1914 Syria SYRIAC ARAMIC PSALMS Biblical BIBLE Antique ORIGINAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1914 Syria SYRIAC ARAMIC PSALMS Biblical BIBLE Antique ORIGINAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK:
$115.00
DESCRIPTION : Up for sale ia an EXTREMELY RARE over 100 year old SYRIAC Bible BOOK of PSALMS , Published in Lonon in 1914 ( Dated ) . Written in the ancient language of SYRIAC (Syriac/ˈsɪri.æk/), also known asSyriac Aramaic ) . Original cloth HC . Gilt headings. 8 x 6.5 \" . 122 pp . Very good used condition. Tightly bound. Absolutely clean. Inscriptions on title page. Cracked spine.( Pls look at scan for accurate AS IS images)Bookwill be sent inside a protective envelope .
PAYMENTS : Payment method accepted : Paypal .
SHIPPMENT : SHIPP worldwide via registeredairmail $18 . Book will be sent inside a protective envelope . Handlingwithin 3-5 days after payment. Estimated duration 14 Sury�y�), also known asSyriac Aramaic, is a dialect of MiddleAramaicthat was once spoken across much of theFertile Crescentand
Eastern Arabia.[1][2][5]Having first appeared in the early first century AD inEdessa,[6]classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout theMiddle Eastfrom the 4th to the 8th centuries,[7]theclassical languageofEdessa, preserved in a large body ofSyriac literature. Indeed, Syriac literature comprises roughly 90% of the extant Aramaic literature.[8]Old Aramaicwas adopted by theNeo-Assyrian Empire(911–605 BC) when they conquered the variousArameancity-kingdoms to its west. TheAchaemenid Empire, which rose after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, also adopted Old Aramaic as its official language and Old Aramaic quickly became thelingua francaof the region. During the course of the third and fourth centuries AD, the inhabitants of the region began to embrace Christianity.Along with Latin and Greek, Syriac became one of \"the three most important Christian languages in the early centuries\" of theChristian Era.[9]From the 1st century AD Syriac became the vehicle ofSyriac Christianityand culture, and the liturgical language of theSyriac Orthodox Churchand subsequently theChurch of the East, along with its descendants: theChaldean Catholic Church, theAssyrian Church of the East, theAncient Church of the East, theSaint Thomas Christian Churches,[10]and theAssyrian Pentecostal Church.Syriac Christianity and language spread throughoutAsiaas far as the IndianMalabar Coast[10]and
EasternChina,[11]and was the medium of communication and cultural dissemination for the laterArabsand, to a lesser extent, theParthian EmpireandSassanid EmpirePersians. Primarily aChristianmedium of expression, Syriac had a fundamental cultural and literary influence on the development ofArabic,[12]which largely replaced it towards the 14th century.[3]Syriac remains theliturgical languageof Syriac Christianity to this day.Syriac is a Middle Aramaic language and, as such, a language of theNorthwestern branchof theSemitic family. It is written in theSyriac alphabet, a derivation of theAramaic alphabet.Contents[hide]1 Geographic distribution2 History3 Origins4 Literary Syriac5 Current status6 Grammar6.1 Nouns6.2 Verbs7 Phonology7.1 Consonants7.2 Vowels8 See also9 Notes10 References11 External linksGeographic distribution[edit]Although once a major language in theFertile CrescentandBahrain, Syriac is now limited to the towns and villages in theNineveh plains,Tur Abdin, theKhaburplains, in and around the cities ofMosul,IrbilandKirkuk.An 11th-century Syriacmanuscript.Syriac was the local accent of Aramaic inEdessa, that evolved under the influence of Church of the East and Syriac Orthodox Church into its current form. Before Arabic became the dominant language, Syriac was a major language among Christian communities in theMiddle East,Central AsiaandKerala,[10]and remains so among the Assyrians and Syriac-Arameans to this day. It has been found as far afield asHadrian\'s WallinAncient Britain, with inscriptions written by Assyrian and Aramean soldiers of theRoman Empire.[13]History[edit]Yeshua, \"ישוע\", theHebrew-Aramaicname ofJesusThe history of Syriac can be divided into three distinct periods:Old Aramaic, the language of the Aramaean city-states of the Levant in the Early Iron Age, Old Aramaic was adopted as a lingua franca (besides Akkadian) in the Neo-Assyrian EmpireMiddle Syriac/Middle Syriac Aramaic \"Literary Syriac\"), which is divided into:
Eastern Middle Syriac/
Eastern Middle Syriac Aramaic (the literary and ecclesiastical language of the ethnicAssyrian Christiansof the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Ancient Church of the East and Assyrian Pentecostal Church),Western Middle Syriac/Western Middle Syriac Aramaic (the literary and ecclesiastical language of the largely Syriac members of theSyriac Orthodox Church,Syriac Catholic ChurchandMaronite Church).\"Modern Syriac\"/\"Modern Syriac Aramaic\" is a term occasionally used to refer to the modern
Eastern Aramaiclanguages (see e.g. Lipinski 2001:70[14]). Even if they cannot be positively identified as the direct descendants of attested Middle Syriac, they must have developed from closely related dialects belonging to the same branch of Aramaic, and the varieties spoken in Christian communities have long co-existed with and been influenced by Middle Syriac as a liturgical and literary language. In this terminology, Modern Syriac is divided into:Modern Western Syriac Aramaic (TuroyoandMlahsô). Note however that these are sometimes excluded from the category of \"Modern Syriac\".[14]Modern
Eastern Syriac Aramaic (North
Eastern Neo-Aramaic, includingAssyrian Neo-Aramaicand so calledChaldean Neo-Aramaic(the dialects of theAssyrian people), but the term usually is not used in reference toNeo-Mandaic, another variety of
Eastern Aramaic spoken byMandaeans).The name \"Syriac\", when used with no qualification, generally refers to one specific dialect of Middle Aramic but not to Old Aramaic or to the various present-day
Eastern and Central Neo-Aramaic languages descended from it or from close relatives. The modern varieties are, therefore, not discussed in this article.Origins[edit]In 132 BC, the kingdom ofOsroenewas founded in Edessa and Proto-Syriac evolved in that kingdom. Many Syriac-speakers still look to Edessa as the cradle of their language.[15]There are about eighty extant early Syriac inscriptions, dated to the first three centuries AD (the earliest example of Syriac, rather than Imperial Aramaic, is in an inscription dated to AD 6, and the earliest parchment is a deed of sale dated to AD 243). All of these early examples of the language are non-Christian. As an official language, Syriac was given a relatively coherent form, style and grammar that is lacking in other Old
Eastern Aramaic dialects. The Syriac language split into a western variety used by theSyriac Orthodox Churchsin upper Mesopotamia and western Syria, and an
Eastern dialect used in the Sassanid controlled east used by theChurch of the East.[16]Literary Syriac[edit]Further information:Syriac literatureThe sixthbeatitude(Matthew 5:8) from an East Syriac ÜÜ�ܲÜ�ÜܹÜ�Ü¢ ܕܲܕ݂ܟܹÜ�Ü¢ ܕܗܸܢ݂ܘܿܢ ܢܸܚܙܘܿܢ l-ʾaylên da-á¸�ḵên b-lebbhÅ�n: d-hennÅ�n neḥzÅ�n l-ʾalÄ�hÄ�.\'Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.\'In the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use Syriac as the language of worship. There is evidence that the adoption of Syriac, the language of the Assyrian people, was to effect mission. Much literary effort was put into the production of an authoritative translation of the Bible into Syriac, At the same time,Ephrem the Syrianwas producing the most treasured collection of poetry and theology in the Syriac language.In 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the
Eastern reaches of the Roman Empire fled to the Sassanid Empire to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians.[citation needed]The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitterNestorian schismin the Syriac-speaking world. As a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and
Eastern varieties. Although remaining a single language with a high level of comprehension between the varieties, the two employ distinctive variations in pronunciation and writing system, and, to a lesser degree, in vocabulary.Western Syriac is the official language of theWest Syrian rite, practised by the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, theMalankara Orthodox Syrian Church, theMalabar Independent Syrian Church, theMar Thoma Churchand theSyro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Eastern Syriac is the liturgical language of theEast Syrian rite, practised in modern times by the ethnic Assyrian followers of the Assyrian Church of the East, the Assyrian Pentecostal Church, the Ancient Church of the East, the Assyrian-Chaldean Catholic Church, as well as theSyro-Malabar Churchin India.Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the variousAramaic languages. Its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history. Much of this wealth remains unavailable in critical editions or modern translation.From the 7th century onwards, Syriac gradually gave way toArabicas the spoken language of much of the region, excepting northern Iraq. TheMongolinvasions of the 13th century, and the religiously motivated massacres ofAssyrian ChristiansbyTamurlanefurther contributed to the rapid decline of the language. In many places outside of northern Mesopotamia (theAssyrian homeland), even in liturgy, it was replaced by Arabic.Current status[edit]A warning sign:Please! Let\'s be quiet!\', in Syriac and Turkish languages.Revivals of literal Syriac in recent times have led to some success with the creation of newspapers in written Syriac similar to the modern standard ArabicFuṣḥÄ�, has been used since the early decades of the 20th century. Modern literary Syriac has also been used not only in religious literature but also in secular genres often withnationalisticthemes.[17]Syriac is spoken as theliturgical languageof theSyriac Orthodox Church, as well as by some ofits adherents.[18]Syriac has been recognised as an officialminority languagein Iraq.[19]It is also taught in some public schools inIraq,Israel,Sweden,[20][21]Augsburg (Germany) andKerala(India).In 2014, an Assyriannursery schoolcould finally be opened inYeÅŸilköy,Istanbul[22]after waging a lawsuit against theMinistry of National Educationwhich had denied it permission, but was required to respect non-Muslim minority rights as specified in theTreaty of Lausanne.[23]Among theSyriac churches of Kerala,Malayalamoften replaces Syriac. Literary Syriac is often used as a spoken language by clerics who do not speak the vernacular dialects.[citation needed]Grammar[edit]Many Syriac words, like those in otherSemitic languages, are built out oftriliteralroots, collations of three Syriac consonants with variable vowel (and some consonant) sets as a \"glue\". For example, the rootÜ«Ü©Ü,ÅQL, has the basic meaning oftaking, and the following are some words that can be formed from this root:Ü«Ü©Ü–šqal: \"he has \"he will take\"Ü«Ü©Ü–šÄ�qel: \"he takes, he is taking\"Ü«Ü©Ü–šaqqel: \"he has \"he has set \"a taking, burden, recension, portion or \"takings, profits, \"a beast of \"arrogance\"Nouns[edit]Most Syriacnounsare built from triliteral roots. Nouns carrygrammatical gender(masculine or feminine), they can be either singular or plural in number (a very few can be dual) and can exist in one of three grammatical states. These states should not be confused withgrammatical casesin other languages.The absolute state is the basic form of the noun \"taxes\".The emphatic state usually represents a definite noun \"the taxes\".The construct state marks a noun in relationship to another noun –ܫܩ̈ÜÜ�,Å¡eqlay, \"taxes of...\".However, very quickly in the development of Classical Syriac, the emphatic state became the ordinary form of the noun, and the absolute and construct states were relegated to certain stock phrases (for example,ܒܪ nÄ�Å¡Ä�, \"man, person\", literally \"son of man\").In Old and early Classical Syriac, mostgenitivenoun relationships are built using the construct state, but contrary to the genitive case, it is the head-noun which is marked by the construct state. Thus,ܫܩ̈ÜÜ� Ü¡ÜܟܘܬÜ�,Å¡eqlay malkūṯÄ�, means \"the taxes of the kingdom\". Quickly, the construct relationship was abandoned and replaced by the use of the relative particleÜ•,d-, da-. Thus, the samenoun phrasebecomesܫܩ̈ÜÜ� d-malkūṯÄ�, where both nouns are in the emphatic state. Very closely related nouns can be drawn into a closer grammatical relationship by the addition of a pronominal suffix. Thus, the phrase can be written asܫܩ̈ÜÜ�Ü— d-malkūṯÄ�. In this case, both nouns continue to be in the emphatic state, but the first has the suffix that makes it literally read \"her taxes\" (\"kingdom\" is feminine), and thus is \"her taxes, [those] of the kingdom\".Adjectivesalways agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Adjectives are in the absolute state if they arepredicative, but agree with the state of their noun ifattributive. Thus,Ü’Ü�Ü«Ü�̈ܢ ܫܩ̈ÜÜ�,bÄ«Å¡Ä«n Å¡eqlÄ“, means \"the taxes are evil\", whereasܫܩ̈ÜÜ� Ü’Ü�̈ܫÜ�,Å¡eqlÄ“ ḇīšē, means \"evil taxes\".Verbs[edit]Most Syriac verbs are built on triliteral roots as well. Finite verbs carryperson, gender (except in the first person) and number, as well astenseandconjugation. The non-finite verb forms are theinfinitiveand theactiveandpassiveparticiples.Syriac has only two truemorphologicaltenses: perfect and imperfect. Whereas these tenses were originallyaspectualin Aramaic, they have become a truly temporalpastandfuturetenses respectively. Thepresent tenseis usually marked with theparticiplefollowed by thesubjectpronoun. However, such pronouns are usually omitted in the case of the third person. This use of the participle to mark the present tense is the most common of a number ofcompoundtenses that can be used to express varying senses of tense and aspect.Syriac also employs verb conjugations such as are present in other Semitic languages. These are regular modifications of the verb\'s root to express other changes in meaning. The first conjugation is the ground state, orPəʿal(this name models the shape of the root). form of the verb, which carries the usual meaning of the word. The next is the intensive state, orPaÊ¿Ê¿el, form of the verb, which usually carries anintensifiedmeaning. The third is the extensive state, orʾApÌ„Ê¿el, form of the verb, which is oftencausativein meaning. Each of these conjugations has its parallelpassiveconjugation: To these six cardinal conjugations are added a few irregular forms, like which generally have an extensive meaning.Phonology[edit]This sectiondoes notciteanysources.Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(January 2009)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)ʾAḇôn Prayer,ʾAḇÅ�n d-ḇa-Å¡mayyÄ�, sung in Syriac using the western dialect pronunciationProblems playing this file? Seemedia help.Phonologically, like the other Northwest Semitic languages, Syriac has 22 consonants and 3 vowels. The consonantal phonemes are:transliteration ʾ b g d h w z ḥ á¹ y k l m n s Ê¿ p á¹£ q r Å¡ tletter Ü� Ü’ Ü“ Ü• Ü— ܘ Ü™ Üš Ü› Ü� ÜŸ Ü Ü¡ Ü¢ Ü£ Ü¥ ܦ ܨ Ü© ܪ Ü« ܬpronunciation [Ê”] [b], [v] [É¡], [É£] [d], [ð] [h] [w] [z] [ħ] [tˤ] [j] [k], [x] [l] [m] [n] [s] [Ê•] [p], [f] [sˤ] [q] [r] [ʃ] [t], [θ]Phonetically, there is some variation in the pronunciation of Syriac in its various forms. The various Modern
Eastern Aramaic vernaculars have quite different pronunciations, and these sometimes influence how the classical language is pronounced, for example, in public prayer. Classical Syriac has two major streams of pronunciation: western and
Eastern.Consonants[edit]Syriac shares with Aramaic a set of lightly contrastedplosive/fricativepairs. In different variations of a certain lexical root, a root consonant might exist in plosive form in one variation and fricative form in another. In the Syriac alphabet, a single letter is used for each pair. Sometimes a dot is placed above the letter (qūšš�y�, orstrengthening; equivalent to adageshinHebrew) to mark that the plosive pronunciation is required, and a dot is placed below the letter (rūkk�ḵ�, orsoftening) to mark that the fricative pronunciation is required. The pairs are:Voicedlabialpair –/b/and/v/Voicedvelarpair –/ɡ/and/ɣ/Voiceddentalpair –/d/and/ð/Voicelesslabial pair –/p/and/f/Voiceless velar pair –/k/and/x/Voiceless dental pair –/t/and/θ/As with other Semitic languages, Syriac has a set of fiveemphatic consonants. These are consonants that are articulated or released in thepharynxor slightly higher. The set consists of:Voiceless pharyngeal dental plosive–/tˤ/Voiced pharyngeal alveolar fricative–/sˤ/Voiceless uvular plosive–/q/Syriac also has a rich array ofsibilant consonants:Voiced alveolar fricative–/z/Voiceless alveolar alveolar fricative–/sˤ/Voiceless postalveolar fricative–/ʃ/Table of Syriac consonantsLabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn-geal Glottalplain emphatic plainNasal m n Plosive p b t d tˤ k ɡ q ʔ Fricative f v θ ð sˤ s z ʃ x ɣ ħ ʕ h Approximant w l j Trill r Vowels[edit]As with most Semitic languages, the vowels of Syriac are mostly subordinated to consonants. Especially in the presence of an emphatic consonant, vowels tend to become mid-centralised.Classical Syriac had the following set of distinguishable vowels:Close front unrounded vowel–/i/Close-mid front unrounded vowel–/e/Open-mid front unrounded vowel–/ɛ/Open front unrounded vowel–/a/Open back unrounded vowel–/ɑ/Close-mid back rounded vowel–/o/Close back rounded vowel–/u/In the western dialect,/ɑ/has become/o/, and the original/o/has merged with/u/. In
Eastern dialects there is more fluidity in the pronunciation offront vowels, with some speakers distinguishing five qualities of such vowels, and others only distinguishing three. Vowel length is generally not important:close vowelstend to be longer thanopen vowels.The open vowels formdiphthongswith theapproximants/j/and/w/. In almost all dialects, the full sets of possible diphthongs collapses into two or three actual pronunciations:/ɑj/usually becomes/aj/, but the western dialect has/oj//aj/, further, becomes/ɑw//ɑw/, further, sometimes monophthongized to/o/See also[edit]Assyrians portalSyriac Christianity portalLanguages portalSyriac studiesSyriac Latin alphabetSyriac literatureSyriac sacral musicCorpus Scriptorum Christianorum OrientaliumSyriac MalayalamSyrian ArabicList of loanwords in modern Syriac***** Arabicis theofficial languageofSyria. Several modernArabic dialectsare used in everyday life, most notablyLevantinein the west andMesopotamianin the northeast.Kurdish(in itsKurmanjiform) is widely spoken in theKurdishregions of Syria.ArmenianandSyrian Turkmen (Azeri)are spoken among thelingua francaof the region before the advent ofArabic, and is still spoken amongAssyrians, andClassical Syriacis still used as the liturgical language ofvarious Syriac Christian denominations. Most remarkably,Western Neo-Aramaicis still spoken in the village ofMa‘loulaas well as two neighboring villages, 35 miles (56km) northeast ofDamascus.Syrian Sign Languageis the principal language of the deaf community. Many educated Syrians also speak English and French (especially inDamascusandAleppoand in the schools Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle and l’École Française d’Alep) but English is more widely spoken.Arabic[edit]Modern Standard Arabicis the language of education, but is not native to anyone. At home, most Syrians speak dialects ofLevantine Arabic, specifically South Syrian Arabic, spoken in the cities ofDamascus,HomsandHama, andTartous, andNorth Syrian Arabic, spoken in the region of Aleppo. Allied dialects are spoken in the coastal mountains.Lebanese Arabicis in some ways part of the South Syrian family, but is more properly viewed as a transitional dialect between it andPalestinian Arabic. Due to Syria\'s long history of multiculturalism and foreign imperialism, Syrian Arabic exhibits a vocabulary strata that includes word borrowings andPersian. There is no standardized spelling, but usually it is written inArabic alphabetfrom right to left. Arabic has between 90 million words and 500 million words.Other forms of Arabic natively spoken in Syria include:the dialect spoken in theJabal al-Druze(Jabal Al-Arab) mountains;the
Eastern dialect group (Al-HasakahandDeir ez-Zor), part ofMesopotamian Arabic;Bedawi Arabic, spoken by theBedouin(nomads).Non-indigenous dialects of Arabic, most notablyIraqi Arabicand Palestinian Arabic, are frequently used within their respective refugee diasporas, especially in Sury�y�), also known asSyriac Aramaic, is a dialect of MiddleAramaicthat was once spoken across much of theFertile Crescentand
Eastern Arabia.[1][2][5]Having first appeared in the early first century AD inEdessa,[6]classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout theMiddle Eastfrom the 4th to the 8th centuries,[7]theclassical languageofEdessa, preserved in a large body ofSyriac literature. Indeed, Syriac literature comprises roughly 90% of the extant Aramaic literature.[8]Old Aramaicwas adopted by theNeo-Assyrian Empire(911–605 BC) when they conquered the variousArameancity-kingdoms to its west. TheAchaemenid Empire, which rose after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, also adopted Old Aramaic as its official language and Old Aramaic quickly became thelingua francaof the region. During the course of the third and fourth centuries AD, the inhabitants of the region began to embrace Christianity.Along with Latin and Greek, Syriac became one of \"the three most important Christian languages in the early centuries\" of theChristian Era.[9]From the 1st century AD Syriac became the vehicle ofSyriac Christianityand culture, and the liturgical language of theSyriac Orthodox Churchand subsequently theChurch of the East, along with its descendants: theChaldean Catholic Church, theAssyrian Church of the East, theAncient Church of the East, theSaint Thomas Christian Churches,[10]and theAssyrian Pentecostal Church.Syriac Christianity and language spread throughoutAsiaas far as the IndianMalabar Coast[10]and
EasternChina,[11]and was the medium of communication and cultural dissemination for the laterArabsand, to a lesser extent, theParthian EmpireandSassanid EmpirePersians. Primarily aChristianmedium of expression, Syriac had a fundamental cultural and literary influence on the development ofArabic,[12]which largely replaced it towards the 14th century.[3]Syriac remains theliturgical languageof Syriac Christianity to this day.Syriac is a Middle Aramaic language and, as such, a language of theNorthwestern branchof theSemitic family. It is written in theSyriac alphabet, a derivation of theAramaic alphabet.Contents[hide]1 Geographic distribution2 History3 Origins4 Literary Syriac5 Current status6 Grammar6.1 Nouns6.2 Verbs7 Phonology7.1 Consonants7.2 Vowels8 See also9 Notes10 References11 External linksGeographic distribution[edit]Although once a major language in theFertile CrescentandBahrain, Syriac is now limited to the towns and villages in theNineveh plains,Tur Abdin, theKhaburplains, in and around the cities ofMosul,IrbilandKirkuk.An 11th-century Syriacmanuscript.Syriac was the local accent of Aramaic inEdessa, that evolved under the influence of Church of the East and Syriac Orthodox Church into its current form. Before Arabic became the dominant language, Syriac was a major language among Christian communities in theMiddle East,Central AsiaandKerala,[10]and remains so among the Assyrians and Syriac-Arameans to this day. It has been found as far afield asHadrian\'s WallinAncient Britain, with inscriptions written by Assyrian and Aramean soldiers of theRoman Empire.[13]History[edit]Yeshua, \"ישוע\", theHebrew-Aramaicname ofJesusThe history of Syriac can be divided into three distinct periods:Old Aramaic, the language of the Aramaean city-states of the Levant in the Early Iron Age, Old Aramaic was adopted as a lingua franca (besides Akkadian) in the Neo-Assyrian EmpireMiddle Syriac/Middle Syriac Aramaic \"Literary Syriac\"), which is divided into:
Eastern Middle Syriac/
Eastern Middle Syriac Aramaic (the literary and ecclesiastical language of the ethnicAssyrian Christiansof the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Ancient Church of the East and Assyrian Pentecostal Church),Western Middle Syriac/Western Middle Syriac Aramaic (the literary and ecclesiastical language of the largely Syriac members of theSyriac Orthodox Church,Syriac Catholic ChurchandMaronite Church).\"Modern Syriac\"/\"Modern Syriac Aramaic\" is a term occasionally used to refer to the modern
Eastern Aramaiclanguages (see e.g. Lipinski 2001:70[14]). Even if they cannot be positively identified as the direct descendants of attested Middle Syriac, they must have developed from closely related dialects belonging to the same branch of Aramaic, and the varieties spoken in Christian communities have long co-existed with and been influenced by Middle Syriac as a liturgical and literary language. In this terminology, Modern Syriac is divided into:Modern Western Syriac Aramaic (TuroyoandMlahsô). Note however that these are sometimes excluded from the category of \"Modern Syriac\".[14]Modern
Eastern Syriac Aramaic (North
Eastern Neo-Aramaic, includingAssyrian Neo-Aramaicand so calledChaldean Neo-Aramaic(the dialects of theAssyrian people), but the term usually is not used in reference toNeo-Mandaic, another variety of
Eastern Aramaic spoken byMandaeans).The name \"Syriac\", when used with no qualification, generally refers to one specific dialect of Middle Aramic but not to Old Aramaic or to the various present-day
Eastern and Central Neo-Aramaic languages descended from it or from close relatives. The modern varieties are, therefore, not discussed in this article.Origins[edit]In 132 BC, the kingdom ofOsroenewas founded in Edessa and Proto-Syriac evolved in that kingdom. Many Syriac-speakers still look to Edessa as the cradle of their language.[15]There are about eighty extant early Syriac inscriptions, dated to the first three centuries AD (the earliest example of Syriac, rather than Imperial Aramaic, is in an inscription dated to AD 6, and the earliest parchment is a deed of sale dated to AD 243). All of these early examples of the language are non-Christian. As an official language, Syriac was given a relatively coherent form, style and grammar that is lacking in other Old
Eastern Aramaic dialects. The Syriac language split into a western variety used by theSyriac Orthodox Churchsin upper Mesopotamia and western Syria, and an
Eastern dialect used in the Sassanid controlled east used by theChurch of the East.[16]Literary Syriac[edit]Further information:Syriac literatureThe sixthbeatitude(Matthew 5:8) from an East Syriac ÜÜ�ܲÜ�ÜܹÜ�Ü¢ ܕܲܕ݂ܟܹÜ�Ü¢ ܕܗܸܢ݂ܘܿܢ ܢܸܚܙܘܿܢ l-ʾaylên da-á¸�ḵên b-lebbhÅ�n: d-hennÅ�n neḥzÅ�n l-ʾalÄ�hÄ�.\'Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.\'In the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use Syriac as the language of worship. There is evidence that the adoption of Syriac, the language of the Assyrian people, was to effect mission. Much literary effort was put into the production of an authoritative translation of the Bible into Syriac, At the same time,Ephrem the Syrianwas producing the most treasured collection of poetry and theology in the Syriac language.In 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the
Eastern reaches of the Roman Empire fled to the Sassanid Empire to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians.[citation needed]The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitterNestorian schismin the Syriac-speaking world. As a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and
Eastern varieties. Although remaining a single language with a high level of comprehension between the varieties, the two employ distinctive variations in pronunciation and writing system, and, to a lesser degree, in vocabulary.Western Syriac is the official language of theWest Syrian rite, practised by the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Maronite Church, theMalankara Orthodox Syrian Church, theMalabar Independent Syrian Church, theMar Thoma Churchand theSyro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Eastern Syriac is the liturgical language of theEast Syrian rite, practised in modern times by the ethnic Assyrian followers of the Assyrian Church of the East, the Assyrian Pentecostal Church, the Ancient Church of the East, the Assyrian-Chaldean Catholic Church, as well as theSyro-Malabar Churchin India.Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the variousAramaic languages. Its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history. Much of this wealth remains unavailable in critical editions or modern translation.From the 7th century onwards, Syriac gradually gave way toArabicas the spoken language of much of the region, excepting northern Iraq. TheMongolinvasions of the 13th century, and the religiously motivated massacres ofAssyrian ChristiansbyTamurlanefurther contributed to the rapid decline of the language. In many places outside of northern Mesopotamia (theAssyrian homeland), even in liturgy, it was replaced by Arabic.Current status[edit]A warning sign:Please! Let\'s be quiet!\', in Syriac and Turkish languages.Revivals of literal Syriac in recent times have led to some success with the creation of newspapers in written Syriac similar to the modern standard ArabicFuṣḥÄ�, has been used since the early decades of the 20th century. Modern literary Syriac has also been used not only in religious literature but also in secular genres often withnationalisticthemes.[17]Syriac is spoken as theliturgical languageof theSyriac Orthodox Church, as well as by some ofits adherents.[18]Syriac has been recognised as an officialminority languagein Iraq.[19]It is also taught in some public schools inIraq,Israel,Sweden,[20][21]Augsburg (Germany) andKerala(India).In 2014, an Assyriannursery schoolcould finally be opened inYeÅŸilköy,Istanbul[22]after waging a lawsuit against theMinistry of National Educationwhich had denied it permission, but was required to respect non-Muslim minority rights as specified in theTreaty of Lausanne.[23]Among theSyriac churches of Kerala,Malayalamoften replaces Syriac. Literary Syriac is often used as a spoken language by clerics who do not speak the vernacular dialects.[citation needed]Grammar[edit]Many Syriac words, like those in otherSemitic languages, are built out oftriliteralroots, collations of three Syriac consonants with variable vowel (and some consonant) sets as a \"glue\". For example, the rootÜ«Ü©Ü,ÅQL, has the basic meaning oftaking, and the following are some words that can be formed from this root:Ü«Ü©Ü–šqal: \"he has \"he will take\"Ü«Ü©Ü–šÄ�qel: \"he takes, he is taking\"Ü«Ü©Ü–šaqqel: \"he has \"he has set \"a taking, burden, recension, portion or \"takings, profits, \"a beast of \"arrogance\"Nouns[edit]Most Syriacnounsare built from triliteral roots. Nouns carrygrammatical gender(masculine or feminine), they can be either singular or plural in number (a very few can be dual) and can exist in one of three grammatical states. These states should not be confused withgrammatical casesin other languages.The absolute state is the basic form of the noun \"taxes\".The emphatic state usually represents a definite noun \"the taxes\".The construct state marks a noun in relationship to another noun –ܫܩ̈ÜÜ�,Å¡eqlay, \"taxes of...\".However, very quickly in the development of Classical Syriac, the emphatic state became the ordinary form of the noun, and the absolute and construct states were relegated to certain stock phrases (for example,ܒܪ nÄ�Å¡Ä�, \"man, person\", literally \"son of man\").In Old and early Classical Syriac, mostgenitivenoun relationships are built using the construct state, but contrary to the genitive case, it is the head-noun which is marked by the construct state. Thus,ܫܩ̈ÜÜ� Ü¡ÜܟܘܬÜ�,Å¡eqlay malkūṯÄ�, means \"the taxes of the kingdom\". Quickly, the construct relationship was abandoned and replaced by the use of the relative particleÜ•,d-, da-. Thus, the samenoun phrasebecomesܫܩ̈ÜÜ� d-malkūṯÄ�, where both nouns are in the emphatic state. Very closely related nouns can be drawn into a closer grammatical relationship by the addition of a pronominal suffix. Thus, the phrase can be written asܫܩ̈ÜÜ�Ü— d-malkūṯÄ�. In this case, both nouns continue to be in the emphatic state, but the first has the suffix that makes it literally read \"her taxes\" (\"kingdom\" is feminine), and thus is \"her taxes, [those] of the kingdom\".Adjectivesalways agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Adjectives are in the absolute state if they arepredicative, but agree with the state of their noun ifattributive. Thus,Ü’Ü�Ü«Ü�̈ܢ ܫܩ̈ÜÜ�,bÄ«Å¡Ä«n Å¡eqlÄ“, means \"the taxes are evil\", whereasܫܩ̈ÜÜ� Ü’Ü�̈ܫÜ�,Å¡eqlÄ“ ḇīšē, means \"evil taxes\".Verbs[edit]Most Syriac verbs are built on triliteral roots as well. Finite verbs carryperson, gender (except in the first person) and number, as well astenseandconjugation. The non-finite verb forms are theinfinitiveand theactiveandpassiveparticiples.Syriac has only two truemorphologicaltenses: perfect and imperfect. Whereas these tenses were originallyaspectualin Aramaic, they have become a truly temporalpastandfuturetenses respectively. Thepresent tenseis usually marked with theparticiplefollowed by thesubjectpronoun. However, such pronouns are usually omitted in the case of the third person. This use of the participle to mark the present tense is the most common of a number ofcompoundtenses that can be used to express varying senses of tense and aspect.Syriac also employs verb conjugations such as are present in other Semitic languages. These are regular modifications of the verb\'s root to express other changes in meaning. The first conjugation is the ground state, orPəʿal(this name models the shape of the root). form of the verb, which carries the usual meaning of the word. The next is the intensive state, orPaÊ¿Ê¿el, form of the verb, which usually carries anintensifiedmeaning. The third is the extensive state, orʾApÌ„Ê¿el, form of the verb, which is oftencausativein meaning. Each of these conjugations has its parallelpassiveconjugation: To these six cardinal conjugations are added a few irregular forms, like which generally have an extensive meaning.Phonology[edit]This sectiondoes notciteanysources.Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(January 2009)(Learn how and when to remove this template message)ʾAḇôn Prayer,ʾAḇÅ�n d-ḇa-Å¡mayyÄ�, sung in Syriac using the western dialect pronunciationProblems playing this file? Seemedia help.Phonologically, like the other Northwest Semitic languages, Syriac has 22 consonants and 3 vowels. The consonantal phonemes are:transliteration ʾ b g d h w z ḥ á¹ y k l m n s Ê¿ p á¹£ q r Å¡ tletter Ü� Ü’ Ü“ Ü• Ü— ܘ Ü™ Üš Ü› Ü� ÜŸ Ü Ü¡ Ü¢ Ü£ Ü¥ ܦ ܨ Ü© ܪ Ü« ܬpronunciation [Ê”] [b], [v] [É¡], [É£] [d], [ð] [h] [w] [z] [ħ] [tˤ] [j] [k], [x] [l] [m] [n] [s] [Ê•] [p], [f] [sˤ] [q] [r] [ʃ] [t], [θ]Phonetically, there is some variation in the pronunciation of Syriac in its various forms. The various Modern
Eastern Aramaic vernaculars have quite different pronunciations, and these sometimes influence how the classical language is pronounced, for example, in public prayer. Classical Syriac has two major streams of pronunciation: western and
Eastern.Consonants[edit]Syriac shares with Aramaic a set of lightly contrastedplosive/fricativepairs. In different variations of a certain lexical root, a root consonant might exist in plosive form in one variation and fricative form in another. In the Syriac alphabet, a single letter is used for each pair. Sometimes a dot is placed above the letter (qūšš�y�, orstrengthening; equivalent to adageshinHebrew) to mark that the plosive pronunciation is required, and a dot is placed below the letter (rūkk�ḵ�, orsoftening) to mark that the fricative pronunciation is required. The pairs are:Voicedlabialpair –/b/and/v/Voicedvelarpair –/ɡ/and/ɣ/Voiceddentalpair –/d/and/ð/Voicelesslabial pair –/p/and/f/Voiceless velar pair –/k/and/x/Voiceless dental pair –/t/and/θ/As with other Semitic languages, Syriac has a set of fiveemphatic consonants. These are consonants that are articulated or released in thepharynxor slightly higher. The set consists of:Voiceless pharyngeal dental plosive–/tˤ/Voiced pharyngeal alveolar fricative–/sˤ/Voiceless uvular plosive–/q/Syriac also has a rich array ofsibilant consonants:Voiced alveolar fricative–/z/Voiceless alveolar alveolar fricative–/sˤ/Voiceless postalveolar fricative–/ʃ/Table of Syriac consonantsLabial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn-geal Glottalplain emphatic plainNasal m n Plosive p b t d tˤ k ɡ q ʔ Fricative f v θ ð sˤ s z ʃ x ɣ ħ ʕ h Approximant w l j Trill r Vowels[edit]As with most Semitic languages, the vowels of Syriac are mostly subordinated to consonants. Especially in the presence of an emphatic consonant, vowels tend to become mid-centralised.Classical Syriac had the following set of distinguishable vowels:Close front unrounded vowel–/i/Close-mid front unrounded vowel–/e/Open-mid front unrounded vowel–/ɛ/Open front unrounded vowel–/a/Open back unrounded vowel–/ɑ/Close-mid back rounded vowel–/o/Close back rounded vowel–/u/In the western dialect,/ɑ/has become/o/, and the original/o/has merged with/u/. In
Eastern dialects there is more fluidity in the pronunciation offront vowels, with some speakers distinguishing five qualities of such vowels, and others only distinguishing three. Vowel length is generally not important:close vowelstend to be longer thanopen vowels.The open vowels formdiphthongswith theapproximants/j/and/w/. In almost all dialects, the full sets of possible diphthongs collapses into two or three actual pronunciations:/É‘j/usually becomes/aj/, but the western dialect has/oj//aj/, further, becomes/É‘w//É‘w/, further, sometimes monophthongized to/o/ TheBook of orתהילים,Tehillim, \"praises\"), commonly referred to simply asPsalmsor \"the Psalms\", is the first book of theKetuvim(\"Writings\"), the third section of theHebrew Bible, and a book of theChristianOld Testament.[1]The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοίpsalmoi, meaning \"instrumental music\" and, by extension, \"the words accompanying the music.\"[2]The book is ananthologyof individualpsalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the
Eastern Christian churches.[3][4]Many of the psalms are linked to the name ofKing David, although his authorship is not accepted by some modernBible scholars.[4]Contents[hide]1 Structure1.1 Benedictions1.2 Superscriptions and attributions1.3 Numbering1.4 Additional psalms2 Summary3 Composition3.1 Origins3.2 King David and the Psalms3.3 Poetic characteristics3.4 Editorial Agenda4 The ancient music of the Psalms5 Themes6 Later interpretation and influence6.1 Overview6.2 Use of the Psalms in Jewish ritual6.3 The Psalms in Christian worship6.4
Eastern Orthodox Christianity6.5 Oriental Christianity6.6 Roman Catholic usage6.7 Protestant usage6.8 Anglican usage6.9 Psalms in the Rastafari movement6.10 Psalms in Islam7 Psalms set to music7.1 Multiple psalms as a single composition7.2 Individual psalm settings7.3 Bach7.4 Psalm verses7.5 Contemporary popular music8 See also9 References10 Bibliography11 External links11.1 Translations11.2 Commentary and othersStructure[edit]For theOrthodox Christiandivision into twentykathismata, seebelow.An 1880Baxter processillustration ofPsalm 23, from theReligious Tract Society\'s magazineThe Sunday at Home.Benedictions[edit]The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., abenediction) – these divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of theTorah: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)[5]Superscriptions and attributions[edit]Many psalms (116 of the 150) have individualsuperscriptions(titles), ranging from lengthy comments to a single word. Over a third appear to be musical directions, addressed to the \"leader\" or \"choirmaster,\" including such statements as \"with stringed instruments\" and \"according to lilies.\" Others appear to be references to types of musical composition, such as \"A psalm\" and \"Song,\" or directions regarding the occasion for using the psalm (\"On the dedication of the temple,\" \"For the memorial offering,\" etc.). Many superscriptions carry the names of individuals, the most common (73 psalms) beingof David, and thirteen of these relate explicitly to incidents in the king\'s life.[6]Others named includeMoses(1), Asaph (12), the Sons of Korah (11) andSolomon(2). A natural way of understanding these attributions is as a claim to authorship,[7]but it could also mean \"to David\" or \"for 1–89–10 911–113 10–112114–115 113116 114–115117–146 116–145147 146–147148–150 148–150Psalms are usually identified by a sequence number, often preceded by the abbreviation \"Ps.\" Numbering of the Psalms differs—mostly by one digit, see table—between the Hebrew (Masoretic) and Greek (Septuagint) manuscripts.Protestanttranslations (Lutheran,Anglican,Calvinist) use the Hebrew numbering, but other Christian traditions vary:Catholicofficialliturgicaltexts follow the Greek numberingCatholic modern translations often use the Hebrew numbering (noting the Greek number)
Eastern Orthodoxtranslations use the Greek numbering (noting the Hebrew number)For the remainder of this article, the Hebrew numbering is used, unless otherwise noted.The variance betweenMassorahandSeptuaginttexts in this numeration is likely enough due to a gradual neglect of the original poetic form of the Psalms; such neglect was occasioned by liturgical uses and carelessness of copyists. It is admitted by all that Pss. 9 and 10 were originally a single acrostic poem; they have been wrongly separated by Massorah, rightly united by the Septuagint and Vulgate. On the other hand, Ps. 144 is made up of two songs — verses 1–11 and 12–15.[9]Pss. 42 and 43 are shown by identity of subject (yearning for the house of Jahweh), of metrical structure and of refrain (cf. Heb. Ps. 42:6, 12; 43:5), to be three strophes of one and the same poem. The Hebrew text is correct in counting as one Ps. 146 and Ps. 147. Later liturgical usage would seem to have split up these and not a few other psalms. Zenner combines into what he deems were the original choral odes: Pss. 1, 2, 3, 4; 6 + 13; 9 + 10; 19, 20, 21; 56 + 57; 69 + 70; 114 + 115; 148, 149, 150.[10]A choral ode would seem to have been the original form of Pss. 14 + 70. The two strophes and the epode are Ps. 14; the two antistrophes are Ps. 70.[11]It is noteworthy that, on the breaking up of the original ode, each portion crept twice into the Psalter: Ps. 14 = 53, Ps. 70 = 40:14–18. Other such duplicated psalms are Ps. 108:2–6 = Ps. 57:8–12; Ps. 108:7–14 = Ps. 60:7–14; Ps. 71:1–3 = Ps. 31:2–4. This loss of the original form of some of the psalms is allowed by the Biblical Commission (1 May 1910) to have been due to liturgical uses, neglect of copyists, or other causes.Additional psalms[edit]TheSeptuagintbible, present in
Eastern Orthodox churches, includes aPsalm 151; a Hebrew version of this was found in thePsalms Scrollof theDead Sea Scrolls. Some versions of thePeshitta(the bible used in Syriac churches in the Middle East) includePsalms 152–155. There are also thePsalms of Solomon, which are a further 18 psalms of Jewish origin, likely originally written in Hebrew, but surviving only in Greek andSyriactranslation. These and other indications suggest that the current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set.Summary[edit]Hermann Gunkel\'s pioneering form-critical work on the psalms sought to provide a new and meaningful context in which to interpret individual psalms – not by looking at their literary context within the Psalter (which he did not see as significant), but by bringing together psalms of the samegenre(Gattung) from throughout the Psalter. Gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types:Hymns, songs of praise for God\'s work in creation or in history. They typically open with a call to praise, describe the motivation for praise, and conclude with a repetition of the call. Two sub-categories are \"enthronement psalms,\" celebrating the enthronement ofYahwehas king, and Zion psalms, glorifying MountZion, God\'s dwelling-place in Jerusalem.[12]Gunkel also described a special subset of \"eschatological hymns\"[13]which includes themes of future restoration (Psalm 126) or of judgment (Psalm 82).[14]Communal laments, in which the nation laments some communal disaster.[15]Both communal and individual laments typically but not always include the following elements: 1) address to God, 2) description of suffering, 3) cursing of the party responsible for suffering, 4) protestation of innocence or admission of guilt, 5) petition for divine assistance, 6) faith in God\'s receipt of prayer, 7) anticipation of divine response, and 8) a song of
Thanksgiving.[16][17]In general, the difference between the individual and communal subtypes can be distinguished by the use of the singular \"I\" or the plural \"we\". However, the \"I\" could also be characterizing an individual\'s personal experience that was reflective of the entire community.[18]Royal Psalms, dealing with such matters as the king\'s coronation, marriage and battles.[15]None of them mentions any specific king by name, and their origin and use remain obscure;[19]several psalms, especially ps.93–99, concern the kingship of God, and might relate to an annual ceremony in which Yahweh would be ritually reinstated as king.[20]Individual lamentslamenting the fate of the particular individual who utters them. They are by far the most common type of psalm. They typically open with an invocation of Yahweh, followed by the lament itself and pleas for help, and often ending with an expression of confidence. A subset is the psalm of confidence, in which the psalmist expresses confidence that God will deliver him from evils and enemies.[15]Individual
Thanksgiving psalms, the obverse of individual laments, in which the psalmist thanks God for deliverance from personal distress.[15]In addition to these five major genres, Gunkel also recognised a number of minor psalm-types, including: communal
Thanksgiving psalms, in which the whole nation thanks God for deliverance; wisdom psalms, reflecting the Old Testamentwisdom literature; pilgrimage psalms, sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem; entrance and prophetic liturgies; and a group of mixed psalms which could not be assigned to any category.[21]Composition[edit]Scroll of the PsalmsOrigins[edit]The composition of the psalms spans at least five centuries, fromPsalm 29, probably adapted from an entireCanaanite hymntoBaalwhich was transposed into a hymn to Yahweh,[22]to others which are clearly from the post-Exilic period. The majority originated in the southernkingdom of Judahand were associated with theTemple in Jerusalem, where they probably functioned aslibrettoduring the Temple worship. Exactly how they did this is unclear, although there are indications in some of them: \"Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar,\" suggests a connection with sacrifices, and \"Let my prayer be counted as incense\" suggests a connection with the offering of incense.[3]King David and the Psalms[edit]Seventy-three of the 150 psalms in the Hebrew Bible are attributed to KingDavid. One of theDead Sea Scrolls(11QPsa) attributes 3600 tehilim (songs of praise) plus other compositions to him.[23]Nevertheless,Roland E. Murphyholds that there is no hard evidence for Davidic authorship of any of them.[2]\"Davidic authorship is not accepted as historical fact by modern scholars,\" noteAdele BerlinandMarc Zvi Brettlerin theJewish Study Bible, who see this type of ascription rather as ancients linking them to well-known biblical figures as a means ofcanonization.[4]Ten Psalms[citation needed]are attributed to David elsewhere in the Bible:2 Samuel 22:1-51matches Psalm 18, and is stated to be by David.1 Chronicles 16:7-36contains parts of Psalms 96, 105 and 106, and this passage is stated to be by David.Acts 4:25states that Psalm 2 is by David.Acts 2:25-28states that Psalm 16 is by David.Romans 4:6-8contains parts of Psalms 32 and this passage is stated to be by David.Romans 11:9contains part of Psalm 69, the apostle Paul stated that it is by DavidHebrews 4:7states that Psalm 95 is by David.Matthew 24:43-44,Mark 12:36andLuke 20:42Jesus attributes part of Psalm 110 to David.Acts 2:34-35also states that Psalm 110 is by David.Poetic characteristics[edit]Thebiblical poetryof Psalms usesparallelismas its primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind ofrhyme, in which an idea is developed by the use of repetition, synonyms, or opposites.[24]Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially the same idea. An example of synonymous parallelism:The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)Two lines expressing opposites is known asantithetic parallelism. An example of antithetic parallelism:The LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:6)Editorial Agenda[edit]Many scholars believe the individual Psalms were redacted into a single collection inSecond-Templetimes. It had long been recognized that the collection bore the imprint of an underlying message ormetanarrative, but that this message remained concealed, asAugustine of Hipposaid, \'The sequence of the Psalms seems to me to contain the secret of a mighty mystery, but its meaning has not been revealed to me.\' (Enarr.on Ps. 150.1) Others pointed out the presence of concatenation, that is, adjacent Psalms sharing similar words and themes. In time, this approach developed into recognizing overarching themes shared by whole groups of psalms.[25]In 1985,Gerald H. Wilson\'sThe Editing of the Hebrew Psalterproposed, by parallel with other ancient
Eastern hymn collections, that psalms at the beginning and end (or \"seams\") of the five books of Psalms have thematic significance, corresponding in particular with the placement of the royal psalms. He pointed out that there was a progression of ideas, from adversity, through the crux of the collection in the apparent failure of the covenant in Psalm 89, leading to a concert of praise at the end. He concluded that the collection was redacted to be a retrospective of the failure of the Davidic covenant, exhorting Israel to trust in God alone in a non-messianic future.[26]Walter Brueggemannsuggested that the underlying editorial purpose was oriented rather towards wisdom or sapiential concerns, addressing the issues of how to live the life of faith. Psalm 1 calls the reader to a life of obedience; Psalm 73 (Brueggemann\'s crux psalm) faces the crisis when divine faithfulness is in doubt; Psalm 150 represents faith\'s triumph, when God is praised not for his rewards, but for his being.[27]In 1997, David. C. Mitchell\'sThe Message of the Psaltertook a quite different line. Building on the work of Wilson and others,[28]Mitchell proposed that the Psalter embodies an eschatological timetable like that of Zechariah 9–14.[29]This programme includes the gathering of exiled Israel by a bridegroom-king; his establishment of a kingdom; his violent death; Israel scattered in the wilderness, regathered and again imperilled, then rescued by a king from the heavens, who establishes his kingdom from Zion, brings peace and prosperity to the earth and receives the homage of the nations. Such a timetable is confirmed by parallels from the Baal Cycle to Roman-periodmidrashim.These three views—Wilson\'s non-messianic retrospective of the Davidic covenant, Brueggemann\'s sapiential instruction, and Mitchell\'s eschatologico-messianic programme—all have their followers, although the sapiential agenda has been somewhat eclipsed by the other two. Shortly before his untimely death in 2005, Wilson modified his position to allow for the existence of messianic prophecy within the Psalms\' redactional agenda.[30]Mitchell\'s position remains largely unchanged, although he now sees the issue as identifying when the historical beginning of the Psalms turns to eschatology.[31]The ancient music of the Psalms[edit]The Psalms were written not merely as poems, but as songs for singing. More than a third of the psalms are addressed to the Director of Music. Some psalms exhort the worshipper to sing (e.g. Pss. 33:1-3; 92:1-3; 96:1-3; 98:1; 101:1; 150). Some headings denote the musical instruments on which the psalm should be played (Pss. 4, 5, 6, 8, 67). Some refer to singing at thesheminitor octave (Pss. 6, 12). And others preserve the name for ancient
Eastern modes, likemut la-ben(Death of the son; Ps. 9),ayelet ha-shachar(hind of the dawn; Ps. 22);shoshanim(Lilies; Ps. 45); oralamoth(Maidens?; Ps. 46).Despite the frequently-heard view that their ancient music is lost, the means to reconstruct it still exist. Fragments of temple psalmody are preserved in ancient church and synagogue chant, particularly in thetonus peregrinusmelody to Psalm 114.[32]Cantillation signs, to record the melody sung, were in use since ancient times; evidence of them can be found in the manuscripts of the oldest extant copies of Psalms in theDead Sea Scrollsand are even more extensive in theMasoretic text, which dates to theEarly Middle Agesand whose Tiberian scribes claimed to be basing their work on temple-period signs. (See Moshe ben Asher\'s \'Song of the Vine\' colophon to the Codex Cairensis). However, any knowledge of how to read these signs was lost in ancient times, and modernBible translationsdo not include anymusical notation.[33]Several attempts have been made to decode the Masoretic cantillation, but the most successful is that ofSuzanne Haïk-Vantoura(1928–2000) in the last quarter of the 20th century.[34]Although some have dismissed Haïk-Vantoura\'s system, Mitchell has repeatedly defended it, showing that, when applied to the Masoretic cantillation of Psalm 114, it produces a melody recognizable as thetonus peregrinusof church and synagogue.[35]Mitchell includes musical transcriptions of the temple psalmody of Psalms 120–134 in his commentary on the Songs of Ascents.Themes[edit]Most individual psalms involve the praise of God – for his power and beneficence, for his creation of the world, and for his past acts of deliverance for Israel. The psalms envision a world in which everyone and everything will praise God, and God in turn will hear their prayers and respond. Worst of all is when God \"hides his face\" and refuses to respond, because this puts in question theefficacy of prayerwhich is the underlying assumption of the Book of Psalms.[36]Some psalms are called \"maskil\" (maschil) because in addition they impart wisdom. Most notable of these is Psalm 142 which is sometimes called the \"Maskil of David\", others include Psalm 32 and Psalm 78.[37]The term derives frommaskilmeaning \"enlightened\" or \"wise\".Later interpretation and influence[edit]David Playing the HarpbyJan de Bray, 1670.Hebrewtext of Psalm 1:1-2AJewishman reads Psalms at theWestern WallOverview[edit]Individual psalms were originally hymns, to be used on various occasions and at various sacred sites; later, some were anthologised, and might have been understood within the various anthologies (e.g., ps.123 as one of the Psalms of Ascent); finally, individual psalms might be understood within the Psalter as a whole, either narrating the life of David or providing instruction like the Torah. In later Jewish and Christian tradition, the psalms have come to be used as prayers, either individual or communal, as traditional expressions of religious feeling.[38]Use of the Psalms in Jewish ritual[edit]Some of the titles given to the Psalms in their ascriptions suggest their use in worship:Some bear a song). Thirteen have this title. It means the flow of speech, as it were, in a straight line or in a regular strain. This title includes secular as well as sacred song.Fifty-eight Psalms bear the designationmizmor(מזמור; Greek ψαλμόςpsalmos, a psalm), a lyricode, or a song set to music; a sacred song accompanied with a musical instrument.Psalm 145, and many others, have the designationtehillah(תהילה; Greekhymnos, a hymn), meaning a song of praise; a song the prominent thought of which is the praise of God.Tehillahis also the singular of the name of the book in Hebrew,Tehillim.Six Psalms (16, 56–60) have the titlemichtam(מכתם; \"gold\").[39]Rashisuggests that \"michtam\" refers to an item that a person carries with him at all times, hence, these Psalms contain concepts or ideas that are pertinent at every stage and setting throughout life, deemed vital as part of day-to-day spiritual awareness.[40]Psalm 7(along withHabakkukch. 3)[41]bears the titleshigayon(שיגיון). There are three interpretations:[42](a) According to Rashi and others, this term stems from the rootshegaga,meaning \"mistake\" – David committed some sin and is singing in the form of a prayer to redeem himself from it; (b) shigayon was a type of musical instrument; (c)Ibn Ezraconsiders the word to mean \'longing,\' as in the verse inProverbs5:19[43]\"tishge tamid.\"Psalms are used throughout traditional Jewish worship. Many complete Psalms and verses from Psalms appear in themorning services(\"Shacharit\"). Thepesukei dezimracomponent incorporates Psalms 30, 100 and 145 – 150. Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as \"Ashrei\", which is really the first word of 2 verses appended to the beginning of the Psalm), is read three times every day: once in shacharit as part ofpesukei dezimrah, as mentioned, once, along with Psalm 20, as part of the morning\'sconcluding prayers, and once at the start of theAfternoon service. OnFestival daysand Sabbaths, instead of concluding the morning service, it precedes theMussafservice. Psalms 95–99, 29, 92, and 93, along with some later readings, comprise the introduction (\"Kabbalat Shabbat\") to the Friday night service. Traditionally, a different \"Psalm for the Day\" –Shir shel yom– is read after themorning serviceeach day of the week (starting Sunday, Psalms: 24, 48, 82, 94, 81, 93, 92). This is described in theMishnah(the initial codification of the Jewishoral tradition) in the tractate \"Tamid\". According to the Talmud, these daily Psalms were originally recited on that day of the week by the Levites in the Temple in Jerusalem. FromRosh ChodeshEluluntilHoshanah Rabbah, Psalm 27 is recited twice daily following the morning and evening services. There is aMinhag(custom) to say Psalm 30 each morning ofChanukkahafter Shacharit: some say this \"instead\" of the regular \"Psalm for the Day\", others say this additionally.When aJewdies, a watch is kept over the body and Tehillim (Psalms) are recited constantly by sun or candlelight, until the burial service. Historically, this watch would be carried out by the immediate family – usually in shifts – but in contemporary practice, this service is provided by an employee of the funeral home orChevra kadisha.Many Jews complete the Book of Psalms on a weekly or monthly basis. Each week, some also say a Psalm connected to that week\'s events or theTorah portion read during that week. In addition, many Jews (notablyLubavitch, and otherChasidim) read the entire Book of Psalms prior to the morning service, on theSabbath precedingthecalculated appearance of the new moon.The reading of psalms is viewed in Jewish tradition as a vehicle for gaining God\'s favor. They are thus often specially recited in times of trouble, such as poverty, disease, or physical danger; in many synagogues, Psalms are recited after services for the security of the State of Israel. Note thatSefer ha-Chinuch[44]states that this practice is designed not to achieve favor, as such, but rather to inculcate belief inDivine Providenceinto one\'s consciousness – as consistent withMaimonides\'general viewon Providence. (Relatedly, the Hebrew verb for prayer –hitpalalהתפלל – is in fact thereflexive formofpalalפלל, to judge. Thus, \"to pray\" conveys the notion of \"judging oneself\": ultimately, the purpose of prayer –tefilahתפלה – is to transform ourselves; for the relationship between prayer and psalms – \"tehillahandtefillah\" – seeS. R. Hirsch,Horeb§620. SeealsounderJewish services.)The Psalms in Christian worship[edit]St. Florian\'s psalter, 14th or 15th century, Old Polish TranslationChildren singing and playing music, illustration of Psalm 150 (Laudate Dominum).New Testamentreferences show that the earliest Christians used the Psalms in worship, and the Psalms have remained an important part of worship in most Christian Churches. The
Eastern have always made systematic use of the Psalms, with a cycle for the recitation of all or most of them over the course of one or more weeks. In the early centuries of the Church, it was expected that any candidate forbishopwould be able to recite the entire Psalter from memory, something they often learned automatically[45]during their time as monks.Paul the Apostlequotes psalms (specifically Psalms14and53, which are nearly identical) as the basis for his theory oforiginal sin, and includes the scripture in theEpistle to the Romans, chapter 3.Several conservative Protestant denominations sing only the Psalms (some churches also sing the small number of hymns found elsewhere in the Bible) in worship, and do not accept the use of any non-Biblical hymns; examples are theReformed Presbyterian Church of North America, thePresbyterian Reformed Church (North America)and theFree Church of Scotland (Continuing).Some Psalms are among the best-known and best-loved passages of Scripture, with a popularity extending well beyond regular church-goers[citation needed][peacockterm].Psalm 22is of particular importance during the season ofLentas a Psalm of continued faith during severe testing.Psalm 23,The LORD is My Shepherd, offers an immediately appealing message of comfort and is widely chosen for churchfuneralservices, either as a reading or in one of several popular hymn settings;Psalm 51,Have mercy on me O God, called theMisererefrom the first word in its Latin version, is by far the most sung Psalm of Orthodoxy[citation needed], in bothDivine LiturgyandHours, in the sacrament of repentance or confession, and in other settings;Psalm 82is found in theBook of Common Prayeras a funeral recitation.Psalm 103,Bless the Lord, O my soul, is one of the best-known[citation needed]prayers of praise. The psalm was adapted for the musicalGodspell;Psalm 137,By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, is a moody meditation upon living inslavery, and has been used in at least onespiritual[citation needed], as well as one well-knownreggaesong;[46]the Orthodox church often uses this hymn duringLent. This psalm was adapted for the songOn the Willowsin the musicalGodspell.New translations and settings of the Psalms continue to be produced. An individually printed volume of Psalms for use in Christian religious rituals is called aPsalter.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity[edit]See also:KathismaOrthodox Christiansand Greek-Catholics (
Eastern Catholicswho follow theByzantine rite), have long made the Psalms an integral part of their corporate and private prayers. The official version of thePsalterused by the Orthodox Church is theSeptuagint. To facilitate its reading, the 150 Psalms are divided into 20kathismata(Greek: καθίσματα; Slavonic: каѳисмы,kafismy; lit. \"sittings\") and eachkathisma(Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма,kafisma) is further subdivided into threestases(Greek: στάσεις,staseislit. \"standings\", sing. στάσις,stasis), so-called because the faithful stand at the end of eachstasisfor theGlory to the Father....AtVespersandMatins, differentkathismataare read at different times of theliturgical yearand on different days of the week, according to the Church\'s calendar, so that all 150 psalms (20kathismata) are read in the course of a week. DuringGreat Lent, the number ofkathismatais increased so that the entire Psalter is read twice a week. In the twentieth century, some lay Christians have adopted a continuous reading of the Psalms on weekdays, praying the whole book in four weeks.Aside fromkathismareadings, Psalms occupy a prominent place in every other Orthodox service including theservices of the Hoursand theDivine Liturgy. In particular, the penitentialPsalm 50is very widely used. Fragments of Psalms and individual verses are used asProkimena(introductions to Scriptural readings) andStichera. The bulk ofVesperswould still be composed of Psalms even if the kathisma were to be disregarded;Psalm 119, \"The Psalm of theLaw\", is the centerpiece ofMatinson Saturdays, some Sundays, and theFuneralservice. The entire book of Psalms is traditionally read out loud or chanted at the side of the deceased during the time leading up to the funeral, mirroring Jewish tradition.Oriental Christianity[edit]Several branches ofOriental Orthodoxand those
Eastern Catholicswho follow one of the Oriental Rites will chant the entire Psalter during the course of a day during theDaily Office. This practice continues to be a requirement ofmonasticsin the Oriental churches.Roman Catholic usage[edit]The Psalms have always been an important part ofCatholicliturgy. TheLiturgy of the Hoursis centered on chanting or recitation of the Psalms, using fixedmelodic formulasknown aspsalm tones. Early Catholics employed the Psalms widely in their individual prayers also; however, as knowledge ofLatin(the language of theRoman Rite) became uncommon, this practice ceased among the unlearned. However, until the end of the Middle Ages, it was not unknown for the laity to join in the singing of theLittle Office of Our Lady, which was a shortened version of the Liturgy of the Hours providing a fixed daily cycle of twenty-five psalms to be recited, and nine other psalms divided across Matins.The work of BishopRichard Challonerin providing devotional materials in English meant that many of the psalms were familiar to English-speaking Catholics from the eighteenth century onwards. Challoner translated the entirety of the Lady Office into English, as well as Sunday Vespers and daily Compline. He also provided other individual Psalms such as 129/130 for prayer in his devotional books. Challoner is also noted for revising theDouay-Rheims Bible, and the translations he used in his devotional books are taken from this work.Until theSecond Vatican Councilthe Psalms were either recited on a one-week or, less commonly (as in the case ofAmbrosian rite), two-week cycle. Different one-week schemata were employed: most secular clergy followed the Roman distribution, while Monastic Houses almost universally followed that ofSt Benedict, with only a few congregations (such as theBenedictinesof St Maur) following individualistic arrangements. TheBreviaryintroduced in 1974 distributed the psalms over a four-week cycle. Monastic usage varies widely. Some use the four-week cycle of the secular clergy, many retain a one-week cycle, either following St Benedict\'s scheme or another of their own devising, while others opt for some other arrangement.Official approval was also given to other arrangements (see\"Short\" Breviaries in the 20th and early 21st century Americafor an in-progress study) by which the complete Psalter is recited in a one-week or two-week cycle. These arrangements are used principally by Catholic contemplative religious orders, such as that of theTrappists(see for examplethe Divine Office schedule at New Melleray Abbey).TheGeneral Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, 122 sanctions three modes of singing/recitation for the Psalms:directly (all sing or recite the entire psalm);antiphonally(two choirs or sections of the congregation sing or recite alternate verses or strophes); andresponsorially(the cantor or choir sings or recites the verses while the congregation sings or recites a given response after each verse).Of these three the antiphonal mode is the most widely followed.Over the centuries, the use of complete Psalms in theliturgydeclined. After theSecond Vatican Council(which also permitted the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy), longer psalm texts were reintroduced into the Mass, during the readings. Therevisionof theRoman Missalafter theSecond Vatican Councilreintroduced the singing or recitation of a more substantial section of a Psalm, in some cases an entire Psalm, after the first Reading from Scripture. This Psalm, called theResponsorial Psalm,is usually sung or recited responsorially, although theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal, 61 permits direct recitation.Protestant usage[edit]Psalm 1 in a form of theSternhold and Hopkinsversion widespread in Anglican usage before the English Civil War (1628 printing). It was from this version that the armies sang before going into battle.Following theProtestant Reformation,versified translationsof many of the Psalms were set ashymns. These were particularly popular in theCalvinisttradition, where in the past they were typically sungto the exclusion of hymns.Calvinhimself made some French translations of the Psalms for church usage, but the completedPsaltereventually used in church services consisted exclusively of translations byClément MarotandThéodore de Bèze, on melodies by a number of composers, includingLouis Bourgeoisand a certain Maistre Pierre.Martin Luther\'sA Mighty Fortress Is Our Godis based on Psalm 46. Among famous hymn settings of the Psalter were theScottish Psalterand the paraphrases byIsaac Watts. The first book printed in North America was a collection of Psalm settings, th Psalm Book(1640).By the 20th century, they were mostly replaced by hymns in church services. However, the Psalms are popular for private devotion among many Protestants and still used in many churches for traditional worship.[47]There exists in some circles a custom of reading one Psalm and one chapter ofProverbsa day, corresponding to the day of the month.Metrical Psalms are still very popular among manyReformed Churches.Anglican usage[edit]Anglican chantis a method of singing prose versions of the Psalms.In the early 17th century, when the King James Bible was introduced, the metrical arrangements by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins were also popular and were provided with printed tunes. This version and theNew Version of the Psalms of Davidby Tate and Brady produced in the late seventeenth century (see article onMetrical Psalter) remained the normal congregational way of singing psalms in the Church of England until well into the nineteenth century.In Great Britain, the Coverdale psalter still lies at the heart of daily worship inCathedralsand manyparish churches. The newCommon Worshipservice book has a companion psalter in modern English.The version of the Psalter in the AmericanBook of Common Prayerprior to the 1979 edition is a sixteenth-centuryCoverdalePsalter. The Psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer of 1979 is a new translation, with some attempt to keep the rhythms of the Coverdale Psalter.Psalms in the Rastafari movement[edit]The Psalms are one of the most popular parts of the Bible among followers of theRastafari movement.[48]Rasta singerPrince Far Ireleased an atmospheric spoken version of the psalms,Psalms for I, set to aroots reggaebackdrop fromThe Aggrovators.Psalms in Islam[edit]In the Quran Allah (God) says that he had given David Psalms: \"And your Lord is most knowing of whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And We have made some of the prophets exceed others [in various ways], and to David We gave the Zabur [Psalms]\". 17:55 (Surat Al Isra/The Night Journey)[49]Psalms set to music[edit]Multiple psalms as a single composition[edit]Psalms have often been set as part of a larger work. The psalms feature large in settings ofVespers, including those byClaudio Monteverdi,Antonio Vivaldi, andWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote such settings as part of their responsibilities as church musicians. Psalms are inserted inRequiemcompositions, such as Psalm 126 inA German RequiemofJohannes Brahmsand Psalms 130 and 23 inJohn Rutter\'sRequiem.Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales(6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) byOrlande de Lassus– 1584Melodie na psałterz polskibyMikołaj Gomółka– c. 1600Psalmen DavidsandBecker Psalterby Heinrich Schütz – 1619 and 1661Le Roi DavidbyArthur Honegger– 1921Symphony of Psalms(38, 39, 150) byIgor Stravinsky– 1930Chichester PsalmsbyLeonard Bernstein– 1965TehillimbySteve Reich– 1981Four Psalms(114, 126, 133, 137) byJohn Harbison– 1998Biblické písněbyAntonín Dvořák— 1894Individual psalm settings[edit]There are many settings of individual psalms, which are generally mentioned in the article devoted to the particular psalm. They include:Psalms 100, 121 and 124 byLoys Bourgeois(c. 1500–1559)Psalm 38 andLevavi oculos meos(Psalm 121) byOrlando di Lasso(1532–1594)Psalms 112 and 137 byMarc-Antoine Charpentier(1643–1704)Beatus vir(Psalm 112) byAntonio Vivaldi(1678–1741)Psalm 126In convertendo DominusbyJean-Philippe Rameau(1683–1764).Psalm 100 (inUtrecht Te Deum and Jubilate) and others byGeorge Frideric Handel(1685–1750)Psalm 148 byWilliam Billings(1746–1800)Psalm 111 bySamuel Wesley(1766–1837)Psalm 42(1837) byFelix Mendelssohn(1809–1847)Psalms 13, 18, 23, 116, 129 and 137 byLiszt(1811–1886)Psalm 150 byCésar 13 byJohannes Brahms(1833–1897)Psalm 18 byCamille Saint-Saëns(1835–1921)Psalm 148 byRalph Vaughan Williams(1872–1958)Psalm 148 byGustav Holst(1874–1934)Psalms 14, 24, 25, 42, 54, 67, 90, 100, 135 and 150 byCharles Ives(1874–1954)Psalms 121 and 150 byZoltán Kodály(1882–1967)Psalm 126In convertendo Dominusand seven others byJules Van Nuffel(1883–1953)Psalm 121 byDarius Milhaud(1892–1974)Psalm 24, 129 and 130 byLili Boulanger(1893–1918)Psalm 121 and Psalm 150 byHoward Hanson(1896–1981)Psalms 147, 148 and 150 byRoger Sessions(1896–1985)Psalm 121 byHenry Cowell(1897–1965)Psalm 150 byRoy Harris(1898–1979)Two Motets (including Psalm 121) byGerald Finzi(1901–1956)Psalm 29 and 92 byEric Zeisl(1905–1959)Psalm 28 byAlan Hovhaness(1911–2000)Psalm 29 byHugo Weisgall(1912–1997)Psalm 150 (1962, op. 67) byBenjamin Britten(1913–1976)Psalm 150 byGeorge Rochberg(1918–2005)I Was Glad(Psalm 122) byDaniel Pinkham(1923–2006)A Psalm (13) and a Proverb byNed Rorem(b. 1923)A Psalm of David (Psalm 13) byRobert Starer(1924–2001)Psalms 24, 40, 121 and 150 bySamuel Adler(b. 1928)Psalm 95 byKamilló Lendvay(b. 1928)Three settings of Psalm 13 byEdwin London(b. 1929)Psalm 143 byYehudi Wyner(b. 1929)Psalm 4 byAlexander Goehr(b. 1932)Psalm 150 byWilliam Mathias(1934–1992)Psalm 8 byJohn Corigliano(b. 1938)Psalms 1–48, 51, 55, 57, 92, 109, 110, 112, 121, 126, 137 and 144 byMark Alburger(b. 1957)I Was Glad(Psalm 122) byHoward Goodall(b. 1958)House of God, Forever(Psalm 23) byJon Foreman(b. 1976)Psalm 73 byBarlowGirlPsalm 40and Psalm 116 byU2Psalm 50 byUnderoathPsalm 63: 2–3 byMatisyahuPsalm 130 byJan Dismas ZelenkaPsalm 23 (Shadow of Deth) byMegadeth[50]Psalms 23, 46, 67, 100, 111, 121 byVictoria SlemmonsThe Hope(Psalm 27) byFrederik MagleBach[edit]Johann Sebastian Bachused lines from psalms in several of hiscantatas, often in the opening chorus:Psalm 19:1,3 inDie Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76Psalm 22:26 inDie Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75Psalm 29:1 inBringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens, BWV 148Psalm 38:4 inEs ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25Psalm 50:23 inWer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17Psalm 75:1 inWir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29Psalm 103:2 inLobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 69aPsalm 104:28–29 inEs wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187Psalm 130inAus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131Psalm 149:1 inSinget dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190Psalm 150:4,6 inSinget dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190Bach treated complete psalms in German paraphrasing aschorale cantatas:Psalm 124inWo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 178(1724)Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14(1735)Psalm verses[edit]Carl Nielsenset inTre Motetterthree verses from different psalms as motets for unaccompanied chorus, first performed in 1930.Contemporary popular music[edit]There are also multiple contemporary popular artists, includingSoul-Junk,Robbie Seay Band,Shane and Shane,Enter the Worship Circle,Sons of KorahandJon Foreman(lead singer of the Christian bandSwitchfoot) who have set multiple psalms to music on various albums.In the musicalGodspellthe songBless The Lordis based onPsalm 103, andOn the Willowsis based onPsalm 137.Frenchsinger-songwriterLéo Ferréwrote and recorded a 151st psalm on his albumAmour Anarchie(1970).
1914 Syria SYRIAC ARAMIC PSALMS Biblical BIBLE Antique ORIGINAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK:
$115.00
Related Items:
Middle East Mediterranean Radicalism Ottoman Syria Lebanon Egypt Islam 1860-1914
$129.99
Baghdad Railway Locomotive Iraq Syria Turkey 1914
$49.99
US Navy Sailors Christmas Day Beirut Syria 1914 Pre WWI RPPC Photo Vtg Postcard
$18.95
