Psalms (3)

Types of Psalms and Poetry

The word psalms is derived from the Greek  Ψαλμοί (Psalmoi). It might mean "music of the lyre" or "songs sung to a harp" It comes from the verb psallein, "to play upon a stringed instrument" and then to "make music in any fashion.”

Divisions of the book

We noticed earlier that the Book of Psalms is divided into five books. Likely this is an analogy to the five books of Moses, each of them closing with a doxology or benediction.

1. 1-41: All of these are attributed to David. Even untitled psalms (1,2,10,33) were also traditionally ascribed to David. While Davidic authorship cannot be confirmed, this probably is the oldest section of the Psalms.
2. 42-72: Eighteen of these are attributed to David. Psalm 72 is believed to be written by David as a prayer for his son. The rest are anonymous.
3. 73-89: Psalm 86 is ascribed to David, Psalm 88 to Heman the Ezrahite, and Psalm 89 to Ethan the Ezrahite. Psalm 88 is the one psalm that appears to end with no resolution.
4. 90-106: Psalm 90 is ascribed to Moses, and Psalms 101 and 103 to David.
5. 107-150: Of these, 15 are ascribed to David, one (Psalm 127) as a charge to Solomon.

-Psalms 113–118 constitute the Hallel, which is recited on the three great feasts, (Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles); at the new moon; and on the eight days of Hanukkah.

-Psalms 120–134 are referred to as Songs of Ascents, and are thought to have been used as hymns of approach by pilgrims to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm. It is composed of 176 verses, in sets of eight verses, each set beginning with one of the 22 Hebrew letters. Several other Psalms also have alphabetical arrangements called “acrostic.”. These psalms are believed to be written (rather than oral) compositions from the first, and thus of a relatively late date.

Psalm 117 is the shortest Psalm, containing only two verses.

Psalm forms

Hermann Gunkel’s pioneering form-critical work on the psalms sought to provide a new and meaningful context in which to interpret individual psalms – not by looking at their literary context within the Psalter (which he did not see as significant), but by bringing together psalms of the same genre (Gattung) from throughout the Psalter. The main genres:

1. Hymns (Psalms 8, 100, 113, 150)
2. Lament /complaint psalms (Psalms 3, 10, 22, 44)
3. Royal Psalms
4. Thanksgiving psalms (Psalms 9, 18, 30, 32)
5. Wisdom psalms
6. Smaller genres and mixed type

Psalm forms or types also include:

• Songs of Zion – Psalms 48, 76, 84, 87, 122, 134;
• Historical litanies – Psalms 78, 105, 106, 135, 136;
• Pilgrim liturgies – Psalms 81, 21;
• Entrance liturgies – Psalms 15, 24;
• Judgment liturgies – Psalms 50, 82;
• Mixed types – 36, 40, 41, 68

Hymn genre

Generally these psalms consist of praise and can be subdivided into 1) Hymns of Divine Kingship (e.g. Psalm 29), 2) Creation Hymns (e.g. Psalm 104), and 3) Hymns celebrating divine action in Israel's history (e.g. Psalm 105 and 106).  These psalms describe the relationship between the Israelite people and God, and recognizes his power and majesty, a theme that is found in other wisdom literature. Gunkel also described a special subset of Eschatological Hymns, which includes themes of future restoration (Psalm 126) or of judgment (Psalm 82).

Lament genre

The Lament/Complaint Psalms can be subdivided into two categories

1)   the individual and 2) communal lament.

2)   In general, the difference between the individual and communal subtypes can be distinguished by the use of the singular "I" or the plural "we". However, the "I" could also be characterizing an individual's personal experience that was reflective of the entire community.

Royal Psalms

Hermann Gunkel categorized ten psalms by their subject matter of kingship as the 'royal psalms'. Specifically the royal psalms deal with the spiritual role of kings in the worship of Yahweh. Aside from that single qualification, there is nothing else which specifically links the ten psalms. Each of the psalms make explicit references to their subject, the king. However, it has been posited that other psalms, which do not mention the king directly, may have been written for royalty (e.g. Psalm 22).

Parallelism

The biblical poetry of Psalms uses parallelism as their primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind of rhyme, in which an idea is developed by the use of repetition, synonyms, or opposites.   Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially the same idea. An example of synonymous parallelism:

·         The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

Two lines expressing opposites is known as antithetic parallelism.  An example of antithetic parallelism:

• The LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:6)