h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well I suppose the Psalms are prayers, but they have always had a musical nature too - more like OT hymns perhaps ?

Incidentally, where did you get the Hebrew from ? (I'd like to learn some)

Good article. Any more like this on the way ???

Yes, very good article...Very nice to see it on the front page, too!

If I recall correctly, Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn after the last supper before they went out to the Mount of Olives - most speculation is that the psalms were the hymns of that age.

There's been lots of speculation as to what the word "selah" means - it shows up a lot in the psalms. Could be a direction for a musical interlude, giving time for reflection of the previous verses, which would definitely indicates that they were used as musical.

Many of the psalms give specific references as to their use, such as in Psalm 4 where it says "For the director of music. With stringed instruments." If they gave direction as to how they were to be accompanied, it makes it pretty obvious they were written as songs, but of course the words are valuable all by themselves, too.

I don't know where he got the hebrew from, but I do know that blueletterbible.org has hebrew translation and meanings for the entire OT, as well as the greek for the NT.

Selah means 'pause and reflect'...

Unless I'm remembering wrong, which I can check by 1) looking in my Bible when I get home 2) asking Tom or 3) having either Dancer or Elly wander by and tell me I'm wrong...

The Hebrew transliteration comes from a setting by the composer Leonard Bernstein. The piece is called 'Chichester Psalms' and includes a setting of the whole of Ps 23. It was written in 1965 for the annual festival at Chichester Cathedral (Sussex, England).

The meaning of 'Selah' is uncertain. Theories abound. The best guess is that it is probably a musical direction. As well as in the Psalms it occurs in Habakkuk.

Bels

This is a really interesting thread.
Like Uncle Ghengis I would like to know if you are going to do any more articles on the other psalms?
Thank you very much for this one.
Sincerely, AR1

Thanks for this one, more please

Isn't it a pity thay you can't put sound clips on H2G2?

Anyone know of web links to the tunes mentioned

Not that I'm suggesting downloading MP3s .....

I wasn't the principal author of this entry. It was really written by Just zis Guy, you know? He added my name to it because I contributed some ideas and the transliteration.

I'm pretty sure that the psalms sung by Jesus and the disciples after the Last Supper would have been some of those still sung in the Jewish tradition as part of the Grace after Meals.

Bels

I would assume that the psalms sung after the last supper would have been those commonly sung at the Passover. (The last supper was the Passover, you know. The washing of the feet and the passing of the bread and wine occured after the standard Passover meal.)

These psalms are usually thought to be the 'songs of the ascents': Psalms 120–134.

TRiG.

"The washing of the feet and the passing of the bread and wine occured after the standard Passover meal."

I was wrong there. The washing of the feet occured before the meal, when they came in from the dusty road. This is interesting, because it means that Jesus also washed Judas' feet.

Then they had the standard Passover.

Then Judas left.

Then the last supper - the passing of the bread and the wine. And Jesus' command to "keep doing this in rememberance of me".

Then they left, singing praises. Probably, as I said, the songs of the ascents, which are thought to form the normal Passover hymnal.

TRiG.