PSALMS. - Poetic compositions, of prayer or instruction, used in both Israelite and Christian worship, whose collection of 150 forms the book of Psalms or Psalter (v.) in the Bible. The book of Psalms occupies a place of first importance among the sacred books: among the Hebrews only the Pentateuch precedes it in importance; in the New Testament it is the most cited book, after that of Isaiah. The Church received it as an expression of public prayer and as a prophetic book, and therefore among the books of the Old Testament it is the most used and most commented upon.
The name of the Psalter, in the Masoretic text Tēhillim ("Praises"), cannot be rigorously applied to the individual psalms, which vary in character and content. The same is true of the Greek name ψαλμοί: ψαλμός; in fact it translates the Hebrew mizmōr "song to be performed with stringed instruments."
The number of psalms in both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint is 150; but it must be noted that for the Septuagint (followed by the Vulgate) Ps. 9 comprises Hebrew Ps. 9-10, and Ps. 113 comprises Hebrew Ps. 114-15; on the other hand Hebrew Ps. 116 and 147 are divided in two (respectively Greek Ps. 114-15 and 146-47); at the outset the numbering of the Masoretic text exceeds that of the Septuagint by one unit from Ps. 10 to Ps. 147. Both numberings are imperfect (e.g. Ps. 42 and 43 certainly form a single psalm); however, modern scholars generally follow the Hebrew numbering. Some repetitions further reduce the actual number of psalms. Thus Ps. 53 repeats Ps. 14; Ps. 70 repeats Ps. 40, 14-18; Ps. 108 consists of Ps. 57, 8-12 plus 60, 7-14.
The divisions of the Psalter are evidence of the book's progressive formation. First of all, the Masoretic text divides the psalms into 5 books (1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-50), distinguished by a brief doxology placed at the end of the first four, and foreign to the context of the psalms in which it is found. This division is not indicated by the Septuagint, which nevertheless, by translating the four doxologies, is an authoritative indirect witness to it. Indeed, the fact that I Chron. 16, 36 cites the end of Ps. 106 and the doxology that closes the fourth book allows the division into five books to be traced back perhaps to the time of Nehemiah.
But comparative study of the Hebrew text reveals three broader and more ancient sections. In books I and IV-V, in fact, the personal name Jahweh prevails for God; in books II-III, on the other hand, a clear preference is given to the name of the divine nature, Elōhim, which however often proves secondary and substituted for the original Jahweh (cf. Ps. 14 with 53; 40, 14-18 with 70; moreover Jahweh is required by grammar in Ps. 59, 6; 80, 5, 8, 20; and by style in Ps. 43, 4; 45, 8; 48, 15; 50, 7). The section formed by books II-III thus had, for a period, an existence independent of the other two, and then underwent the revision of which it bears the traces. It is probable that this happened at the time of Persian rule.
In books II-V other smaller and more ancient collections are moreover recognized: such are the psalms of the sons of Korah (42-49), those of Asaph (50; 73-83), three Davidic collections (51-72;
108-10; 138-45), the gradual psalms (120-34), those of the Kingdom of God (92-100), the alleluia psalms (105-107; 111-18; 134-135; 145-50).
The long elaboration that the Psalter must have undergone before reaching the state in which the Septuagint found it is by itself sufficient to refute the thesis dear to several independent critics, which places the origin of at least the majority of the psalms in the Maccabean age (2nd century B.C.). The titles found at the beginning of many psalms are a confirmation of their antiquity. In many cases, in fact, the Alexandrian translators were no longer able to understand their meaning; which presupposes a period of time long enough for it to be forgotten. These titles concern the nature of the psalm, the occasion and manner of performance, the instruments on which they are to be accompanied, the melodies to which they are to be sung, and especially the authors. Much has been discussed about their value. The obscurities and the not infrequent uncertainties of the manuscript texts cannot be denied. There are also some evident errors, as in the case of Ps. 136, a song of the exiles in Babylon, which the Septuagint and the Vulgate attribute to David. But in general it can be said that the antiquity enjoyed by these titles and the consistency with which they are assigned (e.g., the Davidic psalms resemble one another in form and content, and agree with the character of David as known from the historical books), are a notable confirmation of the traditional tendency.
The authors to whom certain psalms are concordantly attributed are: David (60), Asaph (12), the sons of Korah (10), Solomon (2), Moses, Heman and Ethan (1). The other psalms are anonymous or of uncertain attribution. The most important question concerns David, from whom independent criticism has attempted to take away at least the majority of the psalms that bear his name. It should be noted, however, that the critics proceed principally on the basis of systematic prejudices, since all the positive arguments available are in favor of the "beloved singer of Israel" (I Sam. 23, 1). What is historically known of him attests to his musical and poetic talent; the songs attributed to him faithfully reflect his heroic and gentle soul, tender in friendship, wholly trusting in God, but at times also violent. This is not to exclude that certain Davidic psalms may have been, for example for liturgical reasons, somewhat retouched, or may have undergone some addition: this does not affect the substance of their authenticity.
The historical problems posed by the Psalter are matched by the literary problem, to whose solution the analysis of literary genres, of which H. Gunkel was the pioneer, has recently made a notable contribution. He distinguishes the literary genres of the Psalms on the basis of their "situation in life," which, since these are cultic texts, resolves into the "situation in the divine service," that is, the destination and function of the individual psalms in Hebrew worship. On this basis Gunkel distinguished 4 fundamental genres of psalms: hymns, public lamentations, private lamentations and songs of thanksgiving. There are also minor genres, such as: songs of the enthronement of Jahweh, royal psalms, didactic or wisdom songs, pilgrim songs, etc. It is relatively easy to note how each of these genres has a constant fundamental structure (though treated among the Hebrews with far greater freedom and variety of inspiration than in the analogous genres found in other Oriental literatures). For example, in the psalms of individual lamentation these elements are found: an initial invocation, the exposition of the case, an expression of trust in God, a prayer, and for the most part a final promise of thanks and praises.
This literary analysis (when it does not stop at the aesthetic point of view) can greatly help in understanding the doctrinal content of the Psalter. Precisely because it is an expression of Israel's worship of God, the psalms are necessarily an expression of its faith and its religiosity, and therefore they are the richest and most varied document of the Old Testament for doctrine both regarding God and regarding man and his relations with God, which take concrete form in the messianic faith. Of God for the most part existence is presupposed as a certain and indisputable fact; but at times it is also expressly demonstrated (Ps. 8; 19, 2-5; 94, 8-10; 104 etc.); but above all his attributes are exalted: goodness, justice, faithfulness, mercy. Man is seen principally as rooted in the people and in the promises implied in the Covenant; but also as an individual his greatness is exalted and his immortality is affirmed as a fact (the state after death is instead surrounded by darkness). The idea of the Messiah in the Psalms agrees with that of the whole Old Testament: it has universal scope and implies God's judgment on all nations. Often the messianic interpretation of the Psalms is based on typology; nevertheless there is no lack of expressions and prophecies referring to the Messiah as a concrete individual, as in the "messianic" psalms precisely.
This wealth of doctrinal and prophetic-religious content, together with the example of Jesus, who at the culminating points of his life used the words of the Psalms as the expression of his sentiments, and with the practice of the Apostles and of the first Palestinian Christians, explains why the Church has made the Psalms her prayer par excellence. In this way, moreover, the book of Psalms rises to the function of being the most tangible, if not the most real, sign of the continuity of the two Testaments.
Bibliography13 works
Giorgio Castellino