Psalms 152 to 155 are additional Psalms found in two Syriac biblical manuscripts and several manuscripts of Elijah of Anbar (fr)'s "Book of Discipline",[1] first identified by the orientalist librarian Giuseppe Simone Assemani in 1759.[2] Together with Psalm 151 they are also called the Five Apocryphal Psalms of David or the "Five Syriac Psalms".[3] In addition to Psalm 151, Psalms 154-155 were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls in 11QPsa, though 151-155 all were likely composed in Hebrew.[4]
"Spoken by David when he was contending with the lion and the wolf which took a sheep from his flock."[5] This text has survived only in Syriac[6] although the original language may have been Hebrew. The text has six verses, the tone is non-rabbinical, and it was probably composed in Israel during the Hellenistic period[7] (c. 323–31 BC).
Psalm 153
"Spoken by David when returning thanks to God, who had delivered him from the lion and the wolf and he had slain both of them."[5] This text has survived only in Syriac.[6] Date and provenance are like Psalm 152. It is listed as the fifth of the apocryphal psalms by Wright.[5]
Psalm 154
This Psalm survived in Syriac biblical manuscripts and also was found in Hebrew,[6] in the Dead Sea scroll 11QPs(a)154 (also known as 11Q5 – The Great Psalms Scroll), a first-century AD manuscript.[8] It is listed as the second of the apocryphal psalms by Wright who calls it "The Prayer of Hezekiah when enemies surrounded him".[5] Gurtner suggests that this psalm may have sectarian resonances: the "many ones" (154:1) and the "community" (154:4) may refer to the people and community at Qumran.[4]
Psalm 155
This psalm is extant in Syriac and was also found in the Dead Sea Scroll 11QPs(a)155 (also called 11Q5 – The Great Psalms Scroll), a first-century CE Hebrew manuscript.[6] Because the psalm is a generic psalm of repentance it is not possible to suggest date and origin, save that its origin is clearly pre-Christian.[9] The psalm has been compared to Psalms 22 and 51 as well as the Prayer of Manasseh.[4]
↑Charlesworth, J. H. (1982), The Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research, pp. 202-204, quoted at Early Jewish Writings, More Psalms of David, accessed 15 July 2022
↑ 4.04.14.2Gurtner, Daniel (2020). Introducing the Pseudepigrapha of Second Temple Judaism. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group. pp. 335-340. ISBN9781493427147.
↑ 6.06.16.26.3James H. Charlesworth with James A. Sanders, More Psalms of David (Third Century B.C.-First Centiry A.D.). A New Translation and Introduction, in James H. Charlesworth (1985), The Old Testament Pseudoepigrapha, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company Inc., Volume 2, ISBN0-385-09630-5 (Vol. 1), ISBN0-385-18813-7 (Vol. 2), p. 609
↑James H. Charlesworth (2010). The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Hendrickson Publishers. p. 615. ISBN978-1-59856-490-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=RU77ekrD_vIC&pg=PA615. "The original language of this psalm, which is extant only in Syriac, may be Hebrew... It is impossible to date this psalm. The general tone, Jewish but non-rabbinic character, and association with Psalms 151, 154 and 155 indicate that it was probably composed by a Palestinian Jew during the hellenistic period."