PSALMSTERS and PSALTERS

1. PSALMSTERS and PSALTERS THE SONGS OF DAVID, OR WERE THEY? By Allison Aston History 420 Dr. Edlund

2. The Book of Psalms The Catholic Encyclopedia Online at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12533a.htm states that “the Psalter, or Book of Psalms, is the first book of the “Writings”, . . . of the third section of the printed Hebrew Bible of today.” In addition, this work states that “the Book of Psalms contains 150 psalms, divided into five books, together with four doxologies and the titles of most of the psalms.” The authorship of the Psalms is disputed. Neither Jewish nor Christian tradition provides a definitive conclusion on the subject. St. Ambrose believed that David was the sole author, while others including St. Jerome claimed that he was not the only author of the Psalms. Others, including the Catholic Church leaders of today have made no official conclusions about the matter. Those credited with writing the Psalms are men who are mentioned in the titles of different psalms. These men are: David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, Moses, Solomon, Ethan. --Taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia Online at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12533a.htm

3. King David • David was the great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth, the youngest of child of Jesse. • He was born at Bethlehem in 1085, where his father was a small proprietor of the tribe of Judah. • His life is described in 1 Kings, 3 Kings, Ruth, and the titles of several psalms. • David reigned as king of Israel from approximately 1055 to 1015 B.C.

4. The Life of David As a child David was annointed by Samuel the prophet after King Saul had disobeyed God. This annointment made him King Saul’s successor after his death. At a time when King Saul was sick, David played the harp to soothe him and Saul made him an armour-bearer. It was soon after that David took provisions to his brothers who were fighting with the army against the Philistines. He slayed Goliath that day and brought victory to Israel. Hie won populatiry in the court for his actions and later was the captain of a thousand men. He married Michol, the daughter of Saul. Because of jealousy, Saul wished for the death of David and eventually David was forced to flee from the court in fear of his life. With Samuel, David fled to Naioth. Saul continued his attempts to kill David but was thwarted by the hand of God. He continued to serve Saul as a commander, and even spared Saul’s life at one time. However, Saul continued to persecute David and he became vassal to the Philistine King. Other Philistine princes did not trust David. During the battle on Mount Gelboe both Saul and his son Jonathon were killed.

5. The Life of David Continued At the time, David was thirty years old. He claimed the throne at Hebron, where he was accepted by the tribe of Juda as king and publicly anonted. Abner, however, unified the rest of Israel under Isboset, the son of Saul. He attacked David’s armies and was defeated at Gabaon. Through much war David continued to gain power in Isreal. After the murders of Abner and Isboseth, all of Isreal accepted David as king. Under David Isreal became an independent state. His adulterous encounter with Bathsheba and his plot to murder her husband brought many problems upon David’s kingdom. When he repented one year later, he was forgiven and warned of calamities to come. David’s son Absalom committed fratricide and was punished by his father. This punishment caused Absalom to be bitter and he devoted his life to being proclaimed King. He was successful and David was forced to flee Israel. Absalom was slow in pursuing his father, which allowed David to gather his forces and defeat his son at the battle of Manahaim. Absalom was killed and David returned to Jersualem. Soon after, the kingdom of Israel suffered from a three-year famine, although the dates are not certain. During four expeditions against the Philistines, the scriptures report that David became prideful and his kingdom was struck with pestilence as a result. In three days, 70,000 people died. Towards the end of his life, David decided to annoint his son Solomon, the offspring of Bathsheba, king of Israel. David’s older son, Nathan, had planned on becoming king but the prophet Nathan prevented his succession. David publicly annointed Solomon and exhorted him to be faithful to God, reward loyal servants, and punish the wicked. David died at age seventy and was buried on Mount Sion. He is considered a saint by the Catholic Church.

6. Psalms . . . Psalters . . . Psalmsters, Oh My! Psalter – www.wikipedia.org • A Psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms and which often contains other devotional material. • In the early Middle Ages Psalters were amongst the most popular types of manuscripts, rivaled only by the Gospel Books. Medieval Psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints, canticles from the Old and New Testaments, as well as other devotional texts. Many Psalters were lavishly illuminated with full-page miniatures as well as decorated initials. • In British North America, the first book printed was the Bay Psalm Book in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English. • The psalter is also a part of either the Horologion or the breviary, used to say the Liturgy of the Hours in the Eastern and Western Christian worlds respectively.

7. PSALTERS CONTINUED Psalter s – taken fromLeaves of Goldwww.leavesofgold.org/gallery/psalters/index.html • Psalters contain the 150 biblical poems called psalms. • The word psalm is taken from the Greek word psalmos which means “song.” • Psalms are short passages written in the first person that are directed to God. • Psalms express many emotions: praise, anguish, exultation, sadness, etc. • Many psalms are used as prayers in public and private worship.l • During the Middle Ages psalms were sung by everyone, but psalters were most popular among lay persons who could use them outside of church. • Many children learned to read from these books because the psalms written in Latin were easy to learn and because they were prayers that people could use throughout their lives. • Psalters depict two types of scenes: events from the life of David are usually found at the beginning of separate psalms, and scenes from the life of Christ richly decorate the covers of the books. • The top image is a representation of the Magi following the star, and their meeting with King Herod before they went to worship the Christ child. (Gallican Psalter with Canticles, Litany, and Two Prayers, c. 1225-30). • The bottom image shows the coronation of David by two men on each side. This page is from the same psalter. The book can be viewed online at the website listed above and is kept at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department, Lewis E 185, fol. 2.

8. Transcription: 1. Beati q[u]o[rum] remissæ su[n]t iniquitates, et q[u]o[rum] tecta su[n]t p[ec]c[a]ta. 2. Beat[us] vir cui no[n] imputa[vi]t D[omi]n[u]s p[ec]c[a]t[u]m, nec est in sp[irit]u e[ius] dol[us]. 3. Q[uonia]m tacui, invert[er]aver[un]t ossa mea, du[m] clamare[m] tota die. 4. Q[uonia]m die ac nocte g[ra]vata e[st] sup[er] me man[us] tua, [con]v[er]s[us] su[m] in ærupna mea, du[m] [con]fig[itur] spina. 5. Delictu[m] meu[m] cog[ni]t[um] ti[bi] feci, et iniustitia[m] mea[m] no[n] abscondi. 6. Dixi: [Con]fitebor adv[er]su[m] me iniustitia[m] mea[m] Domino; et tu remisisti impietate[m] peccati mei. 7. Pro hac orabit ad te o[mn]is s[an]ct[us] in t[em]p[or]e op[p]ortuno. 8. Veru[m]ptamen in diluvio aquaru[m] m[u]lta[rum], ad eu[m] no[n] app[ro]xi[m]abu[n]t. 9. Tu es refugiu[m] meu[m] a t[ri]b[u]lat[i]o[n]e q[uæ] c[ir]cu[m] dedit me; exsultatio mea, erue me a c[ir]cu[m]dantib[us] me. 10. Intellectu[m] ti[bi] dabo, et instrua[m] te in via hac qua gradieris; firmabo sup[er] te oc[u]los meos. 11. Nolite fieri sic[ut] equ[us] et mul[us], q[ui]b[us] no[n] e[st] intellect[us]. 12. In chamo et freno maxillas eo[rum] [con]st[ri]nge, q[ui] no[n] app[ro]xi[m]ant ad te. 13. Multa flagella p[ec]c[a]toris; sp[er]antem aut[em] in D[omi]no mi[sericordi]a circu[m]dabit. 14. Lætami[ni] in D[om]ino, et exsultate, iusti; et gl[or]iami[ni], o[mne]s recti corde. 15. Gl[ori]a P[at]ri [et Fillio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen]

9. Translation: 1. Happy are they whose misdeeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 2. Happy is the man whom the Lord has no held guilty of sin, and there is no deceit in his mind. 3. When I kept quiet about it, my bones aged, while I cried out all day. 4. and your hand was heavy on me day and night, I was racked in my distress, while the thorn embedded itself. 5. I made my error known to you, and did not hide my wrongdoing. 6. I said: I shall plead guilty and confess my wrongdoing to the Lord; and you forgave the wickedness of my sin. 7. For this, everyone who is godly shall pray to you at the proper time; 8. indeed, in the deluge of great waters they shall not approach him. 9. You are my refuge from the trials which surrounded me; shout of joy, rescue me from those surrounding me. 10. I shall give you understanding and show you the way to go; I shall keep my eyes on you. 11. Do not be like horse and mule, which have no understanding. 12. With bit and bridle clamp their jaws, if they do not come for you. 13. Many blows fall upon the sinner; but a believer in the Lord will be surrounded by mercy. 14. Rejoice in the Lord, and shout for joy, you righteous; and glory in him, all your of true heart. 15. Glory to the Father.

10. Parsing: • Beati: Happy - adjective, accusative, plural, f, • quorum: whose - relative pronoun, genitive, plural, m • remissæ: forgiven - adjective, dative, plural, n • sunt: are - verb, present, indicative, active, 2nd conjugation, 3rd person plural • iniquitates: misdeeds - noun, accusative, plural, f, 3rd declension • et: and - conjunction • quorum: whose - relative pronoun, genitive, plural, n • tecta: covered – adjective, dative, plural, f • sunt: are - verb, present, indicative, active, 2nd conjugation, 3rd person plural • peccata: sins - noun, accusative, plural, n, 3rd declension • Beatus: Happy - adjective, , singular, m • vir: man - noun, nominative, singular, m • cui: whom – pronoun, nominative, singular, m • non: not - adverb • imputavit: held - verb, perfect, indicative, active, 1st conjugation, 3rd person singular • Dominus: Lord - noun, nominative, singular, m, 4th declension • peccatum: sin - noun, ablative, singular, n, 3rd declension • nec: no - conjunction • est: is - verb, present, indicative, active, 2nd conjugation, 3rd person singular • in: in - preposition w/ablative • spiritu: mind - noun, ablative, singular, m, 4th declension • eius: his - pronoun, genitive, singular, m • dolus: deceit - noun, nominative, singular, m, 2nd declension

13. Psalm 32 – King James Bible • David says: Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity—He acknowledges his sin—He recommends that the righteous be glad in the Lord and rejoice. • A Psalm of David, Maschil. •   1 Blessedis he whose btransgressionisforgiven, whose sin is covered. •   2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. •   3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. •   4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. •   5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. •   6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. •   7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. •   8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. •   9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. •   10 Many sorrowsshall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. •   11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

15. BIBLIOGRAPHY