Psalms

The Authorship of the Psalms

King David wrote roughly half of the Psalms (73 total). David was a poet (2 Sam. 1:19-27; 3:33-34; 23:2-51), a musician (1 Sam. 16:18; 23; 2 Sam. 6:5; Amos 6:5), and he pushed for music in the Temple (1 Chron. 15:16-24; 16:7; 31; 25:1; Ezra 3:10). He was also a courageous and handsome warrior (1 Sam. 16:18). It’s challenging and encouraging to see the rich emotional life of such a strong, godly man.

David wasn’t the only author of the Psalms, however. The superscriptions tell us of several others:

• Moses (Ps. 90).

• Asaph (Ps. 50, 73-83; cf. 1 Chronicles 16:5; 2 Chronicles 29:30).

• Descendants of Korah (42, 44-49, 84, 87-88).

• Solomon (Ps. 72, 127).

• Heman the Ezrahite (Ps. 88). He was “the founder of the choir known as ‘the sons of Korah,’ and was famed for his wisdom (1 Kgs 4:31).”

• Ethan the Ezrahite (Ps. 89). He is “probably identical with Jeduthun, who founded one of the three choirs (cf. 1 Chr. 15:19; 2 Chr. 5:12).”

• “Orphan psalms” are those which are anonymous (34 psalms).

Critics often deny the validity of these superscriptions—specifically those attributed to David. However, there is good evidence that these are reliable. For one, the NT authors cite the superscriptions as authoritative on a few occasions:

• Jesus attributes Psalm 110 to David (Mt. 22:43, Mk. 12:36; Lk. 20:42). Davis writes, “The statement of Jesus (Matt 22:43) is particularly striking, because the point Jesus is making is invalid if David is not the author of Psalm 110.”

• Paul attributes Psalms 32 and 69 to David (Rom. 4:6; 11:9).

• Peter attributes Psalm 16 and 41 to David (Acts 1:16; 2:25).

Extrabiblical Jewish writings attribute Davidic authorship to some of the psalms as well (2 Macc. 2:13; Baba Bathra 14b). In the case of the NT citations, this could imply a strong historical tradition, or even the inspiration of these superscriptions. Moreover, superscriptions occur outside the Psalms in historical and prophetic books (2 Sam. 22:1 and Ps. 18; Isa. 38:9, 21; Hab. 3:1, 19b).

What about counterclaims regarding the authorship of the psalms? Consider a couple of arguments against the Davidic authorship of the Psalms.

ARGUMENT #1: David speaks about the king in the third person

This doesn’t disqualify Davidic authorship because many ancient kings wrote this way. Gleason Archer cites examples in Xenophon’s The Anabasis and Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars. Archer even adds that Yahweh switches between the first person (“I am the LORD your God”) to the third person (“The LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain”), even in the same chapter of Scripture (Ex. 20:2, 7).

ARGUMENT #2: David refers to the Temple existing in his day

Solomon built the Temple after David’s death. How can David refer to the Temple existing in his day in numerous psalms? (Ps. 5, 27, 28, 63, 68, 69, 101, 138) A number of observations can be made:

First, David could be using the term “temple” in a generic sense. The “temple” could just as easily refer to the “tabernacle,” which existed in David’s day. Archer writes, “Sanctuary (qōdeš) is used of the tabernacle in Ex. 28:43; house of the Lord (bēyt Yahweh) in Joshua 6:24; the house of God (bēyt Elôhɩ̂m) in Judg. 18:31; and even temple (hēyḵāl) in 1 Sam. 1:9; 3:3.” Furthermore, Archer notes that Psalm 27 mentions the “temple” (v.4) and the “house of the LORD,” but this same psalm calls this area the “tabernacle” and the “tent” (v.5).

Second, David could’ve been anticipating the future dedication of the Temple by Solomon. God gave David the instructions to build the Temple (2 Sam. 7:1-5; 1 Chron. 29:1-9). Because he knew the Temple would be built, he refers to the Temple in the future tense: “Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring you gifts” (Ps. 68:29). Thus, it shouldn’t surprise us that David wrote music for its grand opening. David might have written these psalms because he was looking forward to the construction of the Temple more than anyone—even if his songs were sung posthumously.

Conclusion

We don’t have good reasons for denying the superscriptions of the manuscripts themselves. Therefore, we hold that David wrote the Psalms attributed to him in the superscriptions. Furthermore, Jesus and the disciples affirmed Davidic authorship on numerous occasions (Mt. 22:45; Mk. 12:36; Acts 4:25-26; Acts 1:20; 2:25-28; 2:34; Rom. 4:6-8).

The Date of the Psalms

The Israelites collected poetry fairly early (Josh. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:17-27). They recorded the Psalms during the Exodus (Ex. 15:1-18, 21), the Judges (Judg. 5:2-31), the Kings and Prophets (2 Sam. 1:19-27; 3:33-34; 22:2-51; 23:1-7; 1 Chron. 29:10-13; Isa. 5:1-7, 23:16; 26:1-6; 27:2-5; Hos. 6:1-3; Hab. 3) and at least until the time of the Exile (Ps. 137). Thus, many authors wrote many songs over a thousand-year timespan.

The Psalms are composed of five distinct books:

• Book 1 (1-41).

• Book 2 (42-72)

• Book 3 (73-89)

• Book 4 (90-106)

• Book 5 (107-150)

Books 1 and 2 fall under the general authorship of David (1038 to 968 BC). At the end of Book 2, the text states, “This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse” (Ps. 72:20). This doesn’t mean that David wrote every psalm in these first two books. Rather, “the collection both begins and ends with Davidic psalms, and the concluding postscript emphasizes the Davidic character of the whole.” Another scholar writes that this conclusion “could refer to an earlier collection by David that was incorporated into this material.”

Books 3, 4, and 5 generally date to a post-exilic time period—though some psalms are Davidic (Ps. 139) or even Mosaic (Ps. 90).

What about the other authors?

Solomon (Pss. 72, 127), Ethan the Ezrahite (Ps. 89), and Heman the Ezrahite (Ps. 88) were contemporaries of David who lived in the 10^th century BC (1 Kin. 4:31. 1 Chron. 15:19).

Asaph (Psalms 50; 73-83) appears throughout the OT. A man named Asaph was a singer alongside David (1 Chron. 6:39; 15:19), but the name Asaph appears 500 years later as being the father of the Levites (Ezra 3:10). Are these two separate people? This is unclear. Davis writes, “More problematic is the fact that the Psalms of Asaph seem to come from several different time periods, so we appear to not be dealing with a single author.”

The sons of Korah (Ps. 42, 44-49, 84-85; 87-88) descended from the man who tried to usurp the leadership of Moses and Aaron (i.e. “Korah’s rebellion). However, the term “sons of Korah” could descend down to the time of David (2 Chron 20:18-19) or Jehoshaphat in the 9th century (2 Chron 20:18-19).

Beyond these general principles, it is quite difficult to date individual psalms based on “internal or linguistic evidence, because they tend to be very short.” There will not be “more than a weak and inconclusive clue or two to help us.” That is, the sample size is too small to serve as strong evidence of their date. That being said, internal mention of kings or the exile can help give a general timeframe for each individual psalm. But these terse internal or linguistic clues help build or weaken the overall probability only slightly.

What does “Selah” mean?

The Hebrew word selah occurs 71 times throughout the Psalms (cf. Hab. 3:9, 13). How should this word be translated? Scholars offer a number of different perspectives.

OPTION #1. This word is untranslatable. Waltke and Achtemeier take the view of the majority of scholars who argue that this word simply cannot be translated. In Waltke’s view, this is similar to attempting to translate “hip, hip, hooray!” A literal translation of the term is “ascent,” which comes from a Hebrew root word (sll) that means “to lift up.” Thus, this word might imply “looking up to God” or “praising him.”

OPTION #2. This word refers to a musical interlude. Archer observes that the Greek translation of the OT (the Septuagint) translates this term as “diapsalma, which means ‘musical interlude.’”

OPTION #3. This word signals the reader to meditate on the word. Pastor Joe Focht understands this term as, “What do you think about that?” In other words, these are cues from the psalmist to encourage meditation and reflection in the moment, as the musical interlude plays in the background.

The Importance of the Psalms

First, the New Testament (NT) authors quote from the Psalms extensively. The NT cites the Psalms 116 times. (Isaiah is the only book cited more than the Psalms.) As followers of Christ, we should immerse ourselves in the book that Jesus and his disciples were absorbed in.

Second, the Psalms teach us to have a heart for God. David wrote roughly half of the Psalms. In his writings, we see inside the soul of a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14). The psalms are not dry theological treatises. Instead, these songs come from a place deep inside the hearts and minds of the authors. As one commentator explains, “[The] Psalms make it possible to say things that are otherwise unsayable.”

Readers discover the repetition of the psalms: praise, thanksgiving, God’s protection, God’s empowerment, etc. The reader might feel like this is boring at times. However, this shows what was really in David’s heart most of the time. He centered his prayers on God and his goodness. This also reveals to us what it means to be a “man after God’s own heart.” Praise was at the center of David’s relationship with God.

In the psalms, we have the privilege of watching David wrestle with his sin and finding hope in the grace of God. Pastor Joe Focht points out that David was a much worse king and father after his moral fall into adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11-12), but he was a much better psalmist. After his fall, David understood the grace of God to a far deeper degree. At the end of his life, David doesn’t see himself as a mighty warrior or as a powerful leader, but simply as the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1).

Third, the psalms are our best commentaries on the Bible. Instead of jumping to extrabiblical commentaries (like the Mishnah), we should read how the psalmists interpret Scripture. In addition to providing commentary, they also give us interlocking historical details. For instance, thirteen of the psalms tell us what David was thinking at key aspects in his life (Ps. 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 142).

Fourth, the psalms teach us how to pray. They take us through the whole range of human emotions. Instead of giving us an instruction manual on how to pray, God gave us 150 inspired prayers. That is, instead of telling us how to pray, God chose to show us instead (cf. Lk. 11:1). Additionally, the psalms teach us how to praise God. Indeed, almost every psalm mentions giving praise to God, using the word “Hallelujah.”

Fifth, the psalms teach us how to balance honesty with fidelity. Roughly 40% of the psalms are lament psalms. Yet this doesn’t mean that the Psalms teach us to complain or have a poor attitude. Laments teach us how to pour out our emotions with honesty, and also how to fight our despair by trusting the great promises of God. Laments start in sorrow, but they end in faith and hope.

Sixth, the psalms reveal God’s “lovingkindness” (hesed). This Hebrew word is typically translated as “lovingkindness” (hesed). However, Bruce Waltke states that this is not a good translation, because it ignores the legal commitment God has made to his people. Thus, Waltke contends that we should translate hesed as “loving loyalty” or “loyal love.”