A closer look at Psalms 51–100
Who really wrote them, and why?
This is our second installment on
Psalms: The general introduction
to Psalms in the previous issue
(February 2009)need not to be
repeated here. It seems advisable
instead to focus on the distinctiveness
of the set of fifty psalms
we are now going to consider.
For mere pragmatic reasons
of balance, our coverage of the
Psalms has been split into three
installments whose boundaries,
obviously, cannot correspond to
the five collections indicated by
the editors of the psalter—I: Pss
1–41; II: Pss 42–72; III: Pss 73–89;
IV: Pss 90–106; V: Pss 107–150.
Our study in the current issue
spans three different “books”
(II-III-IV) in the overall collection
of Psalms. So we will now
dwell on the main features and
the personalities of Pss 51–100.
An amazing diversity
in authorshipWhile our first installment dealt
essentially with psalms “of David,”
the fifty psalms we will now consider
display headings that refer
to no less than eight different
authors: David (19: Pss 51–65,
68–70, 86), Asaph (11: Pss 73–83),
Solomon (1: Ps 72), the Korahites
(4: Pss 84, 85, 87, 88), Ethan the
Ezrahite (1: Ps 89), Moses (1: Ps
90), Heman the Ezrahite (1: Ps
88), the choirmaster (2). Notice
the dual attribution of Ps 88 to
the Korahites and to Heman
the Ezrahite. This leaves us with
eleven “orphan” psalms that are
without any specific attribution.
As we can see, David remains
the main reference, but levitical
influence is on the rise with
Asaph as the leading figure together with the Korahites. In
terms of chronology this very fact
points to the reorganization of
Temple worship some time after
the exile, and in which levitical
guilds took over spiritual leadership
in Jerusalem. Such reorganization
is amply documented
in 1–2 Chronicles, deemed to
have been put in writing in about
350 B.C. It should be noted that
it also provides the proper context
to understand and appreciate
ancient Jewish sources (the
Talmud) and the New Testament
when they refer to Temple festivals
and liturgy.
Dealing with divine names:
The “Elohist Psalter”
The sacred name YHWH occurs
695 times in the Psalter—the
highest total for a single book. Yet
scholars have long noted that these
occurrences are unequally distributed
throughout the five collections
indicated above: respectively,
I: 272; II: 30; III: 44; IV: 103; V: 236.
Meanwhile, the number of occurrences
of the generic name Elohîm
rises considerably in books II–III,
amounting to 207. Hence the
denomination of “Elohistic Psalter.”
One of the reasons that might
explain the substitution of Elohîm (God) to YHWH (the Lord) is the
growing tendency among Jews in
exilic and postexilic times to avoid
pronouncing God’s sacred name.
Such practice is best exemplified,
within the set of fifty psalms
under study this month, by Ps
53, a duplicate of Ps 14. The only
significant difference between the
two psalms lies in their use of the
divine name: YHWH in Ps 14 and
Elohîm in Ps 53. It seems that the
latter is a revision of the former,
and that they both had their own
independent existence: While Ps
14 belongs to a Davidic environment
(Jerusalem and Judah), Ps
53 would reflect traditions from
the northern tribes of Israel.
Laments and the healing
process of a nation
Even though the first fifty psalms
featured a good number of supplications
and the most poignant
individual lament of the Psalter (Ps
22), the general tone was, rather, of
trust. What is striking now in the
psalms we are going to read this
month is the number and the highly
dramatic character of national
laments we will find: Pss 60, 74, 79,
80, 83, 88, 89:35-52. They contain
radical questions about God’s attitude and about their own status
and future as the people of God,
such as: “How long, O Lord? Will
you hide yourself forever? How
long will your wrath burn like
fire?” (Ps 89:47[46]); “O God, why
do you cast us off forever? Why
does your anger smoke against the
sheep of your pasture?” (Ps 74:1).
(In case of dual numbering of verses,
the first number to the Hebrew
and the number between square
brackets to the numbering according
to some English versions.)
These laments show great
affinities with the narratives that
speak of the fall of Jerusalem into
the hands of the Babylonians and
of the deportation to Babylon
(2 Kgs 24–25; Jer 52) and with
the book of Lamentations. They
reflect a great deal of hurt and a
sense of helplessness, but they also
played a major role in the healing
process of a nation who dared to
remind God of his responsibilities
and duties and to act like the God
he claims to be: “Remember your
congregation which you acquired
long ago.…Rise up, O God, plead
your cause” (Ps 74:2, 22); “Let
your compassion come speedily to
meet us…!” (Ps 79:8).
National laments might sound
too disturbing to our concept of
worship. But given the enormity
of ongoing tragedies in our world
(wars, lethal diseases, famines,
earthquakes, colossal frauds, and
economic uncertainty), I think there is a lot we can learn from
these psalms about how to deal
with collective tragedies and
threats and how far we can go in
calling upon our God to stand by
his promises.
From tribulation to
jubilation: Celebrating
the Lord’s kingship
Lament comes to its peak in Ps
89, which marks the end of Book
III of Psalms. Verses 35-52 lament
in a most graphic way the failure
of historical monarchy and what
seem to be broken promises from
God. But the tone is just about to
change in the next set of psalms
(93 to 100) made mostly of psalms
that proclaim and celebrate the
Lord’s kingship: “The Lord is king!
Let the earth rejoice; let the many
coastlands be glad!” (Ps 97:1). A
new conviction starts building up
in the hearts of the faithful: It’s
time to leave behind the laments
and to “sing a new song” in honor
of the one and only King, not only
of Israel but of all the earth: “O
sing to the Lord a new song, for
he has done marvelous things. His
right hand and his holy arm have
gotten him victory” (98:1). Joy
and hope reappear on the horizon,
thus setting the tone for the symphony
of praise and jubilation that
resound in Pss 101–150.
Let us now resume our journey
into Psalms with our daily study
guide.
GWT
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