Page:04.BCOT.KD.PoeticalBooks.vol.4.Writings.djvu/1241

 Psalms 135 is here and there (vid., Tôsefôth Pesachim 117a) taken together with Psa 134:1-3 as one Psalm. The combining of Ps 115 with Psa 114:1-8 is a misapprehension caused by the inscriptionless character of Ps 115, whereas Ps 135 and Psa 134:1-3 certainly stand in connection with one another. For the Hallelujah Psalms 135 is, as the mutual relation between the beginning and close of Psa 134:1-3 shows, a Psalm-song expanded out of this shorter hymn, that is in part drawn from Ps 115. It is a Psalm in the mosaic style. Even the Latin poet Lucilius transfers the figure of mosaic-work to style, when he says: quam lepide lexeis compostae ut tesserulae omnes... In the case of Psalms 135 it is not the first time that we have met with this kind of style. We have already had a glimpse of it in Psa 97:1-12 and Psa 98:1-9. These Psalms were composed more especially of deutero-Isaianic passages, whereas Psalms 135 takes its tesserulae out of the Law, Prophets, and Psalms.

Verses 1-4
The beginning is taken from Psa 134:1; Psa 135:2