Book of the Psalms

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Roman governor conducted judicial business during his Jones, C. P. 1978, The Roman IIbrld of Dio Chrysostom. Camhridge, A. The Name dates the scroll to around A.D.50. It is made of five sheets tours through the province. Assize towns benefited from MA. The English title "Psalms" is derived from the Greek of leather sewn to a length of almost 13 feet and is the regular inRux of litigantS, traders, and entertainers Rohert, L. 1937. EtuJ.s analo/ina Paris. psalmoi,"songs of praise," by way of the Latin Liber Psal- presently 6 to 7 inches wide; originally itS width was 9 or attracted by the presence of the governor; a vivid, if -. 1946, Helleni<aII. Paris. marum, "book of psalms." Among ancient Greek manu- 10 inches. making it about the same width as the Isaiah satirical picture of the animated scene is drawn by the Sheppard, A. R. R. 1984. Dio'Chrysostom: the Bithynian Years. scripts of the or, psalmoiappears in Codex Vaticanus as a Scroll from Cave I. The scroll contains all or parts of 41 orator Dio Chrysostom, "golden mouthed," who was a L'AnliquiU Cla.5ique 53: 57-73, tide for the book. Codex Sinaiticus has no title, though canonical psalms from Books IV and V of the Psalter, native of Prusa (Or. 35.15-17). Of interest to biblical schol- Sherwin. White, A. N. 1966. The utUr, of PUny: A Histori<aI and "psalms of David" appears at the end. Codex Alexandrinus beginning with Psahn 10I; as well as 2 Sam 23: 1-7; four ars is the 5th-century bishop Synesius' report that Dio Social Commmlary. Oxford. has as the title for the book psaUeri<m.the name of a noncanonical psalms (l5IA, B; 154; 155; and Sir 51:13ff.); referred to the Essenes of Palestine in favorable terms. It ANTHONV SHEPPARD stringed instrument and the basis for the English "psal- and four other nonbiblical works (Plea for Deliverance, would be unwise to assume any great significance in this ter"; psalmoiappears at the conclusion. The noun psalmo.s Apostrophe to Zion, Hymn to the Creator, and David's reference for the history of Judaism or Christianity in Asia is found often in titles to the psalms, as in "psalm of Compositions; these are interspersed in the book at a Minor. The traditions of popular Hellenistic philosophy David." The noun comes from the Greek verb psa11omean- variety of places). on which Dio drew included a certain superficial taste for PSALMS, BOOK OF. The book of Psalms is unique ing "sing (to the accompaniment of a harp)" (BAGD, 899), The psalms appear to have been popular at Qumran. "barbarian" (Le., non-Greek) wisdom. So we find Dio in in the Bible because it is a collection of literatUre of prayer, as in the references to David in I Sam 16:16, 17,23 or to "There were undoubtedly more copies of psalms in the his surviving speeches referring favorably to Scythian mor- praise, and meditation. If the Bible's narrative materials the minstrel in 2 Kgs 3:15. Qumran library than of any other biblical writing. ." als, to the Brahmans and the Magi, and telling a philosoph- relate what God has done and the prophetic literature The NT refers to the three-part division of the Hebrew (Sanders 1967: 9). The text of the psalms recovered thus ical myth with a Persian setting (Or. 35.22; 36.39-60; 49.7; reports what God has said, the Psalms present the re- Bible, speaking of "the law of Moses and the prophets and far, says Sanders, is in close agreement with the standard 69.6). sponse of the people to the acts and words of God. As a psalms" (Luke 24:44), with "psalms" representing the as- Ben Asher manuscriptS (Leningradensis and the Aleppo A brilliant light is shed on the political life of Prusa book of the people, the book of Psalms has been especially yet incomplete third division; note also reference to the Codex), with most of the variations matters of orthogra- during the time of Trajan by the political speeches of Dio valued for both public worship and private devotion "Book of Psalms" in Luke 20:42. phy. An exception is Psalm 145, in which every verse has a of Prusa (ca. 40-after 110) and by some of the correspon- among Jews and Christians alike. It has also been the focal The oldest Hebrew manuscriptS do not have a tide for refrain, "Blessed be the Lord and blessed be his name for dence of Pliny and Trajan, when the former was governor point of much scholarly research. For useful summaries of the collection as a whole. The note at the end of Book II, ever and ever." The superscription to 145 reads tlpill4, of Bithynia (109-11; Ep. 10.17A, l7B, 23-24, 58, 70-71 the major trends and positions in this research (and re- Ps 72:20, says, "The prayers {t<pillOtjof David, the son of "prayer," instead of tifhilld, "song of praise" (RSV); the deal with the affairs of Prusa). Like most Greek cities, lated bibliography), see Clements 1976: 76-98; and Hayes Jesse, are ended," thus designating the foregoing psalms psalm also has a subscript reading "This is for a Prusa e'\ioyed a measure of local autonomy under the 1979: 139-43,285-317. as "prayers." In rabbinic and later literature, the book is memorial. ." (Sanders 1967: 64-67). The ordering of supervision of the Roman authorities. Local government called Sefer TehiUim,"book of praises," or simply TiUim. the psalms in this scroll differs from that of the MT was largely in the hands of the wealthy civic aristocracy, A. The Name The noun tifhilllm,"praises," is derived from the Hebrew (Sanders 1967: 10, 16). who were expected to contribute liberally from their per- B. The Text root hU, "praise." That root also appears in "hallelujah" 2. Tbe Hebrew 'Iehillim (Songs of Praise). The critical sonal resources to public life. The evidence of inscriptions I. The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll ("praise Yah," or "Yahweh"), found only in the Psalter, edition of the Hebrew text of Psalms found in lfHS is based and of Dio and Pliny shows that Prusa's constitution fol- always at the beginning or ending of psalms (104:35; upon the MT as represented by Codex Leningradensis lowed the pattern set for Bithynia by the lexPompeia:there 2. The Hebrew Tehillim 3. The Greek Psalter 106:1,48; 113:1,9; 146-50, beginning and end of each; (B19A or L), dated in 1008 C.E, and identified in the was a city council, with (probably) a property qualification etc.). colophon as a production of the Ben Asher family (WOrth- for membership, and a college of magistrates presided C. The Origin and Function of the Psalms The noun "praise" occurs often in the psalms: "He put wein 1979: 168). overbya chiefmagistrate(protosarclwn;Dorner PW23.1: I. The Psalms as Response a new song in my mouth, a song of praise (tlhillti) to our The basis for a new critical edition of the Hehrew Bible 1071-86; Sherwin-White 1966: 720; Ameling 1984). The 2. The Psalter as Worship Book God" (40:3; also 22:25; 33:1; 34:1; 48:10, etc.). Psalm 145 being prepared at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is speeches of Dio and the letters of Pliny illustrate the 3. The Psalter as Scripture is the only psalm to be designated a tlhilld in the tide, the Aleppo Codex, so named because though it was origi- danger of civic ambitions leading to rash expenditure on D. The Book and the Books translated "Song of Praise." nally in jerusalem, it was moved to Cairo and then to prestige public projectS. The evidence is presented and I. The Beginning and Ending Of the 206 occurrences of hU, "praise," in the OT (146 Aleppo in Syria. Again a Ben Asher manuscript, it is dated discussed by Jones (1978) and Sheppard (1984). 2. The Five Books The hot springs were noted for the fact that the water 3, The Titles verbal, 60 nominal), about two-thirds are in the psalms or from the first half of the 10th century. The manuscript required no cooling before being used for bathing. There in phrases taken from the psalms (THAT, 493). Because lacks Pss 15:1-25:2. For progress reports, see Text",: An- E. The Poetry of the Psalms the collection of psalms contains so many expressions of nual of the HebrewUniversityBibleProject;the publication of was a cult of Asclepius, Hygieia ("Health"), and the I. Balance or Parallelism Nymphs at the springs (Robert 1946: 93-102). Prusa was praise to God, it became known as "praises" or "Tehillim." Psalms has not yet appeared. the home of two noted doctors of the Roman world: 2. Other Relationships between A and B The two names preserved in the Hebrew tradition, 3. The Greek Psalter. The Greek OT or Septuagint 3. Repetition Asclepiades (1st century B.C.), who specialized in water "prayers" (tlpilJjjt)and "songs of praise" (tlhillim), may be (LXX) was produced by the Jewish community in Alexan- 4. Alphabetic Acrostics and wine cures, and C. Calpurnius Asclepiades, active in taken as representing two fundamental types of psalms: dria, Egypt, during the first half of the 3d century B.C. the time of Trajan. 5. Metaphors and Similes for God prayers in time of need, or laments, and songs of praise, Intended for Hellenistic Jews, this translation was imme- The prosperity of Roman Prusa was founded on the 6.
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