less problem with this than Moses anticipated. Indeed, they were delighted when he came. It is likely that much of this concern was Moses’s own need for assurance that this was the God of their ancestors. The promised deliverance was now to take place. Israel’s long communion and worship of יהוה as the covenanted and covenantal people begins at Sinai. This marks the beginning of the Sinai theology tradition which can be traced with clarion accuracy through the Asaphite psalms (50, 73–83) which are songs originating in the north (Israel or Ephraim).32
In the Hebrew Bible, the Name (Heb. hashem), is used in place of יהוה in reverence of the holy Name. This reverence for יהוה is still maintained in various expressions of modern day Judaism. There is a reluctance to appropriate its usage aloud—this in sobering contrast to much of contemporary Christianity’s casual references to the holy One. The only appropriate stance is to tread carefully with awe and worship in the presence of the Holy.33 The acknowledgment of the activity and attributes of יהוה, particularly immanence and transcendence, frequently come to expression through the various images used to describe God’s actions in the Psalms. The more frequent Hebraic images express a knowledge of the nearness and awareness of the presence and help and deliverance of יהוה. It is the presence of יהוה that is, for ancient Israel, the primary locus of divine activity.
A deep trust and confidence in יהוה emerges out of each of these texts. This trust is rooted in ancient Israel’s common life and work and, most of all, worship. Our three psalms represent some of the highest expressions of trust in the Psalter. In this respect Psalm 91 marks the zenith of the book of Psalms. The entire book is the subject of a people’s growth in faith and trust in יהוה their God. יהוה is the sacred name of the God of Israel, both in the northern kingdom and in Judah. Before ca. 1200 BCE, the name is not found in any semitic texts. יהוה was never known at Ugarit according to the findings. But it is in the Psalms where we may eavesdrop on the way God’s ancient people conversed in the presence of the sacred Name. Nowhere is the transaction of the divine-human drama expressed more convincingly than in ancient Israel’s ongoing dialogue with יהוה, the God of history. The results of this dialog bear the hallmarks of the book of Praises.
James Muilenburg’s observation made a half century ago, still remains an accurate assessment of ancient Israel’s uniqueness: The way of Israel is historical. It is historical to a maximum degree because its history belongs to God. History is God’s gift to Israel and to the world.34 That יהוה will one day come to be recognized by all as the God of all the earth is attested in Psalm 83:18–Let them know that you alone, whose name is יהוה, are עליון (elyon) over all the earth.
. . . it is important to note the close association between the idea of Yahweh’s incomparability and the idea that not only Israel, but also the heathen had to acknowledge Yahweh as God . . . it cannot be denied that, at least to a certain extent, the concept shows trends of universalism . . . in connection with the idea of [His] incomparability it means that other peoples will recognize not only this, but also [His] uniqueness. Should universalism be seen as one of the requirements for pure monotheism, then this confession undoubtedly met this requirement, for right from the beginning it transcended national limitation in showing a universalistic trend.35
The identity and the universality of Israel’s God is firmly rooted in the prophets, particularly Isaiah: Only in יהוה it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; all who were incensed against him shall come to him and be ashamed. In יהוה all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory (Is 45:24, NRSV). The broad parameter of the use of the divine names is illustrated abundantly throughout the book of Praises. Israel’s very existence bears witness to the promises of the covenant which she entered into with יהוה. Israel’s conversation with יהוה is Israel’s gift to us. Here we witness the mighty deeds of יהוה, Israel’s words to God, and God’s words to Israel. This is, theologically speaking, a new horizon in Israel’s faith development. When meditating on the Psalter we too may step into the historic stream -this remarkable legacy of trusting יהוה in faith—whether in times of lamentation and desolation or times of celebration and praise. The unique and primary locus of these hymns of praise in the Hebrew Bible is found in the Psalter.
In the LXX the word psalm is derived from the Greek (ψαλμοῖς, psalmois) which in turn translates the Hebrew מזמור (mizmor, root meaning to pluck) and is the most common title. It is used in the superscriptions of 57 psalms.36 מזמור (mizmor) refers to a song accompanied by a stringed instrument.
The term Psalter is derived from the Latin, psalterium, or stringed instrument. Many of the psalms that have come down to us clearly denote musical accompaniment (lyre and harp, zither, trumpets, tambourines and drums) in a particular liturgical setting—but reaching anything like exact dates when these titles were first appropriated is only ill-advised speculation.
. . . there is the attempt to place various psalms on a continuum according to their theological perspective. The interpretation of the Old Testament has been plagued by this necessity to argue from the development of religious thought to history and from historical context to the date of the literature. For this reason, all judgments about the relative dates of biblical texts are hazardous. Naturally, this approach assumes that religious ideas progressed ever more in ancient Israel, and the purest teachings necessarily came later than others less refined. Of course, we know that societies do not evolve in this fashion and pockets of a culture invariably preserve older values.37
The LXX remains an immensely important translation and has served as an invaluable resource to all subsequent studies of the Hebrew Scriptures for more than two millennia. Since the LXX is a translation, scholars speculate as to what degree it accurately reflects the Hebrew text of the third-century BCE. On closer examination of both the LXX and the ninth-century CE Masoretic Text (MT) there do occur, understandably, some variations. Were these due to errors in translation, transcription, or are the LXX and MT based on two different Hebrew manuscripts? The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has certainly helped shed light on some of these questions.
The inhabitants of Judea and Israel in the time of the monarchy were constantly tempted to forsake יהוה and to engage in the ancient cults of the neighboring nature deities. Israel’s God, by any name, is holy and awe-filled. But it was the constant allurement of the prolific nature deities of Canaan that remained a continuing enticement to Israel to abandon the worship of “יהוה alone.” The influence of Canaanite religion played a significant role in these developments. Our knowledge of the religions of Canaan has been much advanced by archaeological discoveries of documents and potsherds, especially from Ugarit (Ras Shamra) which date from the middle of the second millennium, ca.1420 BCE.
These Bronze Age religions had a powerful impact on the Iron Age Israelites, particularly during the time of the divided kingdom and they gained entry into Israel’s life especially under the program and policies of Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom (Israel). But it was later, under Ahaz and his Sidonian princess wife Jezebel, that a particularly noxious and virulent strain of Canaanite religion was introduced in the north and was practiced openly.38 This threatened the very future of Yahwism in both North and South. The early prophets of the north, Elijah and Elisha in the ninth century BCE, continually castigated the northern kings for their polytheism. The eighth-century BCE prophets railed against these cultural accretions, particularly Amos and Hosea in the north, beginning in the mid-eighth century. Somewhat later in the century, in the south, Micah–and still later on, Jeremiah in the late seventh and early sixth-centuries BCE continued to warn the southern kingdom of Judah of impending disaster.
