Psalms of Solomon

Psalms of Solomon

One of the Pseudepigrapha,Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.] the Psalms of Solomon is a group of eighteen psalms (religious songs or poems) that are not part of any scriptural canon. They are distinct from, but may be modeled after or derived from the Book of Psalms of the Jewish and Christian Bibles, which are traditionally attributed to David rather than Solomon. The 17th of the 18 Psalms has a similarity to Psalm 72 from the Book of Psalms, which claims attribution to Solomon, and hence may be the reason that the Psalms of Solomon have their name. (An alternate view is that the psalms were so highly regarded that Solomon's name was attached to it to keep them from resting in the ash heaps of history.)

The Psalms of Solomon were referenced in Early Christian writings, but lost to modern scholars until a Greek manuscript was rediscovered in the 17th century. There are currently eight known 11th to 15th century manuscripts of a Greek translation from a lost Hebrew or Aramaic original, probably dating from the first or second century BCE. However, though now a collection, they were originally separate, written by different people in different periods.

Politically, the Psalms of Solomon are anti-Maccabee, and some psalms in the collection show a clear awareness of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem under Pompey in 63 BCE, metaphorically treating him as a dragon who had been sent by God to punish the Maccabees. Some of the psalms are messianic, in the Jewish sense (clearly referring to a mortal that happens to be divinely assisted, much like Moses), but the majority are concerned less with the world at large, and more with individual behaviour, expressing a belief that repentance for unintended sins will return them to God's favour.

There have been attempts to link the text both to the Essenes of Qumran, who separated themselves from what they saw as a wicked world, and alternately to the Pharisees in opposition to the Sadducees who generally supported the Maccabees.

References

ee also

*Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture
*List of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
*Apocrypha
*Deuterocanonical books
*Biblical canon

External links

* [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/psalmssolomon.html Psalms of Solomon] : text and discussion
*English translation by G. Buchanan Gray (1913): [http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/psalms-solomon.htm at Wesley Center] [http://ftp.fortunaty.net/com/sacred-texts/chr/apo/index.htm at Sacred Text Archive]
*CathEncy|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14137a.htm|title=Psalms of Solomon
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=576&letter=P Jewish Encyclopedia: Psalms of Solomon]
* [http://6.1911encyclopedia.org/S/SO/SOLOMON_PSALMS_OF.htm 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: Psalms of Solomon]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/sep/pss.htm Septuagint Psalms of Solomon in Greek]
* [http://rosetta.reltech.org/cgi-bin/Ebind2html/TC/SweteIntro?seq=296 "An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek"] , Henry Barclay Swete, Cambridge University Press, 1914, page 282
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/ps_sol.html Psalms of Solomon] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Psalms of Solomon —     Psalms of Solomon     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Psalms of Solomon     Eighteen apocryphal psalms, extant in Greek, probably translated from a Hebrew, or an Aramaic original, commonly assigned to the first century B.C. They contain little of… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Psalms of Solomon — Eighteen psalms not included in the canon and only known in Greek and Syriac translations, composed in the middle of the 1st cent. BCE. They speak of a Messianic king, Son of David, who will be God s instrument in the establishment of his kingdom …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • SOLOMON, ODES OF — SOLOMON, ODES OF, a collection of early Christian poems of the first century C.E. which might have some bearing on Jewish sectarian literature. The poems were discovered by   J. Rendel Harris, who published them (1909) and gave them the name Odes …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Psalms — Psalm redirects here. For other uses, see Psalm (disambiguation). Hebrew Bible …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon, Psalms of — ▪ biblical literature       a pseudepigraphal work (not in any biblical canon) comprising 18 psalms that were originally written in Hebrew, although only Greek and Syriac translations survive. Like the canonical Psalms, the Psalms of Solomon… …   Universalium

  • Solomon — in Arabic, which is transliterated in English variously as Sulayman, Suleiman, Sulaimaan etc. The Qur an refers to Sulayman as the son of David (Arabic: Dawud), as a prophet and as a great ruler imparted by God with tremendous wisdom, favor, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon — /sol euh meuhn/, n. 1. fl. 10th century B.C., king of Israel (son of David). 2. an extraordinarily wise man; a sage. 3. a male given name. * * * I flourished 10th century BC Son and successor of David. Nearly all that is known about him comes… …   Universalium

  • Solomon's knot — Not to be confused with Sigillum Solomonis, a name for the Polygonatum genus. Basic Solomon s knot …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon — (10th century B.C.E.)    Legendary king of the Israelites, son of David, builder of the Temple of Jerusalem, and commander of an army of DEMONs or DJINN. The actual existence of Solomon and his father, David, remains unproved, but they are among… …   Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

  • PSALMS, BOOK OF — This article is arranged according to the following outline: < <title> > place in the canon number of psalms verse division division into books composition of the psalter date of the psalter ascription to david types of psalms psalms… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”