a date has been proposed to the second quarter of the fourteenth century BCE. The inscription consists of eleven signs or letters. Seven of these are well preserved. Most scholars agree that the identity of the first five signs are the Hebrew letters b, s, l, s, t (i.e. a form of the number “three” with the prepositional prefix, b). The sixth symbol is probably a division mark and the seventh, the beginning of another word, is now illegible. The Moab Stele was discovered in 1868 by a missionary, F. A. Klein, in Dhibon, Jordan. It is a victory inscription on black basalt consisting of thirty-four lines in Phoenician-Old Hebrew script with twenty-seven lines preserved entirely. They celebrate the victory of Mesha, King of Moab, over Israel after a period of Moabite submission (cf. 2 Kgs 3: 4—27) and are a record of a program of city building. The stele is of great importance as it is the sole historical monument of the Moabite kingdom and a record of historical relations between Moab and Israel, which are glossed over or omitted from the “Old Testament.” It dates from the ninth century BCE.
29. Albertz, A History of Israelite Religion, 61. cf. For an excellent discussion of the long process toward monotheism in ancient Israel, please see James A. Sanders, The Monotheizing Process: Its Origins and Development, 2014.
30. Note: The findings of the psalms scroll at Qumran have reinvigorated and renewed confidence in the reliability and accuracy of the Hebrew of the ninth century CE Masoretic text (MT). This is one of the greatest contributions of the Dead Sea Scrolls for research and study of the Psalter.
31. Pelikan, The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (600–1700) In The Christian Tradition, Vol. 3. 208.
32. cf. Cook, The Social Roots of Biblical Yahwism, Society of Biblical Literature. 2004.
Note: Cook cites often the connection that exists between the Psalms of Asaph (50, 73–83) and the Sinai theology tradition which is the monotheistic Yahwist belief and which becomes the subsequent confession of ancient Israel.
33. cf. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 44.
34. Muilenburg, Psalm 4:7, 44.
cf. Rendtorff, Canon and Theology, “. . . the historical experiences of Israel are reflected in the Psalms in various ways. The personal religion that finds its expression here is rooted in God’s action in the past; but it directs itself ever and again to the yet imminent future deeds of God.” 64.
35. Labuschagne, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 146.
36. Note: The superscriptions or titles are headings that appear at the beginning of 116 psalms (the opening verse or verses in Hebrew). They provide ancient, though not original, information in a variety of forms: authorial attribution, historical setting, instrumental accompaniment, poem-prayer types, etc. The remaining psalms which have no titles are sometimes referred to as “orphans.” The psalm titles are late editorial additions to the collections and may most certainly be dated in the late postexilic era.
37. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment, 95.
38. Admittedly what we know of the monarchy in the northern kingdom of Israel—at least what is in the Bible— is filtered through the 7th century BCE Deuteronomist historians who view Israel’s monarchy through the prism of the southern kingdom perspective. This royal propaganda considered all the kings of northern Israel bad—in their view.
39. Polytheism is the devotion to and worship of a plurality of gods; Henotheism is the worship of one God per tribe or nation among other gods; Monotheism is the worship of the One and Only God of All. Monolatry is a synonym of henotheism.
40. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, vol. 1 Word Biblical Commentary, 53. cf. Curtis, Psalms in Epworth Commentaries “The Hebrew name sepher tehillim means ‘Book of Praises’ and the title is most appropriate. Many psalms are hymns of praise to God, while others praise [him] indirectly, e.g. by praising Zion where [his] presence was believed to dwell.” xxi.
41. Kraus, Psalms 1–59, vol. 1. A Continental Commentary, 11. Kraus prefers the designation, “the Hymnal of the Jewish Community,” as, in his view, “the title Sepher Tehillim is not at all suitable to serve as a general title that is exhaustive and at all adequate for the contents of the 150 psalms.” 5. Note: However, even the prayers of lament or complaint, by their structure and occurrences throughout, demonstrate the inexorable movement toward praise.
Deep Memory
The Psalter is divided into five distinct books, each of which, excepting Psalm 145, concludes with a benediction: Book I (3–41: Blessed be יהוה, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. Amen and Amen); Book II (42–72: Blessed be יהוה, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; Amen and Amen); Book III (73–89: Blessed be יהוה forever. Amen and Amen); Book IV (90–106: Blessed be יהוה, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise יהוה); and Book V (107–145). Psalms 146 through 150 serve as the postscript and the unitive doxology of praise to the entire Psalter. Each begins “Alleluia” or Praise יהוה! In these schema we take also Psalms 1 and 2 as the Introduction to the Psalter.
In Hebrew, Psalm 1 begins with aleph, the first letter of the alphabet; its final word begins with the letter taw, the last letter of the alphabet. Consequently, the letters aleph and taw are intended to symbolize all the letters and words in between, thereby embracing the entire Psalter. Psalm 2 alerts all readers who approach the book of Praises to listen carefully to what follows and meditate on it day and night for what they will encounter there reaches beyond time!
Psalm 2 is the second panel of the introduction to the Book of Psalms. It is united to the first psalm by the inclusion of the . . . (“Blessed,” or “How happy”) which open the first [Psalm] and conclude the second [Psalm], and by the repetition of themes from the first (1:6) in the second (2:12). Together Psalms 1 and 2 introduce major topics and terms that are woven through the texture of the entire book. The piety represented by these psalms is beset by the problems of the wicked and the nations. The reader is asked to take both psalms as the voice of the speaker, who identifies himself in 2:7 by an identity given him by God. ‘ The son’ pronounces the beatitude of Psalm 1 about the wicked and the righteous and discloses the policy of heaven concerning the nations in Psalm 2. 42
Likewise, the doxology, Psalms 146–150 is a collection of “Hallelujah Psalms” that constitutes the conclusion of the Psalter in a crescendo of praise. In this manner we are then left with one hundred and forty-three psalms (3–145). These are divided into two segments (3–89 and 90–145). With these divisions we are able to recognize more clearly the definitively intentional organizational structure and shaping of the book of Psalms. This lends the view that the Psalter in its final form is the result of a collection of collections, purposeful editing and arranging, resulting in a distinct shape. These sets of markers are, however, not immediately recognizable to us. What gives a distinct shape to the corpus as a whole, from the Introduction of Psalms 1 and 2, to the corporate Doxology of Psalms
