Psalms 59 - Introduction

The following Psalms (59-72) comprise the second part of Book Two (Psalms 42-72). The Book of Psalms divides up into five Books, of which this is the final part of the second, each of which ends with a special ‘blessing, which are as follows:

· Book 1. Psalms 1-41, which ends with ‘blessed be YHWH the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, Amen and Amen.'

· Book 2. Psalms 42-72 which ends with ‘Blessed be YHWH God, the God of Israel, Who only does wonderful things. And blessed be His glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.'

· Book 3. Psalms 73-89 which ends with ‘Blessed be YHWH for evermore. Amen and Amen.'

· Book 4. Psalms 90-106 which ends with ‘Blessed be YHWH the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting, and let all the people say, “Amen”. Praise you YHWH.'

· Book 5. Psalms 107-150 which ends with ‘Let everything that has breath praise YHWH'. Praise you YHWH.'

In this second book of Psalms it is noticeable that the greater emphasis throughout, as compared with the first section, is on God as ELOHIM. But this, while noticeable, must not be over-exaggerated for the name YHWH certainly does appear fairly often (Psalms 42:8; Psalms 46:7; Psalms 46:11; Psalms 47:2; Psalms 47:5; Psalms 48:1; Psalms 48:8; Psalms 50:1; Psalms 54:6; Psalms 55:16; Psalms 55:22; Psalms 56:10; Psalms 58:6; Psalms 59:3; Psalms 59:5; Psalms 59:8; Psalms 64:10; Psalms 68:4 (YH); Psalms 68:7; Psalms 68:16; Psalms 68:20; Psalms 69:13; Psalms 69:16; Psalms 69:31; Psalms 69:33; Psalms 70:5; Psalms 71:1; Psalms 71:5; Psalms 71:16; Psalms 72:18, as also does ‘Lord' (ADONAI), and it should be noted that the name YHWH appears in the verse which ends the section (Psalms 72:18). Indeed, there it is specifically associated with ELOHIM, for there He is YHWH ELOHIM. So in the end this section also is dedicated to YHWH. It is only in contrast with the first section (1-41), where YHWH predominates, that we particularly notice the change of title/Name.

This Second Book contains Psalms from two main sources, firstly from a collection entitled ‘of the sons of Korah' (42-49), and the remainder from a collection entitled ‘of David'. Apart from these there are two which are simply dedicated ‘for the Chief Musician' (66; 67), one headed ‘of Asaph' (50; see next section where there are more songs ‘of Asaph'), and the final one which is entitled ‘of Solomon'. The dedication of most of the Psalms to ‘the Chief Musician' or ‘Choirmaster', indicates that where necessary they have been adapted for Temple worship, in the case of David probably by David himself (he had a great interest in Temple worship). Interestingly the section ends with the note ‘the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended' (Psalms 72:20). But this ascription need only be seen as applying to this section (or the collection from which the Psalms were obtained), as more Psalms of David will follow in later sections. It would appear to refer to the fact that the group of Psalms which are ‘of David' in this particular section is now coming to its conclusion, and may be seen as indicating that the Psalms of ‘the sons of Korah' and others have been included under his supervision. It might, however, seem to add strength to the idea that, at least in this section, if a Psalm is said to be ‘of David', this is intended to indicate authorship by David himself. On the other hand the final Psalm is ‘of Solomon' (the son of David), which could easily have been be seen as ‘a prayer of ‘David', because he was of the Davidic house.