Psalms

1. Psalms 1 to 41

Psalm 1

attributed to:	n/a
date composed:	Second Temple?
date of events:	n/a
genres:	wisdom, torah
comments:	Deliberately composed as a preface to the Psalter?

Psalm 2

attributed to:	A king of Israel: "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD; he said to me, 'You are my son; today I have begotten you.'"
date composed:	United Kingdom of Israel?
date of events:	On the day of the anointing of a King? Future: when the King of Israel reigns over all kings.
genres:	royal, Messianic
comments:	NAB: "Anointed: in Hebrew mashiah, “anointed”; in Greek christos, whence English Messiah and Christ. In Israel kings (Jgs 9:8; 1 Sm 9:16; 16:12–13) and high priests (Lv 8:12; Nm 3:3) received the power of their office through anointing."

Psalm 3

attributed to:	David
date composed:
date of events:	war with Absalom
genres:	lament
comments:	"A psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom" (2 Samuel 15:14–16).

Psalm 4

attributed to:	David
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genres:	individual lament emphasizing trust in God.
comments:	"A psalm of David." "In peace I will lie down and fall asleep, for you alone, LORD, make me secure" (9).

Psalm 5

attributed to:	David
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genres:	lament
comments:	"A psalm of David."

Psalm 6

attributed to:	David
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genres:	penitential lament
comments:	"A psalm of David." "For in death there is no remembrance of you. Who praises you in Sheol?" (6). NAB: "A motive for God to preserve the psalmist from death: in the shadowy world of the dead no one offers you praise. Sheol is the biblical term for the underworld where the insubstantial souls of dead human beings dwelt. It was similar to the Hades of Greek and Latin literature. In the second century B.C., biblical books begin to speak positively of life with God after death (Dn 12:1–3; Wis 3)." NAB: "The psalmist does not, as in many laments, claim to be innocent but appeals to God’s mercy (Ps 6:5)."

Psalm 7

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Psalm 8

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Psalm 9

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Psalm 10

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Psalm 11

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Psalm 12

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Psalm 13

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Psalm 14

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Psalm 15

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Psalm 16

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Psalm 17

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Psalm 18

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during war with Saul
genres:	A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sm 22.
comments:	"Of David, the servant of the LORD, who sang to the LORD the words of this song after the LORD had rescued him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul" (1 Samuel 24:11–12). I believe the opening statement, "I love you," is rare in the Scriptures. I heard this in one of my Hebrew classes, but have no other source for the claim at the moment.

Psalm 19

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Psalm 20

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Psalm 21

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Psalm 22

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Psalm 23

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Psalm 24

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Psalm 25

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Psalm 26

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Psalm 27

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Psalm 28

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Psalm 29

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Psalm 30

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Psalm 31

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Psalm 32

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during David's reign
genres:	pentitential psalm; thanksgiving
comments:	Some associate this with David being forgiven for his sins against Uriah (2 Samuel 12:13–14). Nothing in the text confirms or denies that association.

Psalm 33

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Psalm 34

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during war with Saul
genres:	NAB: A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order.
comments:	"When he feigned madness before Abimelech [Achish]], who drove him out and he went away" (1 Samuel 21:13).

Psalm 35

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Psalm 36

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Psalm 37

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Psalm 38

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Psalm 39

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Psalm 40

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Psalm 41

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2. Psalms 42 to 72

Psalm 42

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Psalm 43

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Psalm 44

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Psalm 45

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Psalm 46

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Psalm 47

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Psalm 48

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Psalm 49

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Psalm 50

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Psalm 51

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during David's reign
genres:	penitential
comments:	"A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba" (2 Samuel 12:13–14).

Psalm 52

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during the war with Saul
genres:	NAB: A condemnation of the powerful and arrogant (Ps 52:3–6), who bring down upon themselves God’s judgment (Ps 52:7).
comments:	"A maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite entered and reported to Saul, saying to him: 'David has entered the house of Ahimelech'"(1 Samuel 22:9).

Psalm 53

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Psalm 54

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during the war with Saul
genres:	lament
comments:	"A maskil of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, 'David is hiding among us.'" (1 Samuel 23:19).

Psalm 55

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Psalm 56

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during war with Saul
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comments:	"A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath" (1 Samuel 21:10). NAB: "Are my tears not stored in your flask?" is a unique saying in the Old Testament. The context suggests that the tears are saved because they are precious; God puts a high value on each of the psalmist’s troubles.

Psalm 57

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during the war with Saul
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comments:	"A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave" (1 Samuel 24:1).

Psalm 58

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Psalm 59

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during Saul's reign
genres:	lament
comments:	"A miktam of David, when Saul sent people to watch his house and kill him" (1 Sm 19:11).

Psalm 60

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Psalm 61

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Psalm 62

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Psalm 63

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during war with Absalom
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comments:	"A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah" (2 Samuel 16:2).

Psalm 64

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Psalm 65

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Psalm 66

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Psalm 67

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Psalm 68

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Psalm 69

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Psalm 70

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Psalm 71

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Psalm 72

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3. Psalms 73 to 89

Psalm 73

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Psalm 74

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Psalm 75

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Psalm 76

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Psalm 77

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Psalm 78

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Psalm 79

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Psalm 80

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Psalm 81

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Psalm 82

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Psalm 83

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Psalm 84

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Psalm 85

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Psalm 86

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Psalm 87

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Psalm 88

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Psalm 89

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4. Psalms 90 to 106

Psalm 90

attributed to:	Moses
date composed:	during or after Exile?
date of events:	Exodus
genres:	communal lament: Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong; Most of them are toil and sorrow; they pass quickly, and we are gone. (10)
comments:	"A prayer of Moses, the man of God."

Psalm 91

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Psalm 92

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Psalm 93

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Psalm 94

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Psalm 95

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Psalm 96

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Psalm 97

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Psalm 98

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Psalm 99

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Psalm 100

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Psalm 101

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Psalm 102

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Psalm 103

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Psalm 104

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Psalm 105

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Psalm 106

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5. Psalms 107 to 150

Psalm 107

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Psalm 108

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Psalm 109

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Psalm 110

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Psalm 111

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Psalm 112

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Psalm 113

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Psalm 114

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Psalm 115

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Psalm 116

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Psalm 117

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Psalm 118

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Psalm 119

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Psalm 120

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Psalm 121

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Psalm 122

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Psalm 123

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Psalm 124

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Psalm 125

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Psalm 126

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Psalm 127

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Psalm 128

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Psalm 129

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Psalm 130

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Psalm 131

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Psalm 132

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Psalm 133

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Psalm 134

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Psalm 135

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Psalm 136

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Psalm 137

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Psalm 138

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Psalm 139

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Psalm 140

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Psalm 141

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Psalm 142

attributed to:	David
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date of events:	during war with Saul
genres:	lament
comments:	"A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer" (1 Samuel 22:1).

Psalm 143

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Psalm 144

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Psalm 145

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Psalm 146

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Psalm 147

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Psalm 148

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Psalm 149

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Psalm 150

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