{"id":1578,"date":"2012-10-20T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-20T17:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/?p=1578"},"modified":"2012-10-21T15:43:57","modified_gmt":"2012-10-21T22:43:57","slug":"introduction-to-the-psalms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/20\/introduction-to-the-psalms\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to the Psalms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Name of the Book<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Hebrew name for Psalms is Sepher Tehillim<\/em> meaning \u201cBook of Praises.\u201d The word psalm<\/em> is the Hebrew word mizmor<\/em> meaning \u201cmelody\u201d and derives from a word to mean \u201cto sing, sing praise, make music.\u201d The English word psalm<\/em> derives from the Greek word psalmos <\/em>meaning \u201ca song sung to harp music.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Nature of the Book<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Book of Psalms is a collection of devotional materials including prayers, poems, and hymns, some of which were set to music. Worship and praise of Elohim through music is a unifying aspect of this book. The psalms include songs of thanksgiving, hymns of praise, psalms of repentance and confession, psalms that invoke curses upon one\u2019s enemies, psalms sung by pilgrims en route to Jerusalem, and messianic psalms.<\/p>\n

Authors of the Psalms<\/strong><\/p>\n

This book contains psalms by at least six authors. David wrote 73 psalms (according to the titles of the psalms) and two others are ascribed to him in the Testimony of Yeshua (Ps 2, see Acts 4:25 and Ps 95, see Heb 4:7). Asaph either wrote or was responsible for preserving 12 psalms (Pss 50 and 73 through 83). The sons of Korah wrote 11 psalms (Pss 42, 44 through 49). Solomon composed two psalms (Pss 72 and 127), while Etham wrote Psalms 89, Moses authored Psalm 90 (and possibly Ps 91), and Heman (Ps 88). Several Psalms have no designated author.<\/p>\n

Categories of Psalms<\/strong><\/p>\n

The psalms can be group into four categories:<\/p>\n