Qumran and the growth of the Psalter

According to Peter Flint we can discern three literary editions of the Psalter: Edition I (Pss. 1/2 – 89), Edition IIa (Pss. 1/2 – 89 and 11QPs^a), and Edition IIb (Pss. 1/2 – 89 and Pss. 90-150). After looking at the Qumran MSS Dwight D. Swanson states that there is manuscript evidence for at least [...]

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Law, Prophets and Psalms

I have often wondered why in the Gospel of St. Luke we have the order of Law, Prophets and Psalms (Luke 24:44). I think it may be to do with how the Psalms were viewed in early Judaism. The Qumran community viewed the Psalms as prophecy composed by David (11QPs^a) and so I would suggest [...]

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The Closing of the Psalter

Back in March an interesting discussion took place over on John Anderson’s blog when I asked his opinion on when he thought the Psalter closed. Phil Sumpter also chimed in. As they are both quite interesting I thought I would post them here.
John Anderson
Re: the closing of the Psalter, I used to have this information [...]

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A Preliminary Edition of 4QPs^j (4Q91)

Check it out here.

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Variant editions of the Psalter?

Although there is still no consensus on this point, most indicators point toward a pair of variant editions of the biblical Psalter in the late Second Temple period. 11QPs^a, followed by 11QPs^b and possibly 4QPs^e, displays an expanded and somewhat differently arranged series of psalms. The preserved LXX (not necessarily the OG) of Psalms mostly [...]

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Psalms: Composition & Reception

Another interesting volume is The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception.
Written by leading experts in the field as well as some younger scholars, The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception offers a wide-ranging treatment of the main aspects of Psalms study. The almost 30 essays consist of two overall sections. The first section contains studies [...]

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The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll & the Book of Psalms

Do check out Peter Flint’s bookThe Dead Sea Psalms Scroll & the Book of Psalms. It can be previewed here.
Blurb
Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalms are found in no less than thirty-nine manuscripts. This groundbreaking volume presents the first comprehensive study of these scrolls, by making available a wealth of primary data and investigating the [...]

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E. Ulrich on QPs

I am very close to being convinced that there were (at least) two major editions of the Psalter. One is found in the MT and more or less reflected in the LXX, though there are numerous minor variants as well as the single major variant that the LXX includes Psalm 151, whereas the MT ends [...]

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