Who wrote Tehillim When was the book completed
Who wrote Tehillim? When was the book completed? All by David who completed the book. Some written by ten elders before David edited the book. Sa’adia Gaon (882 -942, Babylonia) Talmud Baba Batra 14 b Most are written by David. Asaph & Bnei Korah are contemporary with David. Anonymous can be by David. Edited by Great Assembly Abraham Ibn Ezra (11 th cent. Spain), [Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah and Malbim are similar] More than half are not written by David. Asaph & Bnei Korah lived in Babylonian exile. Anonymous are not by David. Edited during Second Beit Mikdash Moshe Ibn Gikatilla, (11 th cent. Spain)
Who is Asaph? Neh 12: 46 – The structure of singers set up in Second Temple was just like during the time of David and Asaph. כי בימי דויד ואסף מקדם ראשי המשררים ושיר תהלה : והדות לאלהים Contemporary of David Neh 7: 44 – A list of people who came back from exile המשררים בני אסף : מאה ארבעים ושמנה Contemporary of Nehemiah
Psalms “of David” R. Huna said in the name of R. Aha: Although ten persons composed the Book of Psalms, the only one of them to whom it is ascribed is David king of Israel. To illustrate this a comparison was made to a company of men who sought to sing an ode before the king. Said the king to them: ' You are all good singers, you are all loyal, you are all famous, and qualified to sing an ode before me. Still, let So-and-so say it on behalf of you all, because his voice is particularly sweet. ’ So when the ten righteous men sought to utter the book of Psalms, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, ‘You are all of you poetical enough and pious enough and famous enough to sing an ode before Me; still, let David say it on behalf of you all. Why? Because his voice is sweet, ’ as it says, The sweet one of the Songs of Israel (II Sam. XXIII, 1). R. Huna explained this in the name of R. Aha: Who makes sweet (man'im) the songs of Israel? David son of Jesse.
Headings of Mizmorim Aka Superscription, Title, כותרת 24 Mizmorim have no headings (LXX adds them) 73 Mizmorim say לדוד
Book 2 Book 1
Book 5 Book 3 Book 4
Do Now: Split up into pairs. One partner should open to Psalm 14, the other should open to Psalm 53. One partner should read her psalm while the other compares what she hears with her psalm. What is the same? What is different? Can you explain the differences? What do these differences tell us about the compiling of the Book of Psalms?
Parallels: 14 (book 1) = 53 (book 2)
YHVH & Elokim in Tehillim 1 -41: YHVH 42 -83: Elokim 84 -150: YHVH
Names of Hashem Mizmorim 42 -83 YHVH 45 times Elokim 210 times Other 118 Mizmorim YHVH 584 times Elokim 94 times
Structure of Sefer Tehillim 1 -41 – Book 1, YHWH Mizmorim from a Davidic collection, mostly prayers 42 -72 – Book 2, Elokim Mizmorim from a Davidic Bnei Korah collections, mostly prayers 73 - 89 – Book 3, Elokim Mizmorim from Asaf collection and YHVH Mizmorim from Bnei Korah collection, mostly prayers 90 -150 – Books 4 &5, mostly praise and thanksgiving (Halleluyah only in this section)
Instruments According to Josephus (1 st century C. E. ), the kinnor used by the Temple musicians had ten strings; the nevel, twelve. The Bible also mentions the nevel `asor or `asor, probably a tenstringed nevel; the nevel `alamot or `alamot, apparently an alto-pitched or "maidenly" nevel; and the kinnor `al - hashsheminit or hashsheminit, a "lyre upon the eighth". According to Suzanne Haïk. Vantoura, this last instrument (like the Greek magadis) may have had ten pairs of strings tuned so that each pair of strings was an octave apart.
Psalteron (harp). Made of wood with ten strings. Height 90 cm. Gaza 6 th century BCE. Reconstructed according to ancient mosaics. מנים - The Lute. A bronze figurine, female, playing the lute, heighth 15. 5 cm. Beat Shean, 15 -13 th century BCE. תף - Woman with Timbrel. Pottery figurine, heighth 10. 5 cm. Cyprus 6 th century BCE.
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