Psalms 41 - Introduction

XLI.

Recalling the treachery of some pretended friends, the writer in this psalm pronounces, in contrast, a eulogy on those who know how to feel for and show compassion to the suffering. There is nothing, however, to indicate who the author was, or what particular incidents induced him to write. Possibly the sickness is entirely figurative, and the psalm is the expression of the feelings of the community of pious Israelites.

The doxology in Psalms 41:13 does not belong to the psalm, but closes the first book of the collection. (See General Introduction.) The parallelism is very imperfect.