More Psalms of David - Apocryphal Psalms of David

The Apocryphal Psalms of David — Witness Note

[Witness note. The restored texts are filed at their numbered homes; this note gathers the witnesses so none is missed.]

Beyond the one hundred and fifty psalms, the ancient witnesses preserve further psalms attributed to David. The principal additional psalms are five, restored in this collection as follows: Psalm 151 (filed at its own number) and Psalms 152, 153, 154, and 155 (filed together at their own number).

These five do not all survive in the same languages, and it is important not to assume a single witness:

Psalm 151 — preserved in Hebrew (the Great Psalms Scroll, where it stands in two parts), in Greek, in Syriac, and in Latin and other versions.

Psalm 154 — preserved in Hebrew (the Great Psalms Scroll) and in Syriac.

Psalm 155 — preserved in Hebrew (the Great Psalms Scroll) and in Syriac.

Psalm 152 — preserved only in Syriac.

Psalm 153 — preserved only in Syriac.

In addition to these five, the Great Psalms Scroll from Qumran preserves further Davidic compositions which belong to this wider apocryphal Davidic psalter. To avoid translating any text twice, each is restored once at its own home and only listed here: the Apostrophe to Zion; the Plea for Deliverance; the Hymn to the Creator; and the prose notice of the Compositions of David, which records that David spoke many thousands of psalms and songs through prophecy.

Nothing of the Davidic apocryphal psalter is therefore omitted. The five additional psalms are restored in full at their homes; the Qumran Davidic pieces are restored under the Qumran witnesses; and this note holds them together so the whole may be seen at once.