Who wrote the Psalms?

The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers gathered over many centuries, from the time of Moses to after the Babylonian exile. Many psalms carry a heading, printed as a title in the KJV and counted as part of the text in the Hebrew Bible, which names an author or occasion. By these titles, David is linked to 73 psalms, more than anyone else, fitting his description as "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1). The New Testament also credits David with some untitled psalms, such as Psalm 2 (Acts 4:25) and Psalm 95 (Hebrews 4:7). Asaph, one of David's chief musicians, is named in twelve psalms (Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83). The sons of Korah, a family of Levite temple singers, are credited with eleven, including the much-loved Psalms 42, 46, and 84. Solomon is named in Psalms 72 and 127, Moses in Psalm 90, often considered the oldest psalm, Heman the Ezrahite in Psalm 88, and Ethan the Ezrahite in Psalm 89. Around fifty psalms name no author, and some clearly come from later times: Psalm 137 begins, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." Scholars discuss whether the Hebrew phrase in the titles always means "written by" or sometimes "belonging to" or "dedicated to," but Jews and Christians have long read the Davidic psalms as truly David's, and Jesus introduced a quotation of Psalm 110 with the words, "For David himself said by the Holy Ghost" (Mark 12:36). The book is arranged in five sections and became the hymnbook of Israel and the prayer book of the church.

Key Passages