The book of Psalms is divided into five uneven sections traditionally called the Book of the Psalms. They are grouped somewhat by authorship and somewhat by content. It is possible that the fivefold grouping of the Psalms was meant to reflect the five books of Moses, but this idea should probably not be pressed. Ancient Jewish and Christian traditions name Ezra as the man responsible for our present arrangement of the Psalms in their current order and probably in this 5-book division.
Each of the books seem to have a single verse that should be viewed outside the Psalm it follows that serves as a doxology for that book.
Book I. Psalms 1—41. Psalms written primarily by David and preferring the name LORD (יְהוָה) rather than God.
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵהָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹלָם אָמֵן וְאָמֵן
. 41:13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
Book II. Psalms 42—72. Psalms written primarily by David and exclusively using the title God (אֱלֹהִים) rather than LORD.
72:18-19
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת לְבַדּוֹ
וּבָרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹדוֹ לְעוֹלָם
וְיִמָּלֵא כְבוֹדוֹ אֶת־כֹּל הָאָרֶץ אָמֵן וְאָמֵן
. Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
. Amen and Amen.
72:20
כָּלּוּ תְפִלּוֹת דָּוִד בֶּן־יִשָׁי
. This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
Book III. Psalms 73—89. Psalms written by Asaph and the Sons of Korah.
89:52[Heb. 53]
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם אָמֵן וְאָמֵן
. Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.
Book IV. Psalms 90—106. Psalms written about or relating to the exodus and a Psalm by Moses himself.
106:48
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן־הָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹלָם
וְאָמַר כָּל־הָעָם אָמֵן
הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
. Let all the people say “Amen!” Praise the LORD (Hallelujah).
Book V. Psalms 107—150. Psalms of praise, often invoking the word Hallelujah.
Psalm 150:6
כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD (Hallelujah).
(I think it’s likely that the last verse of Psalm 150 was not added, but that Psalm 150 was chosen or even written to conclude the whole book as a sort of grand doxology.)
II. AUTHORSHIP
116 of the 150 Psalms in the Bible have headings or superscriptions of some kind. Even some of the songs outside the Psalms (Habakkuk chapter 3) have similar features. Although some think that these headings may have been added at a later time, there are no copies or versions of the Psalms prior to the 20th Century that do not have them. Also, other ancient culture (Ugaritic, Sumerian, Egyptian) that used the same kind of headings. A shorthand history of the Hebrew text and some translations of the headings:
* 15th—5th Centuries BC Original manuscripts of the Bible written (all lost)Although the headings do not generally contain any doctrinal insights, they give background and historical context to these poems of the earliest Church.
* 3rd c. BC Septuagint (Greek translation made in Egypt). Includes Psalm headings
* 2nd c BC – 1st c AD Dead Sea Scrolls. Includes Psalm headings
* 2nd c AD Talmud. Includes evidence of Psalm headings
* 2nd c AD Other Greek translations and well as Coptic and Syriac. Includes Psalm headings
* 2nd-4th c AD Masoretic notes on the Hebrew Text. Includes detailed discussion of Psalm headings.
* 3rd c AD Origen translates the Psalms three times: the Roman Psalter, the Gallican (Vulgate) Psalter, and ‘Origen’s Psalter’ (intended for the Vulgate but replaced by his previous ‘Gallican’ version). Includes scholarly research on the headings.
A typical example of an author’s name in one of these headings is found above verse 1 in Psalm 86: A Prayer of David. David is the author of 75 of the Psalms. Other authors include Solomon, Moses, Asaph (especially in Book III), the ‘Sons of Korah,’ and a few others.
III. PARALLELISM
Since Hebrew is an inflected language, rhyme is rarely seen as a literary or poetic device. Instead, Hebrew relies on word pictures and rhythm. One of the ways Hebrew paints its word pictures is by sketching the complete border of the thought using a variety of words. One of the most common ways of this sketch is the parallel line.
Parallel lines of Hebrew poetry say either the same thing in two or more ways, or else they say the opposite thing, so that the full impact of the subject will be better understood.
There are at least five types of parallelism in the Psalms, but the main three are:
SYNONYMOUS
ANTITHETIC
SYNTHETIC
Other names have been attempted for different types (Introverted, Stair-like, Emblematic, etc.), but knowing something about these three will take you pretty far.
SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM Restating a point using similar words.
אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה בְּחַיָּי אֲזַמְּרָה לֵאלֹהַי בְּעוֹדִי
- I will sing to the Lord...
- I will sing praises to my God (Psalm 104:33)
ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM Restating a point with a contrast.
בֵּאלֹהִים בָּטַחְתִּי לֹא אִירָא
- In God I trust,
- I will not be afraid (Psalm 56:4) [Hebrew 56:5]
SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM Completing a point with a longer phrase.
וַיִּבְגְּדוּ כַּאֲבוֹתָם נֶהְפְּכוּ כְּקֶשֶׁת רְמִיָּה
- Like their fathers they were faithless...
- as unreliable as a faulty bow. (Psalm 78:56)
Since all three are found in Psalm 73, we will simply visit that Psalm and see how each kind of parallelism serves to carry along the message of the Holy Spirit.
PSALM 73
In his first series of lectures on the Psalms, Martin Luther called Psalm 73 “a light for resolving many scripture passages which seem to be contradictory. For while there are many passage which threaten nothing but evil to the evil and promise nothing but good to the good, there are, on the contrary, the complaints and the experience of so many… Throughout the Psalter there are the lamentations of the godly, in which it is demonstrated that the good are badly off and the evil are well off.”
An outline of this psalm:
1. 73:1-14 A Trial of Faith
- A. 73:1 The Theme: God is good to Israel
- B. 73:2-3 The Problem: My foot had almost slipped (cf. Psalm 121:3)
- C. 73:4-11 The Song of Complaint
- D. 73:12 The Antithesis of the Theme (This is what the wicked are like)
- E. 73:13-14 The Problem Restated (In vain I have kept my heart pure)
“…morning.” – center of the Psalm
2. 73:15-28 The Renewal of Faith
- A. 73:15-17 Faith renewed through worship
- B. 73:18-20 The Solution: God will bring the wicked to judgment (and a joy about “morning” as God despises the wicked like dreams/fantasies after waking)
- C. 73:21-22 Confession and humiliation
- D. 73:23-26 The Song of Faith
- E. 73:27-28 The Response of Faith: I will tell of all your deeds
Notice the various kinds of parallelism as you read the Psalm. You may wish to mark some of them—or other notes—in the margin. Remember: there doesn’t have to be parallelism. It’s just one aspect of Hebrew poetry. The first three verses are done.
These entries are very helpful synopses of the Psalms. Thanks for sharing them so that we can share them with others (credits to you).
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