‘Hymne (Sues) which, after dhe “Laws! and the ‘Prophecies’, docninate the thd part of the Scripture. This could go back to Hebrew Mhillo, commonly translated by Shon, in each case, the collection is characersed by this term a8 the (Book of") ‘Songs’, no doube following the contemporary custom ~ as again Philo bears witness ~ of performing the Psalms a “hyrnn in te classical sense, thatis, ‘witha choir and precentor, and a cireular dance This term, ‘not normally vsed in the plural, draws the texts eogether in fone group, structured en. is striking tha these old ties, the oldest known, appear to conceive ofthe Paster fom the sie] point of view, 252 ong-book, while they failto take account ofthe large aursber of prayer teats which it contains, Collecons of eul-yries 1. Mie), Parlier 7 XI ts (aa XV yep repnenynare nen iapsonoss — yin var many 2 oan aee & me mio Yroabny wn Soya Ap seer wnpmane + shore ore nepeann, rbymeamvaligt Enos weRrURY BOND v . DprVaROaU DDE: ‘hb “pooper Dyn arn ramon er ‘ Tesreyogin ren wophbiene tpi, fy “ameerene ammo aneenen 5 3 " ecancatd Fig 1. Thebegining ofthe Pakerin te Coder Alege (oth ‘tiry) Notice he ection fam Crone sl After the long mason theresa myles there gis without Fading Nosze sz the pip between Ps. nd No unberig ta be son ising tat Pa rbot prose, where Pewee poetry faiIeTRODUCING THE PSALMS from the large body of cuneiform and hieroglyphic literature tend to take account of both aspects with the ule “Hymas and. Prayer’. The scribes wha bring us the Biblical cule-lyries spparently preferred the musical nomenclature, Certainly, we ate entitled fo conclude that for them the hyrmodic se of che Pralme at choir pieces perhaps also with instrumental music = was the mom salient characters feature ofthis Biblical book. 2. The History ofthe Psalter In the wactae Baba bathra (‘Last Gate) of the Babylonian Talmud, devsils ae given of the origins of the canonical writings “Moses wrote isowa book, the Balam pericope. and Jb. Josn rates own ook snd igh verses the Tora (Deut 3-1) ‘Stoel wos ir own Book tb book of ade and Rach David rote te book of Pins Banging vs the fen eles at iy Tam, Michiel, Abakam, Moses, ema, Jesus, Asp fd he hee one of ora, Jeremish roe Ove bok Kings nd LamcstaionsHeveish and. his people nro Ts ‘Prove Song of Sones eseaves-"(ub.sa ‘So David is presented as the author ofthe Book of Psalms. ‘Asin the old headings, car is taken not to refer to itas ‘his ‘own book’, in contrast to the apocryphal collection “The Psalms of Solomon’. Nevertheless, given the details of authorship of the individual psalms, sis a small step to ‘conceive of the whole book as his work. The same tractate {goes on to justly its preferred order ofthe biblical books in the third part of the canon (Ruth, Pss, Job, Prov, Eccles, S. ofS, Lam., Dan. Esther, Ezra (Ne), Chr.), in which Ruth is placed before the Psalms, on the grounds that the story told in Ruth belongs zo the biography of David, who wrote the Psalms, Also important is the “CLR Sem ie eb AT el bp 4 relerenct v9 the “en elder’, « source which roots the Paler ight back nt eats par of the Hllgecicie, inthe cretion story. This ees to the pally high Sanding wich this book war accord, even By the Sanat of Haly Seria "This view ofthe ongin ofthe book hat been brought into question bythe hiss examination ofthe Bibel ‘tng, and in parca ofthe Pens andthe Paar itll Distnesont which had been made a0 exly athe Talmad have been aken up and pursed Ie seems that the file pice of the woking aod sedating ing io not applicable tothe Puer a8 4 book, that in rely the Avlopment ofthe book ran slog fr moce complicated lines than this model of ethorship wosld sage. Lov attempt to reconnect the hinory ofthe et fom those Pointe which prove tobe fim and relish (a) The texts ducovered inthe eves in the visny of Khirbet Queen, she select ofan, Essene monase ommniyon the nrb-west bank of the Dead Sx, hare fren whole new insight ato the exe tory ofthe Gis Testament witings. They ofer us a limpre of 3 dive phase in he development of among oe eats the Palin, which can sere a 4 sting plat for our toric recomsrction During te smo of the yats 6-70 a0, the Horry of the Essene commanity ‘wat taken fom is store and Widen, and thus, by stoke of forine, agents were preter. Arong che were found exit aad rains Ball the Old Testament Seripeures, or eather, ofthe books twhich s Helter weve Brought together so form the Hebrew canon, with the sigicantexepion ofthe book OF Bs, The agen loge oslo pce tnd eather, epresenting mote o les hel rng of he Strprres which were later to be capoited aod cate 5Jogued, bur which at cis point were sill being transmitted separately. The discoveries produced thirty-one copies of the Poles, which, interestingly, eifer at various point, ‘The experts are no doube correct in concluding that, while in content and order the central core ofthe Psalms aleeady ‘xisted in Qumran at that time, neither the final sletion tor the final order of the wets parcularly of the cexs in the lase thitd of the Poaler, had been determines imens were found which deviate from the ‘standard? (Geblied ne bugs aids Quran ath order of their texts (4QPet}, oF which offer addtional cexts (QPsi, QPS; #1QPs", later counted as ‘apocryphal, CaP ther omied Eom ie crew anon or ieee dlsewhere; eg Ps.r52 (LXX), the Syrian Psalms, ete ig. 2) Wile warousPsskers wer in use, ll of them were lestly regarded by thir users a Holy Seripare. They beeame ehe subject of exegesis inthe so-called Petar (singular: Pei), along with the prophetic writings, and they enjoyed paral Popularity and entem. No other Biblical book was epresented bys many manuserpts inthe eave library: Compare Ps. 15 ‘Deut.as; Ia. 18; Gen. Exod. 14.» Jer Job, Ruth, S. of, Lam. ¢~ Commentaries: five on Ist three on Ps two on Hos, Mic, Zeph. one on Hab. Texts quoted 2s Holy Serptare and introduced with che usual formula come most frequently from Issth, then from Deuteronomy and the Pras Te must therfore be assumed tha inthe fst al ofthe st century ab the Paster had not yee found its final and Iniverally acknowledged forms it was open-ended, and was sl flexible inthe arrangement of the ens, particule in the last section (11 QP). Nonetheless ie was universally acepeed "allowing. Banyo Le cetondePA: Sferaon onbaase sherpa ‘ 1s Holy Scripeure and was esteemed a least s highly asthe book of the prophet Istah or the books of Moses (Deut. Gen, Exod.) And needles 0 say it was held that David had compiled the book. Indeed, according to one text from the sal scroll found in the 11th cave, he was the author of 600 hymns (¢blym) and 450 liturgical songs (yr sing) (21QPS* columa 27). The 150 oF so texts are ony a small selection. ‘What's of particular interest isthe distinction between hymns and liturgies, in which ~ che figures imply it, and the text specifies the aur ~ by hymns we should understand the Fig. Thlancolvn, conn ofthe Par mcg Pe (iy) ch tps ce seers ln in Pe Deore ext, which: Seer ierab nent oisn aee ido Nose panne el brow Tip wap ove lonfreely availabe lyric material (in quantity), while by caltc texts we should think of set formula (collectively, a corps) (Chaptee I) che desert brary of the Essene community of Qumran owned thiny-one Psalter manuscripts, then, reasoning. « Iminore ad maint, one mus assume far wider distribution for the real centres of the ‘orthodox’ Judaism ofthe 1st century ‘The fact shat around tc0 aD the Pharisaic. movement established and enforced the standard form, also attested at ‘Quran, a8 the sale rex ofthe Psalter, led to the stabilisation of a fixed text, the Masoeti Text, and may have limited the ‘chess and varity ofthe pre-Masoretic forms. However, we to longer have any dtec witness to these Rabbinic-Pharsac specimens and their successors. With the else of the eanon ‘round 100 aD, and in particular with the ultimate codifies- tion, that is, the assembling of the individual writings for tranamission in codex or sroll, the era of the independent Psalm Book comes to an end, and the history ofits exegesis, ‘which is every bitasimporent, begins (Chapter XD. (2) The fact shat the history ofthe Greek translation of the Palins rane more or less parallel with tha of the Hebrew Dealer is most reveling. A discovery like Qumran has, of course, nat yet been granted us inthis field of research, but the Now Testament writings can take the place ofthe Essene library in thi respec, a 30 fara itis possible vo evaluate the Scriptural quotations which are found there. Por the brary of the synagogue in Capernaum, for example, or the archives of the school in which Poul studied, are aeetievably lost. The tiscovery and publication ofthe Bodmer Papyrus XXIV has shed some light on what has bees lost. This isa Greek Psalter ‘manvscript, probably from che and, or possibly the 5rd ‘century AD, which represents an upper Egyptian textual tradition previously only known in part* Pss.17-118 have Ror Hi To Pale. apr Budi XIV a6 igs. A page fom the Bodmer Papyrus XXIV and-ah coy) ‘Thiel amas Pasay The al eran together hon ps buta mumberie ren atte top of eah Pain, py: NEL= 38 ETP: NO (=59) (the other of eunsng ound nh ee anuserp af e Sep)besa preserved (Fig. 3) ‘Some surprising parallels appear here. Judging from the frequency of quotations, the New Testament communities had. quite simular preferences in their choice of Scripture readings. In fireplace with around ffy-four New Testament feferences we again find the Psalms; then come Isiah with fory-cght, Deuteronomy with forry-rwo, Exodus with rwenty-four, Lamentations/Proverbs with cwenty-two, Genesis with nineteen...) Only the second and ehied positions have been reversed. The New Testament communi fies also cited the Psslme as Scripeore. In Aets 120 Peter argues: ‘For i is wricten in the Book of Psalms. "sand he makes use of ewa txts from two different Psalms as"Seripure ‘which the Holy Spirit prophesied through the mouth of David, and which now finds its ‘fulflment’ (ef. Acts 1265, Luke 2o.as 249i Acts 13,33), Similaly at Quran the Pralms were regarded as prophetic texts which became relevant when one related them othe present.* Tis i exactly ‘what we observe in Acts 1,16 ad again in 2,30 where David is designated at ‘prophet’ and Ps.132,11 is quoted; and most ‘notably in the pasion narratives ofthe Gospels and their use ‘of Ps. 22 (ef. John 19,2428) Ia this context itis important ro rotice that according to Mack 14.26 (Mat.26,30) after the LLase Supper Jesus and his disciples “sang a hymn’, (Greek ‘uvetv) that iy recited the Halle (probably Pss.234-18) in Pealmodic fashion, before chey went up onto the Mount of (Olives, This wae na doube ther customs, fair from temple ‘and synagogue worship, and from their eligous up-bringing. In their appraisal of the Psalms ~ and in the use of the Pater scrolls which thie presupposes ~ the early Chistian he Poy cep SEL Detainees an eosin Hee ai communities followed theie Jewish predecesors, According tthe Mishnah tactate Tami (7.4), the singing of Psalms was par of the temple cult and accompanied the sacrifices, particular Psalms being presribed for each day of the wesk Shabbat P92, 24 I 8, IL 83, IV 94, V 81, VE 93 (inthe Greek translation). This was recorded as early a the Bool of fhe Maceabees (11,130: 4,54), and cis desribed in detail by Josephus (Ant 73645055 831245 9.263). He also. makes mention of stringed music which accompanies the temple singing ofthe Levites. On the coins ofthe Bar-Cochb period (e232 4D) musieal instruments appear st symbols of the temple cule Fig. 17)* In religious education the Psalms also played their pat According to 4 Macc. 1818, fathers in che digpora would teach their children ‘the’ song of Moses (Deut 32) ~ ao revered by Philo of Alesandria and Eusebius of Caesarea — and sing Psalms vo chem Philo may be taken as a representative of the Greck- speaking diaspora communities of Alexandria atthe Beginning ofthe 1s century. And this brings us full ciee. For Philos work is close both to the Qumran writings and tothe ely Christan literature, and agzn parallels arse. To Philo, 28 t0 ‘the Qumran community andthe New Testament, the Palins (Hymns?) are Holy Scripture, and they are his main source for quotations ater the Torab(), Here he encounters prophetic utterances: these hymns (buvebia) were writen by a prophet. Thus quotations from the Psalms and quota- tions rom the Torah can be combined, something which aso happens in the New Testament. (6) The light which these three Hibraves, che writings of (Qumran, the New Testament 2nd Philo, shed om the history ‘of che Psalter, certainly illuminates he stuaion inthe mid-ist CLs te despionl th Fa f Taber in Soh 5century ao, bu itis ot sficient o aif the eer phase of te tanzmision and disbuton of the book, far ls is crigins Neverbless, we have here definite sang pont, or more prevely toy the Flebrew andthe Greek Pesker embod origin can be ad ina very rough and sendy tanner. At this age we mus also tabs ino acount the point w which the two sods of ‘radon parted and began tel separate ive, ha is oy, the eanlaton of the Per into Greek. The ingle whch {ewe by these ce pons asta the various aspects oF the problem os ‘What can we make ofthis phase ofthe Peles history? ‘Assuming that the erscally reconstructed text of our editions of the Sepeuagint, which rely mainly on the large codices, coresponds roughly to the text of the period in (question, and. that the (pre)-masoreie Qumesn version epresents the Hebrew txt inthe middle of the diagram, we find thar the ewo strands of textual history, when compared, for the most part concur. The basic shape ofthe texts is more ‘or less determined. The order is parallel, hough the divisions and the resulting numbering systems, added later, do df. ‘The reasons for the comparatively insinifcant discrepancies ‘an generally be recognised; usually an erroneous inking with the preceding or following text (eg Pss.9/10 —'¥9)? We must assume that the «wo versions, Iter regulated within the "Ae of dn soe Beg MPLEX 1 8 ME Hebrew Jewish canon and the Greek-Christian canon, lay very close to one another even in their early sages. Since ia their origin shey are, so to speak, ewins, itis sale to assume that they at no point diverged far from one another, But rather, have always been quite simi. Despite major areas of similarity, however, there are & ‘namber of peculiarities which poin to thet separate develop ‘ment, For example, the Gretk Psaker does not end with Ps.15o, which seeks m onceo close the words of prise and to, ‘open 2 cosmic praise without words. lastead, it adds Pe. “An independeat Psalm of Davi, outwith the count ~ reads the heading to the Greck version of this pram, the Hebrew ‘original’ of which was found recently in the 11th cave at Qumran (12QPr) (Fig.2). Psast is something of an auto- biographical text As such, it closes the book with deals of the identity ofthe author. And asin 11QPs% this sbserpio explicitly declares the book to be the Paster of David, the framework of whichis formed by Psalms 2 and 131. The received sce of the Hebrew version on the other hand, hill (Hiymes), matches beter the sale closing withthe cosmic Hallelu-Vab of Ps.2s0. Clearly this difference in ‘nding reveals different perception of the Psalter, which ean alo be discerned in the New Testament.” And, of cours, we Ihave to take account of many developments peculiar 10 exch version. Neverteles, che degree of similarity = remarkable, and the Greek ranslation is sil rightly regarded as being of the greatest importance fr text-critial questions. ‘The line from the earliest attested versions of the Greek Psalter ofthe 1t century ap, back to the translation of the o- called Sepeuagine (#LXX) can only be drawn liypothetelly It is hindered by the consinuing discussion of the whole question of the LXX and its origins, Two models are On Basa 2 Pan of Dai se Ae ah 1 a vote 3presented for debate the model “Greek Targumn'~ i. arising Inially from numerous oral tansations of individual pee Scopes later brought together in writing (P. Kahle); and the model ‘authorised norm-translation’ ~ ie. arising from an original sandard translation from which ineressngly diffuse ‘arints emerged (A. Rablfs). The sid or and centuries 2¢ feem to be the most likely dates Generally we think of ‘Alexandsa in Egypt a the place of translation. At any rte, ‘he Hebrew text of 2 Palter serll or of various Psalm sells ‘must have been available thee at that time, and could have served asa source for this epoch-making translation. And this “rource’ would no dovbr have been connected, in some way so longer discernible, wo che texts we know from Qumro, ‘As or the compiling ofthe Hebrew Peer, we may assume thar this collection of hymns and prayers belongs to the period of the second Jerusalem temple. Bur here t00, itis Aificule 10 say anything more precise and concrece. We are thrown almost completely onto internal eiteria. In order 10 discover what we eat lea here fom the ‘growth rings’ ofthe book, # msmberof further consideration are required. 3. The Structure ofthe Psalter ‘The Paar offers usa collection of around 150 separate texts, We now examine how the individual pices have been marshalled and arrayed in groupe, to soe if we can grin from ‘he internal patteras any insight into the whole comple, its origins, and its purposes. We begin by looking for aay. recognisable traces of deliberate structuring and grouping. (4) The extremities, the begining and end of che Psalter, ace occupied by texts 1 and 150, Ps.t receives the reader with blessings Ble theman "rho don oo alk ine count fhe odes, Noraredsinthe ray ofsione tor rin the mise mocers, Burwbo dighsin he Law of YHWE, nd medies oa slaw day an aight (ht) "The reader of the Pelter is greeted a the outset as a reader of the Law (the Tovah), and is admonished. This no doubt presupposes thatthe book inthe hand ofthis reader already ‘belongs tothe Holy Writings, which make up the chird par of the Hebrew canoa, after the ‘Law’ and the ‘Prophet, The Law is like the Psalter, a book upon which one ‘meditate’ reads with murmuring and pondering, ‘day and nigh’, book for devotion nd prayer. Atany rate, thats the atutude whieh ect raquires ofthe “ighteour’. Thus this Pralm isa preface, aa inwoduetion, even an epigraph for what fllows. It opens ‘the gate and leads the way in ts postion of prominence was secured by dhe designe ofthe compilers and redactors who svished to give the book 2 suitable opening. The understand ing ofthe collection which simpled here is quite remarkable ‘Atthe other end, Ps. 150 opens agate inthe other dzesion. Here we find an appeal tothe livargieal choir, lt everything which has breath praise YHWH" (150.6), a ell for cosmic praise from every being gifted with the power of speech. For the writer of this Psalm, the Paster is only 2 begining, aa inwoductory exercise in praise for Hebrew tongues. Now, however, the circle widers, and dhe whole world i exhorted to take up the Hallelx-Vab, without need of text and song book. The Pualer serves the choir of precentors. The ‘universal congregation sings along in its own fasion. Ps 150 tundersands the book which i loss as a primer in worships the way sends open for every conceivable variation in praise. “Hlere, praise is seen as the Alpha and Omegz ofthe colletion, 2 differance in emphasis from the fist Psalm. Do diferentthinkers and different ideas stand behind this ending, which ie really more 2 colon than a full top? Do they pethaps stand Closer to those who entitled the whole Book "Songs of Praise” Chilly? ‘The Seprvagin, in common with the Pas scroll 11QPs* from Qumran, closes the collesion with the s0-clled ‘Autograph of David a brief biography composed after the battle with the giant Goliath (Psst). This postscript outwith the count che redactors observe), takes account of ‘he face that almost half of che psalms, seventy-three 10 be resie, appear to claim David as their author, giving him = ‘certain right to be regarded as the eeal author of the whole collection. This redaction recognises in the Psalter the Song~ book of David, and i accommodated by a series of text (Ghirteen inal), which facus on the biography of that king Teil be seen that the balance between beginning and end, between 1 and 150/751, has not quite been stuck. There remain discrepancies, nuances betraying diferent points of view ~sgas of a many-phased development, the coaclusion of ‘which is sll recognisable inthe choice of the opening and losing pals, (2) The division of the finished Psaker into five books probably also belonge to the last phase of development. "Mose gave Israel she Five Books, and David gave Irs] the five books of Psalms." (Midraé Tebillm on Ps.11). The analogy with the Five Seroll-Book (the Pentateuch) and the purllel Moses-David are extremely sigaifcan. The aim isco ‘ablish or confi the status ofthe book s+ part ofthe canon ‘of Scripture, The division ie certainly nota result of technical, considerations, ais the case with che great scrolls of the Pensaeach, The 150 texts could quite comfortably be accommodated on single srol, s& the parchments from Quran show. In the printed editions of the Bible where the psalms are not arranged in stich, Genesis oceupies the same 6 number of pages asthe entire Psalter." ‘The five-fold division makes use of natural caesurae, The first book adopts the closing doxology from the end of the frst David Pele, sgt "Pre eto YHWH, the God of Il, om eelastng even! Amen, Arsen” “The lose af the second book is announced a the end ofthe second David-Psalter with the expanded doxalogy of Pe.payt8-ae ‘use beto YBWH, the God of tal, ‘eho aloae oer marvellous ds! And pase bet his glorious name for ee, rirythe wholes be filed wih is ly Amen! Ame! “This cotelades the prayers of Davi, 0 of Joe ‘The third book reaches to the existing, somewhet older ‘aesura athe end of Pe. 9 “Pris beto YHWH for eve! Amen! Amen! os) “The fourth book ends with Ps. 06,48 ‘Prise beto YHWH, the God ofa, fom everlstng 0 eveasng! ‘Andel peoples: Ama?” In this last casey the positioning of the break is not so obvious. Besides, the general similarly to 41,24 points to a secondary formulation. It may be thatthe five-fold schema smade ie necessary to place this ls division ata point which ‘was rather less appropriate than the hers. A Beek 2 the end of Ps.119 would certainly have been more natursl “For example the Qo ible, where se argos oo in ced Para cep Sopp "7‘The books which emerge vary considerably i lenge Tag Pal) Mt gps GrPalm) V woptse (4¢Paim) ‘The exact correspondence between the thed and fourth books js striking, as isthe similarity between the first and fifth, However, the significance of this structure is restricted to the Torah-analogy, and is therefore merely form. ‘An attempt has een made to explain the five-book schema in terms of its use in the synagogue lectionary, whereby tections of the Pentateach were recited along” with the ‘corresponding peal in a tree-year cycle." However, there js no clear evidence for this, and the lack of order inthe texts speaks against it Lam of the opinion that the five-fold division occurred at alate stage, at positions which already ‘marked natural breaks, making use of doxologies which were part of the growth-rings of the Psalter, and that it has no deeper reason than to maintain the analogy with the entacuch. Nevertheless, this structuring is importan, a it is built on older paterns of tex. It provides us with clues ro the way the various groups of texts and smaller collections Ihave grown togeder to form the present collection. (3) The seventy-three psalms associated with David are not isrbuted ae random throughout the Peler, but rather they are ordered in groups and eyes: fat (piteneceponie MTsnotin LX) yy 2 sige Gbpa tpl of Solomon) ceptors 66) 18 “ra, Di Pain im Gon ds Aton Bane rer Tel Shai oe TBs GH Mie, Te Eig ft Heb Pa | ‘Tyo Davidpsls (115 103) ~ four according to Greek ean (so 935 toy; ef 11QP)~ are to be found in the complex 90-107, which sintraduced by + Maser (90). ‘No five aay pul: Das. 123 (135 QDs) 34319 133, The David eoleions hate asembled groups of puns which mension David in thelr beings, must be feparded not only numerically bot also sructualy as the Sasiemateri of she Daler (@) We may asmime thatthe group Pst y-4t, numerically che larges group, forms the bss of che wholecllcon. Ths perccllection forthe most part made up of ters which are Spoken by, or rele to, indivdols. They therefore belong, lke all che David-psalms, 10 the category “Psalms of the Individel, a oppoved tothe other, quite distinct group of paslne wich cllcve subject. Presumably the group 5-41 nce formed an independent unit aldhough we cans ide tore about his. Various ‘Royal Psalms” (eg. 18; 205 21), “Laments of IlkHealh” (eg. 65 38:41) and in parcular “Prams of the Unjuetly Accused’ or Peale of the Enemy” (ea. 4-1) show clear signs of an origin inthe Jerusslem ‘Temple. A precise chronology isnot posible, but one tends 1 think ofthe posteic period. A efit interconnection ‘ofthe tats (ff), together wit the formation of sub-groups {68.3255 18-215 2628; 38-41), gives this par-collection is lowe dinctive character. The doualogy at qq marks the ‘3p which opens up ater 4, Its origins uncertain {6) The second Davie Psalter, 51-72, clay had a more turbulent history Ke gew up independeny ofthe fis, and ‘sppatently exited exparcely to begin with, This in scen othe Auplication of material: 14 535 4015-17=70. The post Serpt 0 727 Here cathe prayers (pil) of David om of Jesse blogs out two pols: fry, that he group beginning 51 came toa definite end at 72; and secondly, thatthe texts fathered here ate be sen a5 "prayr’ a definition which it 19‘not confirmed in the Greek tration, but instead is deliber- axely correced 10 favo, ‘hymns In the course of time, David's Prayer-book came to be combined with two further collections originating among the singers’ guilds and the temple choirs. First it was inked with the so-called Asaph-Psalms (74-82, framed by 73 and 83), community psalms of what is presumably the oldest guild, the Asaphites, which is mentioned 2 number of times in ‘Chronicles, These to groups of texts were combined in such 2 way that, ater an introductory pealm (so), the prayers of David made up the frst section and the Asaph-psaims the second, Bap] ‘The collection of Korah-Pealms, stemming from the singers ‘of the Koraites, was joined tothe David and Asaph texts at lever sage of development: aw [0] 51-72] 73-09 ‘The Korah group (44n48, framed by 42/43 and 49) consisting primarily of collective pralms, was subjected along ‘with the amalgamated David/Aseph group fo an extensive re- working. In the majority of places, che Tetragrammaron YHWH ws replaced fairly mechanically by he term “loin, ‘This so-alled elohisic redaction, which can be observed quite clearly by a comparison of the doubles in che Davidic Pralter (in addition 10 those already mentioned, compare s737-18 +60,5-12 = 108), doesnot affecs the series beginning A084, This group must be seen as a kind of appendix. Since this appendix contains Korsh-Pealms (84; 85; 87: 88 ~ Heman; 89 ~ Ethan; the last two being septs of the Korah ail) slong with one David-Psalm (86, it vould have had an Integrating fanction, It brings the David/Asaph collections ino the middle ofthe Korah collection: [aw-w folonn | a» fe ohefole) 1 may even be surmised thatthe linking of this whole complex with the fist David Paster was part of the same process of integration. I does sem thatthe seme hand which aulded the supplementary material also joined the two collections, 3-41 and 42-89, which by this ime had grown to roughly the same size. And ths same hand placed Ps.2 the beginning. In this way a kind of symmetry would have been treated between the opening psalm (2) and the somewhat similar closing psalm (89), with these two Messianic pralas dictating the tone of the whole collection, and connecting beginning and end, soto speak as the ial ink nthe chain. Ie isdoubiful whether the minority reading in Acts 1.33, which cite a line from Ps.2 a8 belonging 2 the First psalm, has any relevance here. Nevertheless, Ps.2 has no heeding, and 3 bracket inking 2 with 89 would ceraily make good sense. (6) The construction of 90-1508 less rigid. More and more we encounter texts without headings, though up to 4 point these can be aranged in groups according o thet contexts. Firmer stoetures appear again after 119 with the so-aled "Psalms of Asceas’ (120-134, with hymnic appendix 1551) and the last major Davidie Psalter (138145, with hymnle appenaix 146), Ps.137 is a rogue psalm caught between these two groups. Here agtin we may assume & history charac- terse by successive phates of expansion, (7) The complex 90-119 is far less clearly strverored, Since i closes with che 176-ine alphabetical poem which is out of all proportion tothe rest of the Pate, it would be reasonable to assume that the comples should be conceived 3 a supplement o the Davide Psalter (2-89). We might think oft sean expanded edition, in which she enormous weight ofthis “Golden ABC’ produced + new centre of gravity. The baseGrowsh and arate of he Par, Conc sot). 1-V:divion ino bor. Ring ago ling dings Elbe Par. theme of chis anthological poem, which we find in 176 variations, isthe Word of God, and in the very frst verse those who ‘walk inthe Law of YHWH? (:19,) are prised, ‘Thus the ‘bracket’ is now thrown back to Ps also a wisdom palm, which places the Torah inthe foreground. If 129i the ‘counterpart tor, this would exphsin che incangeulty between # and 150 which has already been noted. This framework would seek ro understand the existing Psalter (s-115) a praise and thanks for she git ofthe Law: ‘May my lipsoretow wih pa, For you tech me your cece (19.071) (8) Anumber of definite group exit within go-19: 1: The Roy Hymos of YH, one kon at Enroneest ‘Song whch tr gurl topeer who hedged Inked dential nasty. “ 2 The hyo conned by Halse Vis Pareoy/tg) to 3. The shor seri of Davia 1 yma pending ‘What are leftare a number of say texts which re dif tofitint the wider sactre, ke ge, the palm of Moser 9t (€XX Davi (09); 105 01 (David) 1025 103 (David 045 1s... et. Mot of thee wil have Ben independent pices which ere accommodated in the lst part of he "Wisdom Peake’ a fairy ae ge ith es sti 4, The Purpose ofthe Collection Taking an overview, then, the Paaker is made up of the following pars 1: the various Dvit-oloions, contig forthe mort par of ‘ents wih singular bey toed epee or Pens of the Indiv Ta paras hey frm te ase of the older fous of he Psnker(2 95119 41 the guild callersonn, mainly teats with 4 prt bjs, freed “Wessling? or ‘rams of the Communi” Ik rar they represent sbstancl pre ofthe Eloise Paster) 1. various bymnictiorgil et complees, consning of che ovale le oral Yak asm ome of which te {Suge cota the evs of xing groupe such a he Dae alles while hers makeup ger ndependent unis eg Spat svtsd), They sete tore a the Second half of the Pater (gorsoh the socalled Pigiage Per or Palm of Asc! (tact) silat the David and Guid collections, ands eae tah epic, yet epresening a autonomont parof teh, 5.4 number of independent ents (0g, 15 119) which ae Irporcn beats poston. If we assume tha the Psalter expanded from beginning 10 end, and that the groupings nearest dhe begining ae also the ‘oldest can easly be seen how the character ofthe whole collection has changed. IF the oldest sections are the most ‘Substantial ones, the cllesions of prayers of Davi, ie would bbe a mistake to conclude that the meaning and purpose ofthe compilation war to offer prayers or songs for individual supplicans or worshippers, sn order to allow ordinary people to take pare in a service of worship using the preseribed formulae, Rather, the character of the various texts a5 testimonies of faith, the sequence in which some of the individual prayers are placed (ea), and dhe atsibution of psalms to appropriate situations in the life of Davi, all fogges thatthe collections served co focus the mind on the YHWH-fach and rehearse ie belies through reading and meditating on model texts. The collections are more for teaching than for prayer. They are rally ‘David's prayers’ sand are gathered as models or examples forthe worshipper a Some, eg. the Palas of Ascent, may have been intended se an aid for pilgrims. Clesry ie was not the intention to build 3 complete collection of David-texs. Were the different groups fathored together 2t various times or places by particule troupe of priest? Ise porible chac individual ext or text documents, somehow throwa together, bu not yt writen up in continuous columns on scrolls, could have been displayed ‘or distributed sparsely? ‘With the addition of the ‘choirbooks’ of the singers fulds the pictre changed. ‘We- Psalms and choir songs were Included. The structure of the Psalter archive received a new ‘emphasis, becoming more lke a prayer-book or song-book. ‘At the same time, it must have taken on a more liturgical Appearance, as texts were now included which the congrega~ ‘lon and che worshipper, hearing them sung or spoken by the choie (and possibly reading along?), would have been able ro take up themselves. Yeti is probable thatthe integration of the song-texts ofthe guilds marks a thorough going decach- ‘ment from the lrorgcal life of the community. Certainly, the so-ealled Elohistc Psalter represents 2 phase. where the collection has 2 documentary-didactc function for the (theological) education of the lsty through the texts of prayers and songs. In particular the "We-Pealms’ ofthe guilds, filled with traditional theology, bring a new element to the growing Pralter. The collection looks more and more like 3 comprehensive archive, bringing together old snd new tert ‘monies YHWH, and storing them up in a kaleidoscope of faith, Tes dlificul wo say what might have been che purpose of. bringing together the wo main collections 3-42 and 43-83 Only in. the similarity of proportions and in what are presumed to be the framework psalms, 2 and 8, do we find traces of a tendency to make she material more “relevant, in the sense that the original text deriving. from David’ oF 3pointing to the anointed king is applied co che individual believer The legacy ofthe frst temple and is eal, the Zion tradition and the David tradition all gain new influence and importance. Old texts from the royal ritual of the Solomonic temple like 2; 73; 89, come into che limelight and make the Psalter a kind of documenstion of the olé kingly tradition and of the Zion tradition. In other words, i has Become the record of faith ofa paricular creed, secking to preserve and restore for each individual the pee-slic faith in salvation lmmparted at the sncutary on Zion. In particular the acknow- Tedgmene of the link beeweea salvation and Jerusalem (83), and of the prototype of the God-maa, the anointed king (2), ‘must be recognise and taken ito consideration. Likewise the ldea of the hore world, an ides which dicate and shapes the image ofthe enemy in dhe Psalms ofthe Individual, gives this eeligioue book more of 2 tendency cowards political ‘opie “Why do he popes ge, edhe ans pin i? ‘This opening verse (2,1) sounds again right at the end sot) ‘Remember, O Lord, how your servant hs been mocked, how Iberian best the sor of lsh nations, withehich your enemies hare mocked, OYHWH, ‘which hey ve mocked the ep of your aie “The didactic rend continues in Peg, withthe adoption cof old, but re-worked cule texts from the frst temple However, the multifarious nature of these appendices does not sllow any reliable conclusion. [cis easy to see that the Addition of the bymaiclvwrgiel texts o-1s0 brings new ‘emphases to the ‘Davidie’ Psalter. At the same time, new perspectives provide a certsin balance to the Messanic- 6 policcal demands, and to th aloo stice adherence 0 the ld Heilgeschichte and salvaon-experience which charac terised the now (semi-)fficial psalm archives. I almost seems that in the new ‘envelope framework, made up of text fom the Wisdom School (1-119), we ean watch as the pendlum swings back, With the new preface (r) and the weight ofthe reflexive proverbial poem (119), which in erm of i range it cffcctively a smal collection in isl ce existing Praker now fakes onthe character ofa documentation of divine revelation, te be used in a way analogous to the Tora, the fst part of the canon, and becomes an instruction manual for the theological study of the divine order of salvation, and for meditation. Is the law-based piety which speaks out of Palms 1 and 139 intended to embrace and enhance the belif in Messianic salvation, orto abolish and replace it? Cereiny, the Widsom Psalter (1-119) seems to have been conceived ‘ore for mediaive ute (1, 25129; 14.) for private reading, than for ltargiel work. Are sheve signs thatthe substance of the Psalter, emerging bur not yer fully consolidated, was increasingly coming tobe regarded a5 Hoy Scripture” ‘With the final additions (cao~r50) che centre of gravity of the Psalter archive shifts once again in favour of the hymaic component. Texts of songs and praises outweigh the few prayers of lament from the remaining Davie collections. ‘Also belonging to this comparatively lare phase of the evelopment of the Psalter and of its use ~ more wil be said shout this Ite (IV) ~ are the musical accents found in the headings of varios pralms and psalm-groups (in their new arrangements), which allow the musical performance even of lament texts, quite remoce from the liturgy. The conclusion of this phase of expansion is formed by te ‘open gate’ of Ps.15, already mentioned, which goes hand in hand with the tide of the book, alin (hymns). The Psalter thus compleced, yet proclaimed a5 incomplete, becomes a musical score of praise, yitstextnow established, destined ta be sung forall eternity. As ‘ich, ittakes its place inthe eanon eislikely thar its admission tothe canon was sided, or even directly exused, by it being declared 0 be the "work of Davida designation preserved in 11QPe" and LXX. The ally developed Peter, a collection of diferent varieties of testimonies of faith, from various periods and by various peopl, has the nature ofa documenta- ‘on of the YHWH-aith, and in his respectitisakind of canon vwthinthe anon. ‘The canonicty of che Psalter, that its character as Holy Scripture, seems neverto have ben disputed. Inthe Jewish rad senegal eo, ih in the earliest periods it shaped and caloused. In 2 Mace, Mefind he expression wb i oc I) he (books) of David, which would have been understood to include the Psalter, mentioned alongside the ‘books about kings and prophet 1 Mace. 716 cites s.79,f. withthe phrate ‘accord Ing to the words which were writen ie cites its s Word of, Scripture, probably che earliest lear evidence (100 e) ofthe Dealer as 4 recognised pare of the Holy Scripture. But ics likely thatthe Greek wanslaton of the book of Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of ben-Sirach) made in Egypt round 1305, whi divides the Hebrew canon in three, ‘Law, ‘Prophets’ and “Other Books ofthe Fathers’, ls had in mind the main work ofthe third section, the Psalter So by bout r00 mc at te ltest. i had been established thatthe Dialer, with ite 150 oF #0 psalms, war tobe reckoned amongthe Holy Scripture, 5. Onthe History ofthe Text ‘The hittry ofthe Hebrew tex of the Psalter unfolded against, the sme contental setting which prevailed forthe wats ofthe Hebrew Bible as a whole Scholarly textual eicism identifies for ge f xual wansmision wih refed oui 1. The sg of the composicon af he sts, ol or wri, in Se orginal fone. Literary rim operates ni see oF Iscoy sing the mend of ner ane tater 0 ‘econ the gel text which in he course of tine hat ‘fen bern ered or obscured 2 The sage ofthe oldest anon frm ofthe eth i he leet suring wren vero. Tet eric in the Peet Sense sues to eney the eldee surviving forms, by Coorg terial aa 1. The sage of the acrmsiveeouliin ofthe consonant tet beth scholars ae oa, esing inthe oad Provo- ‘crete Tent is imporaoc has bore tnpeerely deer Strate by compurson wih the Quon teats sme of which {Scola wich the Grek watson Thar sage bloge ‘hefield of ital Jewish Sues. 4 The stage ofthe Masonic Ten ulmining in the inl form ofthe tows sr they apes in she pom manascripr ofthe sore School, paral ehat of Thera the 9 seth ents, Theetexts ow spl wth punctuation and sSceoton, fom the bus of oe modern pried eins, nd re dhe sang pone of hola reste Inport ‘amples ar the Aleppo Coe ode copy €930 a0) andthe Cole Leningrad (e108) In al, the text experienced four phases of stabilisation, which correspond roughly to these four sages. Te the fit sage sbi ierey sacar lis shaped snd tans by the author ad ges se writen form Fed by [pitan aod inion, ox ov in OM Hebrew or Artmac arate, 4 veuible teat (extn woven be) comer ‘ein Tie second pase share ocut 2 sablinon of meaning snd ue inthe eyes of its rsp. After some adder Feworking ici endowed wih a define fmcion, which, beng henceforth turds wey ton up. The tet i oped i Jewish wring the walled space sip, and ple Te sD, Bareny, Cee Teele de PAT, Or Bin ot Onna gis es ee! Sa Oo i 9 |euite 2 normative ext ad yrson. i ‘pbliin’ nd public toe nd ica esrain dgniy. By ard. by there appens. « ‘ada frm of he es, sally i ee conten of fi ‘allestion Inthe third phase che text eal a Holy Serigere ad ‘Word of God, which an only have one foem, As one of the fosndasonso he relive comimanity i reuire = enonieed text, normale tthe lst der There the ets, ‘Seo consonant ext the exis ees Tn the det lace 2 sable endfor promeciion is aenpted by she inrodstion of s sytem of ponewaion. The Moraie saingecemvliine ther poston A complied rework of figore and rostelreces si o proc te el ‘rion fom sy or. Whar he Manor Te. With the decline of Hebrew asthe vernacular, translations into other languages became necessary. These wanelations continued to be influenced by developments in the Hebrew text, The Greek translation ofthe yed/and century 2c, which {grew out ofthe second stage of textual evolution, was from ‘me to time brought ico line wth the Hebrew version by a series of complicated editing processes. The same applies co the daughter tanslasions iaco Latin and Sysiae, while the ‘Aramaic Targumim seem for the most part notte have come into exsence uni sage cwo and tres. ‘Within this history ofthe development ofthe Biblical ext, however, the text ofthe Psalms and the Pear had its own history. A number of developments may be noted bere. 1 The fact that each of the psalms was composed in = separate, distinctive proces, had the result hat their fortunes inthe fse sage were particularly lively (Chapcers I-IV). The individual sores of each, a5 votive text, poems, cult ritual exes and sofort, made it invitable frown the start dhe the early phases would ran a very complex course, which must, hve had a significane effect on the condition in which they were preserved. The many phases of transmission and se reworking have left heir mark. Inthe process many eats have been altered, expanded, and corrected, a few damaged and misinterpreted. One need only compare the rwo versions 14 tnd 3, which go back to a common original to appreciate ‘what is posible in this arena. All things considered, given the complicited circumstances ofits origins, we must conclude thatthe text of the Psalter is tll in very good condition ‘overall, despite dhe face that almost every texe has suffered some degree of interference affecting is meaning, and that in {ome cases the orginal can no longer be reconsercted 2. The Greek tanslation (jrd/and century 3¢: ie. and stage of tex history) is rogarded as one ofthe worst ofits kind because ofits slavish adherence to the Hebrew levers, Tae translators do indeed appear to have taken litle eouble aver their work. They obviously speak neither good Hebrew nor good Greek, they vanslate literally, and often without being tear themselves what they mean" Their ate of error is igh ‘Their sins range fom «cavalier treatment ofthe various forms of the Hebrew verb and the functions of the ‘waw- consecutive’, through ignorance of the meanings of Hebrew words, resuking in he piling up of possible aleernative transltions in mesningless arrays, 0 ignorance of the contexts. For example, the words bay ‘ymin the opening of asap, have two posible erneation: ‘sons of God! on the ‘one hand, ‘sons of rams? (Y= 51 =¥pt55) on the other; but to render them by placing both alternatives side by side is simply absurd. Yee paradoxically, this ugly and inaccurate lteralism, ‘which also characertes the many New Testament quotations from the Greek wransation, is an excellent tool in the reconstruction ofthe Hebrew ext which the anslators had ‘before them, For co date there are no Hebrew manuscript a carly as the and century Be a>. Of nesimabe help are he fragments dacovered in the caves ofthe jan dete (st Senay 40 — CY #0) Song tem the pilin sl swith anni ods Soc pl pele pled i + dininctve one Unfortane ely thee finds were not sfcendy wel erated sod tiled in henson eon ofthe Hebrew Bible (BH. In these ramets we have before by far theo wiaees tothe Hebe tre They allord linac of age 0 td tes theft stage (le autograph) nao be doce ‘eed by weil rena, and iad the pines Finer aap reconstaton {4 Patel infienial among te rnsaon, lngside sk ra wich ef ch i i te Pi car the aynagogues of het cents AD, are the taaons Into Lata minly bec of the lngorance which the Par cae to hae in he Latin Catch. Typicl examples 2 the tre anions completed by Jerome between 38 fd os a0, which have come to be known at leu Romantn, Puirion Gacenam 0d Pacer ta “Hebraes The fist of thee was red ceworkng ofthe (Ol Latin Vala as) which war cet in Rome a he time, under the inflene ofthe contemporary Septaagine radon, The Gale ater anew improved eon athe fy inlunced by the Hesepla of Origen, ad he tex ‘ork in Palen, found wide seceptane inthe Wer, and Yas ulinaely adopt inv the Vala, The hd aac Gon, ject Hebron, was neglected albough it as Of cqsvlet ended, no Aout beet the Param Galtennm d iredy become elise. This ae version, trade in Bechlhen around the end ofthe ath cetary AD images ranalaton, which dy was nee givens chance. Tere on the hb vray, and cherefore wa re rom crror and weakeses of the Greck versions which bad Connuedionceneia number and iefence. » 5 For the Biblical books Pralms, Proverbs and Job (poetic part the early medieval Masoretes devised a system ofrecents ‘which difered in various respets from the common prosaic ‘one, probably in order to esablish and maintain a standard {or musicalshetorical performance. However, this old metrical modulation is no longer known co us. The system of symbols shows only minor variations (eg the precedence of ‘leweyored over «tnach). F-Delitesch’s verdict holds goed: “For our understanding of the Psalms, a knowledge of the smuical valves ofthe accents would solve nothing” a |