Psalms when-who?

The recent thread about Ps 110 made me think about the Psalms and their dating. Anyone doing a search online will find that there is as usual a great difference of opinion between religiously motivated and secular writers. I thought it a good idea to toss out a few thoughts that might stir a discussion.

First of all supersciptions are agreed by all to be a late additions to the work. IOW the ascribing a poem to David or Asaph for example means nothing about the date of writing or the actual author. These notes are from the 2nd century BC when the book was compiled.

So then are there early Psalms? Yes, it seems evident that some Psalms retain a very early tradition and account of life in ancient Israel. Ps 29 for example seems to be one of the oldest parts of the OT, with relatively little editing. Possibly dating to 10th century BC. Other Psalms are composite works of very old material incorporated into a new setting.

Psalms were a very ancient aspect of Canaan cult worship. Ugarit poetry bears striking resemblence to certain Psalms in structure and content. So it is not well founded to suggest that all the Psalms are complete late compositions.

Some of the Psalms however are obviously later works. Ps 74:2-8, 79:1-3, 126,137 for example look back to a time when the temple was destroyed and a return to Israel for the priestly elite. This necessitates a post exodus date. This makes the superscriptions rather anachronistic, as they are attributed to David or Asaph (in David story). The WT passively admits this in the Insight volume under 'Asaph' yet has repeatedly forgotten this when writing WT articles that refer to these passages as written by Asaph or David.

Other Psalms reflect theology of the closing centuries Bc. This suggests that the book is a collection that spans over 700 years of developing religious tradition. I would enjoy and appreciate any comments that would contribute to this discussion.

Psalms when-who?

peacefulpete

Love_Truth

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