A Focus on Psalms
57 psalms use the Hebrew word mizmôr, a word that describes a song sung with stringed accompaniment. The Greek equivalent is psalmos, which was chosen to describe the collection of the Psalms as a whole. The Hebrew title, however, would be tehillîm, “Book of Praises.”
The Psalms were written, collected, and structured over the period a millennium, roughly 1500 B.C. (i.e., the time of Moses) to 400 B.C. (i.e., the writing of Malachi, the last OT book to be written). As to structure, there are generally five divisions in the Psalms (1–41, 42–72, 73–89, 90–106, 107–150), thou
gh there are collections of the psalms within the whole Psalter (e.g., Asaphite psalms; 73–83) and though there are marks of having a previously arranged threefold division as well.
There are several different types of psalms. The psalmist may lament to God over his situation or the situation of the nation as whole (e.g., Pss 13, 137; 25 psalms). The psalmist may express his thanksgiving to God personally or on behalf of the nation as a whole (e.g., Pss 124, 138; 16 psalms). Some psalms simply praise God (e.g., Ps 8; 23 psalms, and others celebrate God’s kingship, whether Himself as king or the kingship of the one on David’s throne (e.g., Ps 110; 22 psalms). Finally, two psalms encourage Israel to renew herself according Mosaic Covenant (Pss 50, 81). Some psalms are not easily categorized or could fall into multiple categories.
Psalms within the Bible
The psalms reflect a theology informed by the Pentateuch and other books written before their composition. Many psalms speak of Israel’s king and would apply in time to Israel’s eternal king, Jesus (see e.g., Ps 2). The psalms are quoted scores of times in the NT and are the source of hundreds of allusions. The most oft-quoted is Psalm 110 (e.g., Acts 2:34–35; Heb 8:1).
Recommended Reading
For further study of the book as a whole, see the introduction for the book above in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985). For a brief overview of the use of the above book in the Bible as a whole, see the entry for the book above in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000).