The Psalms (from Greek psalmos “song”) are poems and hymns, dating from various periods in the history of Israel, that were assembled for use at public worship and that have continued to play a central role in the liturgy and prayer life of both Jews and Christians. Known in Hebrew as Tehillim (Songs of Praise), the Psalter (the traditional English term for the Psalms, from the Greek psalterion, a stringed instrument used to accompany these songs) consists of 150 poems representing expressions of faith from many generations and diverse kinds of people. These unsystematic poems epitomize the theology of the entire Hebrew Bible.

Hebrew poetry has much in common with the poetry of most of the ancient Near East, particularly the Canaanite poetic literature discovered at Ras Shamra. Its main features are rhythm and parallelism. The rhythm, which is difficult to determine precisely because the proper pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is unknown, is based upon a system of stressed syllables that follows the thought structure of the poetic line. The line, or stich, is the basic verse unit, and each line of verse is normally a complete thought unit. The most common Hebrew line consists of two parts with three stresses to each part (3/3); thus:

Have-mercy-on-me,/O-God, in-your-goodness;

in-your-great-tenderness/wipe-away-my-faults.

(Psalm 51:1)

Lines with three or four parts and parts with two, four, or five stresses also occur.

The lines present various kinds of parallelism of members, whereby the idea expressed in one part of a line is balanced by the idea in the other parts. The classical study on Hebrew parallelism was done by Robert Lowth, an 18th-century Anglican bishop, who distinguished three types: synonymous, antithetic, and synthetic. Synonymous parallelism involves the repetition in the second part of what has already been expressed in the first, while simply varying the words.

Yahweh, do not punish me in your rage,

or reprove me in the heat of anger.

(Psalm 38:1)

In antithetic parallelism the second part presents the same idea as the first by way of contrast or negation.

For Yahweh takes care of the way the virtuous go,

but the way of the wicked is doomed.

(Psalm 1:6)

Synthetic parallelism involves the completion or expansion of the idea of the first part in the second part.

As a doe longs for running streams,

so longs my soul for you, my God.

(Psalm 42:1)

Synthetic parallelism is a broad category that allows for many variations, one of which has the picturesque name “staircase” parallelism and consists of a series of parts or lines that build up to a conclusion.

Pay tribute to Yahweh, you sons of God,

tribute to Yahweh of glory and power,

tribute to Yahweh of the glory of his name,

worship Yahweh in his sacred court.

(Psalm 29:1–2)

Although it is evident that Hebrew poetry groups lines into larger units, the extent of this grouping and the principles on which it is based are uncertain. The acrostic poems are a notable exception to this general uncertainty.

The numeration of the Psalms found in the Hebrew Bible and those versions derived from it differs from that in the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the versions derived from them. The latter two join Psalms 9 and 10 and 114 and 115 but divide both 116 and 147 into two. The following scheme shows the differences:

Although Roman Catholic versions in the past have used the Septuagint–Vulgate way of numbering, recent translations have followed the Hebrew tradition.

The present form of the Psalter is the result of a lengthy literary history. It is divided into five books (Psalms 1–41; 42–72; 73–89; 90–106; and 107–150), probably in imitation of the five books of the Pentateuch. Psalm 1 serves as an introduction to the whole Psalter, while Psalm 150 is a final doxology (an expression of praise to God); the books are divided from each other by short doxologies that form the conclusions of the last psalm of each of the first four books. This division, however, appears to be artificial. There are indications, cutting across the present divisions, that the book was a compilation of existing collections. That there were several collections existing side by side is seen in the way that certain psalms (e.g., Psalms 14 and 53) duplicate each other almost word for word. At some phase of the Psalter’s development there must have been an Elohistic collection (Psalms 42–83) distinguished by the use of the divine name Elohim in place of Yahweh, which is far more common in the rest of the psalms. There appear to be two distinct collections of psalms ascribed to David, one Yahwistic (Psalms 3–41) and the other Elohistic (Psalms 51–72). Further evidence of the book’s gradual growth may be seen in the editorial gloss following Psalm 72; it purports to conclude the “prayers of David,” although there are more Davidic psalms.

The superscriptions found on most of the psalms are obscure but point to the existence of earlier collections. Psalms are attributed to David, Asaph, and the sons of Korah, among others. It is generally held that Asaph and the sons of Korah indicate collections belonging to guilds of temple singers. Other possible collections include the Songs of Ascents, probably pilgrim songs in origin, the Hallelujah Psalms, and a group of 55 psalms with a title normally taken to mean “the choirmaster.”

It is evident that the process whereby these various collections were formed and then combined was extremely complex. The investigation of the process is made difficult because individual psalms and whole collections underwent constant development and adaptation. Thus, for example, private prayers became liturgical, songs of local sanctuaries were adapted to use in the Temple, and psalms that became anachronistic by reason of the fall of the monarchy or the destruction of the Temple were reworked to fit a contemporary situation. Such problems complicate the determination of the date and original occasion of the psalm.

For centuries both Jews and Christians ascribed the whole Psalter to David, just as they ascribed the Pentateuch to Moses and much of the wisdom literature to Solomon. This was thought to be supported by the tradition that David was a musician, a poet, and an organizer of the liturgical cult and also by the attribution of 73 psalms to David in the superscriptions found in the Hebrew Bible. These superscriptions, however, need not refer to authorship. Moreover, it is clear that David could not have written all the psalms attributed to him because some of them presuppose the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, which was not constructed until later. Contrary to the long-established Davidic authorship tradition, at the end of the 19th century most biblical critics spoke of a Persian date (539–333 bce) and even of the Maccabean era (mid-2nd century bce) for the majority of the psalms. In the 20th century the Psalter has been considered to be a collection of poems that reflect all periods of Israel’s history from before the monarchy to the post-exilic restoration, and it is thought that David played a central role in the formation of the religious poetry of the Jewish people. Scholars, however, are reluctant to assign precise dates.

The most important contribution to modern scholarship on the Psalter has been the work of Hermann Gunkel, a German biblical scholar, who applied form criticism to the psalms. Form criticism is the English name for the study of the literature of the Bible that seeks to separate its literary units and classify them into types or categories (Gattungen) according to form and content, to trace their history, and to reconstruct the particular situation in life or setting (Sitz im Leben) that gave rise to the various types. This approach does not ignore the personal role of individual composers and their dates, but it recognizes that Hebrew religion, conservative in faith and practice, was more concerned with the typical than with the individual and that it expressed this concern in formal, conventional categories. The study is aided by viewing them in the context of similar literary works in the earlier or contemporary cultures of the ancient Near East.

Gunkel identified five major types of psalms, each cultic in origin. The first type, the Hymn, is a song of praise, consisting of an invitation to praise Yahweh, an enumeration of the reasons for praise (e.g., his work of creation, his steadfast love), and a conclusion which frequently repeats the invitation. The life setting of the hymns was generally an occasion of common worship. Two subgroups within this type are the Songs of Zion, which glorify Yahweh’s presence in the city of Jerusalem, and the Enthronement Songs, which—though their number, setting, and interpretation have been the subject of much debate—acclaim Yahweh’s kingship over the whole world.

The second type is the Communal Lament. Its setting was some situation of national calamity, when a period of prayer, fasting, and penitence would be observed. In such psalms Yahweh is invoked, the crisis is described, Yahweh’s help is sought, and confidence that the prayer has been heard is expressed.

The Royal Psalms are grouped on the basis not of literary characteristics but of content. They all have as their life setting some event in the life of the pre-exilic Israelite kings—e.g., accession to the throne, marriage, departure for battle. Gunkel pointed out that in ancient Israel the king was thought to have a special relationship to Yahweh and thus played an important role in Israelite worship. With the fall of the monarchy, these psalms were adapted to different cultic purposes.

In the Individual Lament an individual worshipper cries out to Yahweh in time of need. The structure of these psalms includes: an invocation of Yahweh, the complaint, the request for help, an expression of certainty that Yahweh will hear and answer the prayer, and in many cases a vow to offer a thanksgiving sacrifice. Three aspects have been the subject of extensive study: the identity of the “enemies” who are often the reason for the complaint; the meaning of the term poor, which is frequently used to describe the worshipper; and the sudden transition in mood to certainty that the prayer has been heard. Psalms of this type form the largest group in the Psalter.

The final major type is the Individual Song of Thanksgiving, which presumably had its setting in the thanksgiving sacrifice offered after a saving experience. These psalms begin and conclude with an exclamation of praise to Yahweh. The body of the psalm contains two elements: the story of the one who has been saved and the recognition that Yahweh was the rescuer.

Gunkel also distinguished several minor types of psalms, including Wisdom Poems, Liturgies, Songs of Pilgrimage, and Communal Songs of Thanksgiving.

For Gunkel, although the types of the psalms were originally cultic, the majority of the poems in the existing Psalter were composed privately in imitation of the cultic poems and were intended for a more personal, “spiritualized” worship. Most biblical scholars since Gunkel have accepted his classifications, with perhaps some modifications, but have focussed increased attention on the setting, the Sitz im Leben, in which the psalms were sung. Sigmund Mowinckel, a Norwegian scholar, explained the psalms as wholly cultic both in origin and in intention. He attempted to relate more than 40 psalms to a hypothetical autumnal New Year festival at which the enthronement of Yahweh as the universal king was commemorated; the festival was associated with a similar Babylonian celebration. Artur Weiser, a German scholar, sought the cultic milieu of the Hebrew psalms especially in an annual feast of covenant renewal, which was uniquely Israelite.

Psalms is a source book for the beliefs contained in the entire Hebrew Bible. Yet, doctrines are not expounded, for this is a book of the songs of Israel that describe the way Yahweh was experienced and worshipped. Yahweh is creator and saviour; Israel is his elected people to whom he remains faithful. The enemies of this people are the enemies of Yahweh. In these songs are found the entire range of basic human feelings and attitudes before God—praise, fear, trust, thanksgiving, faith, lament, joy. The book of Psalms has thus endured as the basic prayerbook for Jews and Christians alike.