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| Psalm 73 | |
|---|---|
← Psalm 72 Psalm 74 → | |
 Initial for the Gallican version of Psalm 73, verse 1 (Psalm 72 Vulgate), Quam bonus Israhel Deus his qui recto sunt corde, from the Golden Psalter of St. Gall (c. 890). | |
| Book | Book of Psalms |
| Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
| Order in the Hebrew part | 1 |
| Category | Sifrei Emet |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 73 (Masoretic numbering, psalm 72 in Greek numbering) is the opening psalm of Book 3 of the Book of Psalms and the second of the "Psalms of Asaph". It has been categorized as one of the Wisdom Psalms",[1] but some writers are hesitant about using this description because of its "strongly personal tone" and the references in the psalm to the temple (verses 10, his people return here, and 17, the sanctuary of God).[2]
In the Greek Septuagint version of the bible and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 72.
Book 3 includes Psalms 73 to 89.[3] Biblical commentator C. S. Rodd argues that the division of the psalms into five books could not have happened before the collection of individual psalms was complete, but must have taken place before the time of the Chronicler, because 1 Chronicles 16:36 quotes from Psalm 106:48, the end-marker of the fourth book.[4]
The psalm reflects on "the Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God".[3]
Verse 1[edit]
- Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.[5]
It is also possible to render the opening words, with a marginal note in the Revised Version, as "Only good is God". However, Alexander Kirkpatrick, who makes this observation, argues that "Surely God is good ..." is the preferred form of words.[6][7] He suggests that these words represent "the conclusion to which [the Psalmist] had been led through the trial of his faith".[6]
Assessment[edit]
In the opinion of Walter Brueggemann (1984), "in the canonical structuring of the Psalter, Psalm 73 stands at its center in a crucial role. Even if the Psalm is not literarily in the center, I propose that it is centre theologically as well as canonically".[8]
This was the favourite psalm of Martin Buber, who said about it: "What is it that so draws me to this poem that is pieced together out of description, report and confession, and draws me ever more strongly the older I become? I think it is this, that here a person reports how he attained to the true sense of his life experience and that this sense touches directly on the eternal."[9]
Usage[edit]
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.[10]
References[edit]
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Data from Wikidata
- ^ Asaph (2007), Alter, Robert (ed.), The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary, et al., New York & London: W.W. Norton & Co, pp. 252–56.
- ^ Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 387
- ^ a b Sub-title to Psalm 73 in the New King James Version
- ^ Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 360
- ^ Psalm 73:1
- ^ a b Kirkpatrick, A. (1906), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Psalm 73, accessed 17 February 2022
- ^ See also Psalm 73:1 in the New International Version
- ^ W. Brueggemann (1984), Message of the Psalms
- ^ J. Clinton McCann, Jr., A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah, Abingdon Press, 2011, 144.
- ^ Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 196ff
