Background

I'm going to refer to Psalms by number, and within the Psalms, I will refer to specific verses. Already, there is something I must clarify. I will be using the Protestant numbering system (both for individual Psalms and for verses). One may not be aware that there are some differences. These are minor, but since I'm referring to verse/Psalm numbers, I feel the need to say I'm following the Protestant system.

Since I brought it up, a brief explanation. In the Masoretic Text (Hebrew), the Psalms with headings will have a quirk with verse numbering. In the Masoretic, the Heading is verse 1, and all subsequent verses are increased by 1. In the Protestant system (which followed the Septuagint), the heading is more of a heading (verse zero). So, between Masoretic/Septuagint or Protestant numbering, one may find oneself off by 1 when referring to verse numbers.

There is something similar in the numbering of the individual Psalms. Both systems (Masoretic and Septuagint) have 150 Psalms total, but they have some variance as to how they are numbered (some Psalms are combined). Here is a little table to show (copied from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalms). Again, one might find oneself off by 1 if using the wrong numbering system. In this case, Protestants use the Hebrew Numbering (and now Catholics often do as well, except in official liturgical texts), so finding yourself off by a Psalm number would be rare today.

Psalm Information

The Books within the Psalms

The Book of Psalms is made up of five books. In other words, the whole Psalms has parts, or books. The books within the Psalter are as follows:

• Book 1 -- Psalms 1-41
• Book 2 -- Psalms 42-72
• Book 3 -- Psalms 73-89
• Book 4 -- Psalms 90-106
• Book 5 -- Psalms 107-150.

At the end of each book is a Doxology (with an extended Doxology closing Book 5)

The Doxologies:

• The Doxology for Book 1 -- 41:13, reads as follows, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen."
• The Doxology for Book 2 -- 72:18-20, reads: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.  The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended." You can see it's both a doxology and a note about David's Psalms; this note raised another question since there are "Psalms of David" that come later in the Psalter, but I'm going to leave that unanswered for now (if I don't learn to leave some things unsaid, my writing becomes too much).
• The Doxology for Book 3 -- 89:52, reads: "Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen."
• The Doxology for Book 4 -- 106:48, reads: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!"
• The Doxology for Book 5. Book 5 is a little different. It's pretty commonly accepted that Psalms 146-150 together (although they are still separate Psalms) form the Doxology and conclusion to the Whole of the Psalter. Each of Psalm 146-150 both begin and end with "Praise the LORD." (Hallelujah!) (or in Hebrew, < הָלְלוּ־יָהּ >.

Other Sections Within the Psalms

The Hallel Psalms are Psalms 113-118. These six Psalms all praise God for Israel's DELIVERANCE. Put this into context. At the end of the Last Supper, it says that "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Mark 14:26). The hymn sung at the end of a Passover was one of the Hallel Psalms: a song of DELIVERANCE related to the Passover feast that Jesus had just taken and given new meaning in the context of his death/burial/resurrection.

Then there are the Songs of Ascent (or, in Hebrew: < שִׁיר לַֽמַּעֲלוֹת > pronounced Shir Le-Ma-aloth). Psalms 120-134 are Songs of Ascent. These are just plain fun. You can get these in your head; they are short and rhythmic (in English or Hebrew) sounding. They are memorable. Have you ever sung a song where the leader sings out, and the audience repeats or echoes back the same line? You can easily imagine these Psalms sung in that manner (though I have no evidence this was the style). They were sung by those traveling to Jerusalem for festivals and Holy days. Imagine a group of people walking together and singing. That's what these Psalms are about. This is one way the Psalms would be memorized by all of the people. These Psalms prepared the hearts of God's people for the holy days as they traveled to Jerusalem (3 times per year Dueteronomy 16:16).

I have more information and some links, which I will add to this page. I can imagine this page expanding. For now, however, I've put more here initially than I expected. Yet, I'm considering this page as under construction.

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