Knowra Psalms Psalms The Psalms are a collection of Hebrew poems and prayers in the Bible, traditionally attributed chiefly to David and used in Jewish and Christian worship.
Hebrew poetry : Poetry in the Hebrew Bible, shaped by parallel lines, imagery, rhythm, and other devices rather than regular rhyme. Parallelism and vivid imagery are central techniques across the Psalms.
Psalm superscriptions : Headings attached to many psalms that may name authors, musical directions, occasions, or genres. These headings frame poems with attributions and performance cues, though their meanings vary.
David : The biblical king of Israel traditionally associated with many psalms and celebrated as Israel’s ideal ruler. Tradition assigns many psalms to David, though the collection has multiple voices and periods.
Jewish liturgy : The established patterns of prayer, readings, and ritual used in Jewish communal worship. Psalms are woven into daily prayers, festivals, and synagogue services.
Proverbs : A biblical collection of short teachings and sayings about wisdom, conduct, and the fear of God. Proverbs typically instruct through maxims, while Psalms voice prayer, praise, and lament.
Parallelism (rhetoric) : A rhetorical pattern in which successive phrases echo, contrast, or develop one another. Many psalms build meaning through paired lines that restate or sharpen an idea.
Psalm numbering : The systems used to number the Psalms, which differ between the Hebrew text and some ancient translations. Different numbering traditions can make references to a psalm appear inconsistent.
Asaph : A Levite musician and seer in biblical tradition, whose name is attached to a group of psalms. The Asaph psalms preserve a distinct strand of attribution within the collection.
Christian liturgy : The ordered forms of public worship used by Christian communities. Christian services have long incorporated psalms through readings, chants, and responses.
Lamentations : A biblical book of poems mourning Jerusalem’s destruction and the suffering that followed. Both books give language to grief, but Lamentations centers on a single national catastrophe.
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