A large number of the psalms carry superscriptions, containing information possibly about authorship or attribution, the type of song, and sometimes the occasion for their use or the historical context in which they were composed. Psm 3(v1), e.g., tells us that it was:
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
Psm 4:
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
Psm 5:
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
Psm 9:
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.
Psm 18:
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
Psm 30:
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.
Psm 51:
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
Psm 92:
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
The first thing to note about these superscriptions is they that they are ancient. They trace so far back in time, in fact, that when the translators in the 3rd-2nd Cent BC prepared the Septuagint the meanings of many of the terms were already obscure or lost to them.
Secondly, they are clearly editorial in nature; they, e.g., used the third person pronoun ("When he fled from his son . . .") when commenting on the psalms. They were, therefore, not part of the original psalm. Nonetheless, they also do not belong to the marginal notes that are found in the Hebrew manuscripts to help the scribes make accurate copies. These notes are part of the canonical text. Certainly both Jesus and the New Testament take them seriously. Take Mk 12:35-37, e.g.:
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet."'
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?" And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
Jesus does not only quote the text of Psm 110:1, he also without hesitation bases his argument on the supersciptional note that it was David who was the authorizer (i.e., he may be the author or, if it was written by someone else, it had his imprimatur) of the psalm. Other examples can be found in Acts 2:29ff., 34ff, and 13:35-37.
But of what practical use are these superscriptions to us and how are we to read them? Two things are needed. On the one hand, we need to avoid the extreme of taking these superscriptions as mirrors into the minds of the psalmists who composed them. Take the superscription of Psm 3 for example:
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
This convinced the rabbis that "although the historical text (II Sam. 15) is silent on the matter, David was actually composing this psalm as he fled, and the psalm thus reveals David's thoughts and feelings at that historical moment (Midr. Ps. 3.3, 119.26)."1 There is little that is substantial about this stance to encourage it.
On the other hand, we should take seriously the reminder by James Hamilton, Jr, that,
(t)he Psalms of the Hebrew Bible are not to be read as abstract poetic installations in the world's literary register. Rather, the Psalms are to be read in light of the story the old Testament tells. The more detailed superscriptions invite readers of the Psalter to compare the psalm at hand to the Old Testament narrative referenced by the superscription. Often this locates a psalm at a specific point in the Old Testament narrative, and the psalm functions as commentary on the narrative. 2
A stand-alone list and explanations of what these superscriptions, and technical terms found in them, might mean would be a rather academic exercise if provided here. Instead we have placed them in the glossary where they will be available when they appear in the relevant places being studied and in the context of the psalms in which they appear.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2013