Book of Psalms
The book of Psalms is divided into five books (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), perhaps to reflect the five books of Moses in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Psalm 119 lands near the beginning of Book Five, which loosely celebrates rescue from captivity in Babylon but more specifically was written to celebrate the Torah. It’s written as an acrostic, with each of its stanzas beginning with succeeding letters of the Hebrew alphabet, perhaps to facilitate memorization. As you read this massive poem, pay attention to how many times the words law, commands, statutes, decrees, and precepts appear. All these words are descriptive of the Law (the Torah) upon which Judaism and the life of ancient Israel was built. Psalms 1 and 19 are also celebrations of the Torah and make better sense when read in that light.
Bill Crowder
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.