Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/601

 PSALMS

535

PSALMS

one (Pss. xliii, lx%-i, Ixxi). Of these, eight Pss., xlii- xlix (xli-xl\'iii) are "of the sons of Korah" {libni qorah): Ps. 1 is "of Asaph"; Pss. li-lxxii are Da\-idic excepting Ps. Ix^-ii "of the Director" {Idmena^^edh) and Ps. Ixxii "of Solomon". Ps. xUii (xUi) is part of xlii (xU); Pss. lx\-iand Ix^-ii (lx\' and lx\-i) are Da\-idic in the Septuagint and Vulgate. — Bk. Ill has one Da\-idie psalm, lxxx\-i (Lxxx\-); eleven "of Asaph", lxxiii-lx.xxiii (Ixxii-Lxxxii) ; four "of the sons of Korah", Lxxxiv, Ixxxv, Lxxx^■ii, l.xxx\-iii (Lxxxiii, Ixxxiv Ixxxvi, Lxxx^-ii); and one "of Ethan", lxxxix(lxxx\-iii). Ps. lx.xx^-iii is like'ss-ise assigned to Heman the Ezra- Ijite. — Bk. IV has two Da\-idic psalms, ci and ciii (c and cii), and one "of Moses". Moreover, the Sep- tuagint assigns to Da\-id eight others, Pss. xci, xciii- xc\'ii, xcix, civ (xc, xcii-xc\-i, xcrai, ciii). The re- mainder are anonymous. — Bk. V has twenty-seven anonj-mous psalms out of forty-four. Pss. cviii-cx, cxxii, cxxiv, cxx.xi, cxxxiii, cx.xxviii-cxlv (cTO-cix, cxxi, cxxiii, cxxx, cxx.xii, cxxxvii-cxlv) are Da\ndic. Ps. exx-^-ii is "of Solomon". The Septuagint and \ulgate assign Ps. cxxx^^i (cxx.x^^) to Da\-id, Pss. exlvi-cxl\-iii (cxlv-cxh-iii) to Aggeus and Zacharias.

Besides these title-names of authors and collections which are clear, there are several such names which are doubtful. — Ldmenaqqedh (-'il'^h; Septuagint, efs t6 tAos; Vulg., in fnem; Douai, "unto the end"; Aquila, rifi hkottoiiJ;, "for the ^-ictor"; St. Jerome, victori; Symmachus, ^iriWiciot, "a song of ^-ictory"; Theodotion, (is rb vikos, "for the victory-") now generallv interpreted "of the Director". The Pi 'el of the root means, in I Par., x%-, 22, "to be leader" over the basses in liturgical ser\-ice of song (cf. Oxford Hebrew Dictionary, 664). The title "of the Director" is probably analogous to "of David", "of Asaph", etc., and " indicates a "Director's Collection" of Psalms. This collection would seem to have contained 5.5 of our canonical psalms, whereof 39 were Da\-idic, 9 Korahite, 5 Asaphic, and 2 anonymous.

'Al-Yedathun, in Pss. Ixii and l.x.\-\-ii (Ixi and lxx^•i), where the preposition al might lead one to interpret YeduthUn as a musical instrument or a tune. In the title to Ps. xxxix (xxx\-iii), "of the Director, of Yedilthun, a song of Da\-id", YedCthUn is without al and .seems to be the Director {Mend(:(edh) just spoken of. That David had such a director is clear from I Par., x^•i, 41.

(b) Titles indicating the historical occasion of the Bong: — Thirteen Da%T,dic psalms have such titles. Pss. vii, x^^ii, xxxiv, lii, liv, hi, Ivii, lix, cxlii (\'ii, x%'ii, xxxiii, U, liii, Iv, Ivi, h-iii, cxli) are referred to the time of Da\-id's persecution by Saul; Ps. Ix (h.x) to that of the victories in Mesopotamia and Syria; Ps. li (1) to his sin; Pss. iii and Ixiii (Ixii) to his flight from Absalom.

(c) Titles indicating poetic characteristics of the psalm : —

MizmoT (~^*;t*;; Septuagint, ^oX/i6s; Vulg., psnhnus; a psalm), a technical word not used outside the titles of the Psalter; meaning a song set to stringed accompaniment. There are 57 psalms, most of them Da\-idic, with the title Mizmur.

Shir ("rt; Septuagint, v5ii; Vulg., Caniicum; a song), a generic terra used 30 times in the titles (12 times together with Miznwr), and often in the text of the Psalms and of other books. In the Psalms (xlii, 9; Ixix, 31; xxviii, 7) the song is generally sacred; elsewhere it is a IjTic lay (Gen., xxxi, 27; Is., Txx, 29), a love poem (Cant., i, 1.1), or a bacchanalian ballad (Is., xxiv, 9; Eccles., vii, 5).

jl/dsti/ (V'lC*;; Septuagint, (ruF/o-euj, or eh <riwitii\ Vulg., inlellectus or ad intellectum), an obscure form found in the titles of 13 psalms (x,xxii, xlii, xliv, xlv, lii, Iv, Ixxiv, Ixxviii, IxxTTviii, l.xxxix, cxliv). (a) Gesenius and others explain "a didactic poem", from Hiph'ilof bz'Z (of. Ps. x-xxii, 8; I Par., xx\'iii, 19); but only Pss. x.xxii and Ixxviii are didactic Mdskilim.

(b) Ewald, Riehm and others suggest "a skilful artistic song", from other uses of the cognate verb (cf. II Par., X.XX, 22; Ps. xlWi, 7); Kirkpatrick thinks "a cunning psalm" will do. It is difficult to see that the Mdskil is either more artistic or more cunning than the Mizmor. (c) Delitzsch and others interpret "a contemplative poem"; Briggs, "a meditation". This interpretation is warranted by the usage of the cognate verb (cf. Is., xli, 20; Job, xxxiv, 27), and is the only one that suits all Mdskilim.

fephillah ("Vc."'; Septuagint, Tpoafvxv; Vulg., oralio; a prayer), the title to five psalms, x^•ii, Ixx.x^-i, xc, cii, cxlii (xvi, lxx.v\', Lx-xxix, oi, cxli). The same word occurs in the conclu-sion to Bk. II (cf. Ps. Ixxii, 20), "The prayers of David son of Yishai have been ended". Here the Septuagint IJumi (Vulg., laudes) points to a better reading, ,~T~,~l, "praise".

Tehillah (~b~."!; Septuagint, af«(7is; Vulg., laudalio; "a song of praise"), is the title only of Ps. cxlv (cxUv).

Mikhtam (S."^;*;; Septuagint, "mmachus and Theodo- tion, irKip dymlas] St. Jerome, ignoratio or pro igno- ralione), occurs only in the title to Ps. \u. The root of the word means "to wander", "to reel", hence, according to Ewald, Delitzsch, and others, the title means a wild dithjTambic ode with a reeling, wander- ing rhj-thm.

(d) Titles indicating the musical setting of a psalm (a specially obscure set ) : —

Eight titles may indicate the melody of the psalm by citing the opening words of some well-known song:

Xehil6th i7i~l~ Vx; Septuagint and Theodo- tion, iirip TTJs K\Tipovoiiovcrris] Aquila, i^i K\ripodo(Ti.Qv- S>Tnmachus, irep kXtj/joux'wi'; St. Jerome, super Jurredilatibus; Vulg., pro ca quce hareditatem conse- guitur), occurs only in Ps. v. The ancient versions rightly derive the title from V~;, "to inherit"; Baethgen ("Die Psalmen", 3rd ed., 1904, p. xxx\-) thinks Xehiloth was the first word of some ancient song; most critics translate "with wind instruments" wrongly assuming that NehUdth means flutes (Z'rVn, cf. Is., XXX, 29).

'Al-tashhelh Ir't'^rbif, Septuagint, Aquila, Sjin- machus, ^i 5ta<p9eipTji, except Ps. lxx\', Symmachus, irept a.(pdap<Tlas; St. Jerome, vt non disperdas (David humilem et simplicem); Vulg., ne disperdas or lie comimpas], in Pss. h-ii-Ux, Ixxv (h-i-lviii, Ixxiv), meaning "destroy not", may be the beginning of a vintage song referred to in Is., Ixv, 8. Symmachus gives, in title to Ps. hii, irepl toO firi Bia<fiOilpris; and in this wise suggests that Ti' originally preceded 7X.

'Al-Mulh-Labben Cub ."^""-ri"; Septuagint, inrip Tuv Kvipiuv ToO vloi; Vulg., pro occullis fitii, "con- cerning the secret sins of the son"; Aquila, yeanirriTos ToC i/ioO, "of the youth of the son"; Theodotion, irTTtp aKpijt toC uioO, "concerning the maturity of the son") in Ps. ix, probably means "set to the tune 'Death Whitens' ".

'Al-'ayyelelhhasshahar{T\t~ nrX-?!'; Septuagint, irrip T^s dmXi)^e<i)5 t^5 iuSiv^i; Vulg., pro suscep- tione matu/ina, "for the morning offering"; .A.quila, inrip t^j i\d<pov TTJt 6pdtv^t ; .Symmachus, inrip r^s poriBeias TTJs 6p$iyiji, "the help of the morning"; St. Je- rome, pro ctTvo matulino), in Ps. xxii (xxi), very likely means "set to the tune 'The Hind of the Morning' ".

'Al Skoshanntm in Pss. xlv and Ixix (xliv and Ixviii), Shushan-ediUh in Ps. Ix (lix), Shoshanntm-ediUh in