Category: Psalms

Book of Psalms — collections, classifications, superscriptions: for each psalm, columns on the chart address the thematic and formal collections, the classifications of Sabourin and of Gunkel, and the items found in the superscriptions and inserts, e.g.: terms, song of the day, muscial annotations, ‘selahs,’ proper names, choirmaster and historical references.

Psalms Classification including sections and notes identifying the five books of the Psalter and smaller sub-collections.

Many attempts to classify the psalms fail to consistently distinguish between categories related by form and categories related by content. These charts give each psalm both a preliminary classification “By Form” (e.g., L, IL, CL, IT, CT, H, A) and “By Content” (wisdom, confidence, repentance, imprecation, kingdom, royal coronation, etc.).

In the PDF, asterisks (*) indicate psalms that illustrate the typical elements of the type; plus symbols (+) indicate psalms of mixed types; question marks (?) indicate less-certain classifications. Grayed blocks indicate sub-collections. “Psalms of David” are in red.

Synonyms for “God’s Word” in Psalm 119 addresses the many significant words occur in Psalm 119. Eight Hebrew words (torah, dabar, edah, mishpatim, mitsvah, choq, piqqudim, imrah), synonyms for God’s Word, each recur 19-25 times, appearing in almost every one of the psalm’s 176 verses.

Torah synonyms are listed by their frequency of use, compared regarding their meanings, the psalmist’s response, and the resulting personal blessing.