Psalms Through the Centuries, Volume 1 E-Book

Susan Gillingham

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Blackwell Bible Commentaries
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 894

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

This is the first of a two-volume bible commentary covering the Psalms and examining the role of these biblical poems throughout Jewish and Christian history. * Provides a fascinating introduction to the literary, historical, and theological background of psalmody * Examines the psalms through liturgy and prayer, study and preaching, translation and imitation, and musical composition and artistic illustration * Includes illustrations of significant psalms, helpful maps, and an extensive bibliography; an expanded bibliography to accompany the book is also available at href="http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/9780631218555.pdf">www.wiley.com/go/gillingham * A forthcoming second volume is planned, which will take an alternative psalm-by-psalm approach * Now available in paperback, and published in the innovative reception-history series, Blackwell Bible Commentaries

Leseprobe

Contents

Illustrations

Series Editors’ Preface

Preface

Preface to the Paperback Edition

Works Cited

Introduction: Towards a Reception-History Commentary on the Psalms

The Eleventh Century BCE to the Fifth Century CE: Translation, Exposition, Instruction, Liturgy and the Prophetic Bias

Jewish Reception

Christian Reception

Liturgical Adaptations of the Psalms

Concluding Observations

The Fifth to Eleventh Centuries: Liturgy, Exposition, Artistic Representation

Christian Reception

Jewish Reception

Concluding Observations

The Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries: Learning and Discerning

Jewish and Christian Controversies through Exegetical Works

Christian and Jewish Artists

Christian and Jewish Didactic Works

Christian and Jewish Liturgy

Translation in Christian Tradition

Concluding Observations

The Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries: Democratization and Dissemination

Reception as Translation: Christian Responses

Reception as Aesthetic Representation: Jewish and Christian Responses

Concluding Observations

The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Secularization and Revitalization

Christian Responses

Jewish Responses

Concluding Observations

The Twentieth to Twenty-First Centuries: Pluralism and Ecumenism

Christian and Jewish Translations of Psalmody

Liturgy and Psalmody in Christian and Jewish Traditions

Exegetical Studies, Christian and Jewish

Devotional Works, Christian and Jewish

Aesthetic Responses, Christian and Jewish

Concluding Observations

Conclusion: From Introduction to Commentary

Glossary

References

Plates

Index of Psalms

Index of Names

Subject Index

Praise for Psalms Through the Centuries: Volume One

“A most impressive piece of work ... The coverage is truly encyclopaedic in scope and nothing seems to have escaped Gillingham’s attention.”

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

“Gillingham meticulously masters the diverse reception history of the psalms ... Every page is bursting with solid research and influential insight. An invaluable addition to the field.”

Religious Studies Review

“This wonderful book whets the appetite both for its second volume, and for more volumes of this valuable series … [A] highly innovative and promising project.”

International Review of Biblical Studies

“This book is a breakthrough in our understanding of the reception history of the Psalter. It will appeal to scholars and students of the Psalms and also to everyone who uses and prays them. The scope is extraordinarily wide and covers both Jewish and Christian use of the Psalms over nearly three thousand years.”

John Barton, University of Oxford

“As liturgical and devotional texts the Psalms occupy a unique place in Jewish and Christian tradition. In this impressively wide ranging study, Sue Gillingham explores how over the centuries the Psalms have inspired, been prayed, analyzed, interpreted and spoken with an extraordinary resonance to many kinds of human need. Musicians, liturgists and students of literature as well as theologians, clergy and Christian and Jewish teachers, will find fresh perspectives and new insights in this magisterial survey. We await with anticipation the second volume in which against this background the interpretation of individual psalms will be considered.”

The Rt Revd Dr Geoffrey Rowell, Diocese of Europe

Blackwell Bible Commentaries

Series Editors: John Sawyer, Christopher Rowland, Judith Kovacs, David M. Gunn

John Through the CenturiesMark Edwards

Revelation Through the CenturiesJudith Kovacs & Christopher Rowland

Judges Through the CenturiesDavid M. Gunn

Exodus Through the CenturiesScott M. Langston

Ecclesiastes Through the CenturiesEric S. Christianson

Esther Through the CenturiesJo Carruthers

Psalms Through the Centuries: Volume ISusan Gillingham

Galatians Through the CenturiesJohn Riches

Pastoral EpistlesThrough the CenturiesJay Twomey

1 & 2 Thessalonians Through the CenturiesAnthony C. Thiselton

Six Minor Prophets Through the CenturiesBy Richard Coggins and Jin H. HanForthcoming:

1 & 2 Samuel Through the CenturiesDavid M. Gunn

1 & 2 KingsThrough the CenturiesMartin O’Kane

Psalms Through the Centuries: Volume IISusan Gillingham

Song of Songs Through the CenturiesFiona Black

Isaiah Through the CenturiesJohn F. A. Sawyer

Jeremiah Through the CenturiesMary Chilton Callaway

Lamentations Through the CenturiesPaul M. Joyce and Diana Lipton

Ezekiel Through the CenturiesAndrew Mein

JonahThrough the CenturiesYvonne Sherwood

Mark Through the CenturiesChristine Joynes

The Acts of the Apostles Through the CenturiesBy Mikeal C. Parsons and Heidi J. Hornik

Romans Through the CenturiesPaul Fiddes

1 Corinthians Through the CenturiesJorunn Okland

Hebrews Through the CenturiesJohn Lyons

James Through the CenturiesDavid Gowler

Genesis 1-21 Through the CenturiesChristopher Heard

Genesis 22-50 Through the CenturiesChristopher Heard

Deuteronomy Through the CenturiesJonathan Campbell

Daniel Through the CenturiesDennis Tucker

This paperback edition first published 2012© 2012 Susan Gillingham

Edition History: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (hardback, 2008)

Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gillingham, S. E. (Susan E.)Psalms through the centuries / Susan Gillingham.p. cm.—(Blackwell Bible commentaries)Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-631-21855-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-470-67490-1 (paperback: alk.paper)1. Bible. O.T. Psalms—Commentaries. I. Title.BS1430.53.G55 2007223′.207—dc22

2007013646

A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

For Dick

driver, cook, fiercest critic, closest friend

Little by little, one travels far.

(J.R.R. Tolkien)

Illustrations

Figures

Colour plates fall between pp. 4 and 5.

0.1

Psalm 1 from the

Utrecht Psalter

.

0.2

Psalm 150 in Chichester Cathedral by Marc Chagall.

3.1

St Albans Psalter

, Psalm 72.

3.2

Luttrell Psalter

: a Christian illustration of Psalm 137.

3.3

Parma Psalter

: a Jewish illustration of Psalm 137.

3.4

Jewish psalms and Arabic art in El Tránsito synagogue, Toledo.

3.5

Illustration of Psalms 113 and 114 in the Prato Haggadah.

5.1

Illustration of Psalm 2 in the Pictorial Sunday book.

5.2

Illustration of Psalm 3 in the Pictorial Sunday book.

5.3

Illustration of Psalm 8 in the Pictorial Sunday book.

5.4

Illustration of Psalm 12 in the Pictorial Sunday book.

6.1

Psalm 142 by Arthur Wragg.

6.2

Psalm 22 by Arthur Wragg.

6.3

Psalm 148 by Michael Jessing.

6.4

Psalm 42 by Roger Wagner.

Maps

1.1

Jerusalem: the centre of psalmody for early Jewish and Christian communities.

2.1

Rome: a centre of psalmody in the early Middle Ages.

3.1

France: a centre of psalmody in the later Middle Ages.

4.1

From England, Scotland and western Europe to the New World: centres of psalmody during Reformation and Commonwealth times.

5.1

Great Britain, Europe and America: the spread of psalmody during the Enlightenment period.

6.1

Great Britain and the English-speaking world: the spread of psalmody within the twentieth century.

Series Editors’ Preface

The Blackwell Bible Commentaries series, the first to be devoted primarily to the reception history of the Bible, is based on the premise that how people have interpreted, and been influenced by, a sacred text like the Bible is often as interesting and historically important as what it originally meant. The series emphasizes the influence of the Bible on literature, art, music, and film, its role in the evolution of religious beliefs and practices, and its impact on social and political developments. Drawing on work in a variety of disciplines, it is designed to provide a convenient and scholarly means of access to material until now hard to find, and a much-needed resource for all those interested in the influence of the Bible on western culture.

Until quite recently this whole dimension was for the most part neglected by biblical scholars. The goal of a commentary was primarily if not exclusively to get behind the centuries of accumulated Christian and Jewish tradition to one single meaning, normally identified with the author’s original intention.

The most important and distinctive feature of the Blackwell Commentaries is that they will present readers with many different interpretations of each text, in such a way as to heighten their awareness of what a text, especially a sacred text, can mean and what it can do, what it has meant and what it has done, in the many contexts in which it operates.

The Blackwell Bible Commentaries will consider patristic, rabbinic (where relevant), and medieval exegesis as well as insights from various types of modern criticism, acquainting readers with a wide variety of interpretative techniques. As part of the history of interpretation, questions of source, date, authorship, and other historical-critical and archaeological issues will be discussed, but since these are covered extensively in existing commentaries, such references will be brief, serving to point readers in the direction of readily accessible literature where they can be followed up.

Original to this series is the consideration of the reception history of specific biblical books arranged in commentary format. The chapter-by-chapter arrangement ensures that the biblical text is always central to the discussion. Given the wide influence of the Bible and the richly varied appropriation of each biblical book, it is a difficult question which interpretations to include. While each volume will have its own distinctive point of view, the guiding principle for the series as a whole is that readers should be given a representative sampling of material from different ages, with emphasis on interpretations that have been especially influential or historically significant. Though commentators will have their preferences among the different interpretations, the material will be presented in such a way that readers can make up their own minds on the value, morality, and validity of particular interpretations.

The series encourages readers to consider how the biblical text has been interpreted down the ages and seeks to open their eyes to different uses of the Bible in contemporary culture. The aim is to write a series of scholarly commentaries that draw on all the insights of modern research to illustrate the rich interpretative potential of each biblical book.

John SawyerChristopher RowlandJudith KovacsDavid M. Gunn

Preface

This, the first volume of two on the Psalms in this series, has itself undergone some reception history, albeit over only ten years. I am most grateful to the Theology Faculty at Oxford University for constantly providing me with funding for research assistants, without whom this book would not have emerged. From 1997 to 2002 graduates from Worcester College – Andrew Hudson, Sharon Moughtin-Mumby, Chessie Stavrakapoulou and Helenann Hartley – spent tracts of time, usually for one year each, and between them they set this project in motion. Then between 2002 and 2004, first Abbie and then Esther Gillingham built upon their foundation, searching out and cataloguing copies of countless books, papers and websites, and setting up an effective database from which I could work on this volume and the next. I am indebted to all of them for their different ways in keeping me going when the task seemed too great (the bibliography in this book and on the website represent only a third of the resources used).

When research turned into writing, and I needed space away from the administrative pressures of Oxford, I used parts of two sabbatical summers at a wonderful hideaway in Nassau, a setting close to paradise, through the gracious invitation of Rubie and Kendal Nottage. There I wrote most of the first chapter, and later, much of the fourth. The Diocese of the Bahamas has become inextricably linked with the project, and I am profoundly grateful for their affirmation and hospitality. More close to home, Burford Priory, near Oxford, has been a constant spiritual resource and I am similarly grateful to Abbot Stuart OSB and the whole community for their encouragement and prayerful support.

Between 2004 and 2007 other students have given a good deal of time to this project, of whom Hannah Cleugh and Sheenagh Nixon deserve especial mention. My deepest debt is to Natasha O’Hear, who has worked with me throughout most of this period, and because her own research overlaps with mine, her intuition and organizational skills have been invaluable.

My Oxford colleagues have been most supportive. Christopher Rowland, as one of the editors of the series, has been a wise counsellor from the outset. John Barton went far beyond the call of duty and read the entire manuscript: I am constantly indebted to his shrewd suggestions and his unassuming encouragement. Within my Faculty, other colleagues, too numerous to mention, have offered their expertise in matters of church history, liturgy, literature, art and music, and this volume would have been much impoverished without their advice. Further afield, Geoffrey Rowell has been singularly generous, despite his intense schedule travelling within and beyond Europe, in finding the time to read the manuscript in full and to make constructive and perceptive suggestions. John Sawyer, another editor of the series with responsibility for the Old Testament, has also been unstinting with his time and in reading the manuscript he has been an unfailing source of advice, information and enthusiasm.

The team at Blackwell Publishing has been most helpful, particularly in the last stages. Andrew Humphries, the commissioning editor, Bridget Jennings, the senior publishing coordinator, Karen Wilson, the editorial controller, Helen Nash, the picture researcher, Caroline Milton, the senior production controller, and Annette Abel, my copy editor, have been firm and affirming in equal measure. I tested their patience in several ways – not least in issues of the word limit – but they have enabled me to produce a more polished work whose deficiencies can now only be my own responsibility.

Throughout this period I have made life difficult not only for Abbie and Esther, by being constantly distracted even in apparently free time, but also for my husband, Richard Smethurst. I owe each of them a huge debt. He in particular has unfailingly believed in this project, and although he has been partly compensated by our research travels in Europe and America, he has borne the brunt of late-night and long weekend working – without too many complaints. Further, as a ‘non-theologian’, he has read and corrected the manuscript with terrifying attention to detail and historical sense. It is most appropriate that this work, which he has both loved and loathed, should be dedicated to him.

Preface to the Paperback Edition

In the four years since the publication of this volume in hardback, several relevant works have appeared. Some have started with a particular psalm and looked at its influence in just one cultural context; others have begun with a particular interpreter and looked at the use of relevant psalms within a defined period; whilst others are edited works of experts writing on the reception history of just one psalm, of which Psalm 29 through Time and Tradition (ed. L Handy: Eugenem Ore.: Pickwick, 2009) is a good example. Dictionaries and encyclopaedias on reception history are also beginning to appear. First, de Gruyter’s thirty-volume project, The Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception had its initial publication in 2010: it is a survey of what is currently known of the origins and reception of the Bible in literature, art, music and film, in Jewish and Christian tradition, Western and non-Western traditions alike. The entry on the Psalms is several years away. Secondly, OUP published in 2011 The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible with one chapter on the reception history of the Psalms by Katharine Dell (pp. 37-51). Thirdly, John Sawyer, one of the Blackwell editors in this Series, has produced his Concise Dictionary of the Bible and its Reception (Westminster John Knox, 2009). It has a brief but seminal entry on the psalms and their afterlife (pp. 214-215) and also includes several allusions to the psalms in other entries, as seen in the index (pp. 287-288).

Despite these new developments, this paperback edition of Volume One of Psalms through the Centuries is still unique. There is nothing quite like this one-authored paperback work on the reception history of psalmody, unified by one method and one purpose. Furthermore, Volume Two, a commentary on the Jewish and Christian reception of all the psalms, will also be distinctive. Each psalm will be presented as an ‘anthology with a purpose’, with its own distinctive reception history and its peculiar issues of interpretation. So the paperback edition of this, the first volume, is not only a means of making it easier for colleagues to purchase their own individual copies: it also announces that Volume Two, which will be a very different Psalms Commentary in its reception history focus on all the psalms, is to follow.

Works Cited

Numbers of psalms and verses from psalms always accord with the NRSV unless otherwise stated.

The size of the bibliography has meant that books and articles not explicitly used in the text have been placed on the Wiley website (www.wiley.com/go/gillingham) and are indicated in the footnotes by the use of italic script. All the website addresses found throughout this work are listed on the Bible Commentaries website at www.bbibcomm.net/.

Asterisks indicate terms explained in the glossary.

Introduction: Towards a Reception-History Commentary on the Psalms

Given the central place of the palms in both Jewish and Christian reception history, it is surprising that only two other works of this nature have previously been published. R.E. Prothero’s The Psalms in Human Life (1903) is an intriguing study of the use of the psalms in the lives of individuals from early Christianity to 1900, whilst W.L. Holladay’s The Psalms through Three Thousand Years (1993) is a more systematic treatment of the Jewish and Christian use of the psalms from their inception ‘in David’s day’ up to the end of the twentieth century, focusing on Psalm 23. This book is closer to Holladay’s in that it looks at the reception of psalmody through commentary, homily, translation, liturgy, literature, music and art. Its purpose, however, is different, for it is the first of two volumes, setting the scene for a forthcoming reception-history commentary on individual psalms.

A work of this sort has the inevitable problem of particularity. I write as an English-speaking Anglican woman, and it is impossible not to prefer some types of reception above others, however open-minded and even-handed I seek to be. Selecting what material to use has been difficult. Although nearly four thousand works have been consulted, the breadth of the project has meant that the discussion, footnotes and bibliography represent a small proportion of more detailed research. Furthermore, I have found a ‘word-centred’ survey of psalmody somewhat restrictive: other ways of ‘hearing and seeing the psalms’, not least through liturgy, prayer, music and art, have had to be described rather than experienced. And not only is this project necessarily selective, it is also diffuse. The maps at the beginning of each chapter illustrate the geographical expansion as psalmody spreads out from the Levant eastwards and westwards, eventually reaching the New World and beyond. (The book has an intentional bias towards psalmody in the English-speaking world, and from the fifteenth century onwards, in Britain in particular.)

The chapters are divided into six periods which each suggest different changes of emphasis in the reception of psalmody in both Jewish and Christian traditions. Each chapter looks at five types of reception history. The first is reception through exposition, and mainly comprises commentaries and introductions which expound the texts and ancient contexts of the psalms and their relationship with other parts of Scripture. The second is reception through instruction, and this includes sermons, tractates and devotional works, whereby the moral and spiritual meaning of psalmody is uppermost. The third is reception through liturgy; this is about the adaptation of the psalms both within public worship and in private prayer. The fourth is reception through translation – for example, from Hebrew into Greek, Latin, Aramaic and Syriac in the earliest periods, and (for our purposes) into Middle English, Elizabethan English and contemporary English. The fifth type is reception through aesthetic representation, which includes not only literary and poetic imitations, but also music, architecture and art.

The six chapters illustrate how these modes of reception function in different ways. The first, from the time of the Davidic monarchy in about 1000 BCE up to the fifth century of the Christian era, begins in an exclusively Jewish context, where expositions, didactic works and translations each suggest a bias towards interpreting the psalms as prophecies anticipating future redemption. This prophetic bias continues within the earliest Christian reception, both within the New Testament and within the writings of the early church fathers, particularly in the debates about the churches’ relationship with Judaism and with the Graeco-Roman world; it is seen especially in commentaries, works of instruction and translations, and so follows a similar pattern to the ways in which the psalms were understood in Judaism. The difference is that the psalms are now read as prophecies which have been fulfilled, so that the ‘psalms of David’ are now seen as ‘psalms of (and to) Christ’; by the end of this period, the different interpretations of psalmody within the two faiths are clearly apparent.

The second chapter covers the fifth to eleventh centuries, and illustrates first the innovations in the liturgical use of the psalms, both in Judaism and Christianity, both in public and private. Liturgical renewal brings about a proliferation of commentaries and devotional works, again with each faith tradition claiming the psalms as their own. This period ends with a striking innovation in Christian interpretation, namely the illuminations of psalm manuscripts, which enables theological difference to be expressed not only verbally but also in artistic representation.

In the third period, which encompasses the eleventh to fifteenth centuries, liturgy, instruction and exposition are the most prevalent modes of reception, and here we find evidence of acrimonious debates between Jews and Christians as to their variant different readings of particular psalms. Artistic representation continues, with some illumination now evident in Jewish prayer books. This period ends with another development in Christian tradition, namely the appearance of the psalms in literary works as well as in some experimental translations in Middle English.

In the fourth period, comprising the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, two trends are particularly evident in Christian reception: that of further translation (which in turn influences liturgical renewal, poetic imitations and devotional works), and that of representations of psalmody through music as well as through art. Jewish reception, by contrast, reflects less concern for either translation or musical reception: there are some notable exceptions, but here there is more continuity with the previous centuries, especially in expositions and devotional works.

In the fifth period – the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries – innovations in Christian reception include expository works of a more rational and critical nature, which contrast starkly with other more spiritual studies and aesthetic works. Jewish reception comprises more liturgical and devotional works, although there is now increasing evidence of aesthetic representations.

The sixth period, covering the twentieth century up to the present day, illustrates just how much all five modes of reception co-exist in each faith tradition. A plethora of translations and liturgical innovations are most evident in Christian reception, most of which serve an ecumenical purpose. Furthermore, the wide variety of exegetical, didactic and aesthetic responses contributes to draw more closely together – in effect for the first time – Jewish and Christian interpretations. Alongside this more positive state of affairs, with the psalms offering new ways of reconciling differences both within each faith tradition and between them, there is a downside, because the vast amount of innovation and experimentation (particularly with the language of the psalms) begins to result in a loss of discourse with the rich heritage of the past.

This, then, is a skeleton outline of what readers will find in this book, whose purpose is to explore further the ways in which the five modes of reception wax and wane through the six different periods of reception history. It is a ‘macro’ look at the Psalter as a whole, with individual psalms used as illustrations, whilst the forthcoming commentary will be a ‘micro’ study of the reception history of individual psalms. One contribution this first volume makes to the second is that it allows us to determine which psalms have the richest reception history, and so which deserve the most attention by way of commentary (the index of psalms referred to here should be helpful in this respect). We should also be able to ascertain which stages in Jewish and Christian history use certain psalms, and which psalms illustrate specific issues of interpretation throughout their reception history.

Psalm 8 is a significant example in this respect. As will be seen in the following pages, it is frequently referred to by both Jews and Christians, and the most critical different stages in its reception history include the very earliest period, the Middle Ages, the Reformation period and the twentieth century: hence a commentary must focus on these periods. Psalm 8 also reflects one overriding issue throughout the history of interpretation – namely, the very different way it has been interpreted by Jews and Christians, and this is seen in four of the five modes of reception. The earliest controversies hinge upon different views about its translation (particularly of a verse in the middle of the psalm which speaks of ‘the son of man’) from the Hebrew into Greek, then into Latin, and eventually into English, particularly during the Middle Ages and the Reformation and then into contemporary times. The contentions about translation have in turn generated a large number of commentaries and devotional works, which epitomize the division of opinion between Jews and Christians on various points of meaning, with Jewish interpreters favouring the psalm as a hymn about creation and Christian interpreters preferring to see it as a song of redemption – or a prophecy about the person and work of Jesus Christ now having been fulfilled. Jewish and Christian artistic portrayals of Psalm 8 illustrate further these differences. So in terms of translation, exegesis, devotional works and representation in art, Psalm 8 is rich in reception. The only type of representation not as prominent in this psalm is in fact the liturgical one; and because the psalm does not play a major part in many Jewish or Christian festivals apart from Ascension Day, its reception in liturgical terms means that its reception in musical terms is not notable either. A reception-history commentary will offer more specific illustrations of this particular psalm, but it should be possible to see how this first volume on the Psalter as a whole forms the backcloth against which individual psalms can be seen in clearer outline.1

In fact, reception study of psalmody, whether in a ‘macro’ or ‘micro’ form, can act as a prism to enable us to see larger issues at work in both Judaism and Christianity and their interaction with the cultures around them. This is not surprising; the Psalter has of course been a vital resource for defining both the Jewish and Christian faiths, both in public debate and in private reflection, a theme which will recur constantly throughout this book.

1 For a fuller reception history of Psalm 8 see S. Gillingham (2007) (forthcoming).

The Eleventh CenturyBCEto the Fifth CenturyCE: Translation, Exposition, Instruction, Liturgy and the Prophetic Bias

Jewish Reception

From Composition to Compilation to Translation

The first millennium of reception history is the least complex, given that during this period the psalms were used exclusively in Jewish settings and within the defined geographical area of Syro-Palestine, Egypt and Babylon. However, our account begins where most commentaries end: the debates about the dates, authors and provenances of individual psalms are of minimal concern, because our emphasis is on the reception of individual psalms once the Psalter had become a recognized collection. So what follows is a brief summary of the stages leading to the compilation of the Psalter as a whole.

It seems fairly certain that many psalms were composed in the *pre-exilic period – psalms for the king to use in the Temple (for example, Psalms 2, 72, 89, 110 and 132), psalms which ratified the conviction that God would protect the city of Zion from invasion (such as Psalms 46, 48), and psalms which would be used in times of national distress (for example, Psalms 74, 77, 79, 80, 82). Other psalms with archaic language and Canaanite motifs are probably also early: these include Psalms 29 and 68. Some psalms may even be traced back to David himself (c.1000 BCE), although the title ‘A Psalm of (or in Hebrew, ‘to’) David’ is not a good guide to authorship as the psalm headings would have been added in the second Temple period. But all the psalms referred to above would have been preserved and reinterpreted during the period of exile in Babylon in the sixth century BCE. The so-called ‘royal psalms’ and ‘Zion hymns’ would have been used with an eye to the future, to encourage the community whose present experience would have made them question the confident faith expressed within them, and other psalms of distress (for example, Psalm 137) would have been added. Other additions would include the psalms celebrating God’s kingship (for example, Psalms 47, 93, 95–9) which would have given the disenchanted exiles a new vision. However, given that these psalms have been scattered throughout the Psalter, a chronological arrangement was not the primary concern of the compilers.

MAP1.1 Jerusalem: the centre of psalmody for early Jewish and Christian communities.

After the exile, many psalms of a more personalized nature would have been added; the best examples are found within *‘The Psalms of Ascents’ (Psalms 120–34), which show how individual piety was incorporated into Temple worship. New hymns of praise, individual complaints and didactic psalms would also have been incorporated. Gradually psalms were organized into groups and then into collections, each given a heading to connect one with another, and later still, these collections would have been incorporated into the five different books which make up the Psalter as a whole.

The first book (Psalms 1–41) comprises mainly personal laments, and here the heading ‘Psalm of David’ dominates; this is a more homogenous work, comprising smaller groups of psalms (for example, Psalms 15–24). Books Two and Three (Psalms 42–72 and 73–89) form a second group, determined up to Psalm 83 by the prominent use of Elohim as a name for God, compared with the name Yahweh which is prevalent in Book One. Several smaller collections are evident here, and the title ‘Psalm of David’ is used only in Psalms 51–65 and 68–70. Books Four and Five (Psalms 90–106 and 107–50) form a third and final division, comprising one large collection (Psalms 120–34) and several smaller ones; here the psalms are mainly those of praise, and far fewer have superscriptions.

The adding of titles to individual psalms and the placing of psalms into collections and then into books thus mark the first stages of reception history. For example, the superscriptions give the psalm a different historical focus to that which the composer intended (the historical headings to psalms such as 3, 7, 18, 30, 34 and 51 now set these psalms in the life of King David as told in the books of 1–2 Samuel). Furthermore, by placing particular psalms next to those which have a different style and theology, as well as a different date, each psalm is read not only in its own light, but in the light of its neighbour. The best illustration is the way Psalm 1, a late psalm concerning the importance of meditating on the law, and Psalm 2, an early psalm suggesting an accession ceremony of the king, have been brought together to illustrate complementary themes, each key facets of Judaism – the ‘Torah’ (Psalm 1) and the ‘Messiah’ (Psalm 2). Given that by this time the Psalter would have been divided into five books, the juxtaposition of Psalms 1 and 2 suggest that here we have a second Torah, with David, not Moses, as the significant Messianic figure.