THE ASSYRIAN AND HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
BY
CHARLES GORDON CUMMING
AMS PRESS, INC.
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10003
1966
Copyright 1934
Columbia University Press
Reprinted with the permission of the original publisher
Manufactured in the United States of America
GRATEFULLY DEDICATED
TO
RICHARD J. H. GOTTHEIL
NOTE
Professor Cumming has chosen a most interesting subject upon which to
write a comparison of “The Assyrian and the Hebrew Hymns of Praise.” He
has spent a number of years developing his theme, and has produced a
book which I commend heartily to the attention of scholars who are
interested in this field. Of course, we do not possess all the hymns
written by the Assyrian poets, nor have we all those produced by the old
Hebrew songsters. But we certainly have sufficient to make it possible
for us to form a just idea of their character and of their beauty.
Richard Gottheil
FOREWORD
It was the author’s original intention to add to this book a translation
of all the important Assyrian hymns; for a bringing together of hymns
now scattered through many books and periodicals would be a very real
service to Old Testament scholarship. Such a task however calls for the
knowledge and skill of the thoroughly competent Assyriologist. It is
hoped that the list of texts and translations appended to this book may
make it easier for any interested reader to locate and carry further the
study of any particular hymn. In the case of the Hebrew psalms some
slight confusion may be spared the reader if he recognizes that the
numbering of the verses is that of the Hebrew text, which differs
slightly in certain psalms from that of the English translations.
Charles Gordon Cumming
Bangor Theological Seminary
Bangor, Maine
December, 1933
CONTENTS
THE HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
I. Hebrew Psalms Which Are Not Hymns 3
II. Hebrew Sanctuary Hymns of Praise 18
III. Hebrew Eschatological Hymns 32
IV. Hebrew Nature Hymns 39
V. Hebrew Hymns in Praise of Sacred Institutions 44
THE ASSYRIAN HYMNS OF PRAISE
VI. Assyrian Hymnal Introductions to Prayers 53
VII. Assyrian Antiphonal Hymns 72
VIII. Assyrian Self-Laudations of the Gods 83
A COMPARISON OF THE ASSYRIAN AND THE HEBREW HYMNS
IX. The Literary Form of the Assyrian and the Hebrew Hymns 95
X. The Supreme God among the Gods 100
XI. The Supreme God in His Dwelling Place 108
XII. The Supreme God as Creator 120
XIII. The Supreme God as Wise, Powerful, Merciful 130
XIV. The Supreme God as King and Judge 146
XV. Conclusion 154
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Texts and Translations of Assyrian Hymns 161
Selected Bibliography 169
Indexes 171
Division I
THE HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
Chapter I
HEBREW PSALMS WHICH ARE NOT HYMNS
The Book of Psalms is no longer to be regarded by Old Testament scholars
as an isolated phenomenon. Similar religious poetry is found not only in
the narrative and prophetic portions of the Old Testament, in the
Apocrypha, and the New Testament, but also in the literatures of Egypt,
Babylonia, Persia, India, and Greece. Indeed, wherever religion really
develops beyond the primitive stage, it expresses itself in poetry and
we get something comparable to the Hebrew psalms.
One primary fact, then, to be considered in the study of the Old
Testament psalms is that they are only the surviving fragments of the
religious poetry of a race; and that they have been preserved partly by
reason of the literary merit that made it difficult for them to be
forgotten, and partly by reason of the fact that they happened to be
included in the song books of the sanctuaries. One must accordingly bear
constantly in mind the larger literature of which they were a part, and
employ to a legitimate degree the imagination, in order to rightly
comprehend the life out of which the psalms have come, and to see in any
true perspective the significance of the surviving psalms.
Furthermore, it is now to be clearly recognized that the careful
philological study of words and sentences, and the further effort to
determine the date and authorship of the psalms, while always
indispensable, are yet inadequate methods of procedure. It is true that
again and again fixing with philological accuracy the meaning of a word
or clause is the clue to the understanding of a psalm, yet to arrive at
any just appreciation of the psalms it is absolutely necessary to
classify them scientifically on the basis of their similarities and
dissimilarities, and so to arrange them in the species or groups into
which they naturally fall. It is then possible to compare psalm with
psalm within the species, fixing as nearly as possible the type and
noting every variation from the type. In this way the eye of the reader
is opened to the originality and literary beauty of particular psalms,
which originality and literary beauty are in turn the expression of the
uniqueness and power of the psalmist’s spiritual experience.
It may also be suggested that another principle of investigation should
prove fruitful, namely, an attempt to arrange the groups of psalms, and
the individual psalms within the groups, according to the principle of
development from the lower to the higher stages of religious experience.
Of course opinions may and do differ as to what is highest in religion,
but the student of religion may never cease in his effort to find the
line of development and to determine the highest. Since then the psalms
are almost exclusively religious literature, and since the supreme
motive for studying them is to gain the more complete understanding of
religion, it is necessary to arrange the psalms in ascending order, so
that one can more readily appraise the worth of religion in them, and
determine and properly appreciate that which is most precious.
Finally, a further source of enlightenment and a valuable standard of
appraisal has been neglected, unless the Old Testament psalms in their
respective groups are compared with the psalms of Egypt, Babylonia,
Persia, India, and Greece. Many decades have passed since a succession
of studies first pointed out striking similarities between the Hebrew
and the Babylonian so-called penitential psalms. Recent commentaries on
the psalms such as Staerks in 1911 and Kittels in 1916 have printed in
the appendices a number of Egyptian and Babylonian psalms, but the
comparative method has not yet been widely and thoroughly applied.
An immense amount of work yet remains to be done in comparative study of
the religious poetry of the different literatures. Species must be
compared with species; prayer of supplication with prayer of
supplication; prayer of thanksgiving with prayer of thanksgiving;
affirmation of faith with affirmation of faith; hymn of praise with hymn
of praise, and teaching psalm with teaching psalm. Before Hebrew hymns
of praise, however, can be properly studied, the relationship of the
hymns to the other groups that make up Hebrew religious poesy ought to
be understood. Consideration must first be given, therefore, to the
different groups of psalms to be found in the Hebrew Psalter.
Psalms of Lamentation and Petition
It has been suggested that the psalms ought to be classified in groups,
and that the groups ought to be arranged in an ascending order,
according to the stage of religious development which they represent.
Following this principle, one can quite properly place lowest the Psalms
of Lamentation and Petition. The lament in such psalms describes the
unhappy plight of the oppressed nation, the persecuted religious
community, or the afflicted individual. The petition makes earnest
appeal to Yahwe for deliverance. Frequently the petition is reinforced
by rather naïve considerations, such as are calculated to persuade the
Deity to action. Surely Yahwe ought to be concerned for the glory of his
name! Why should the unbelievers say scoffingly, “Where is now your
God?” Again what profit is there to Yahwe in the death of his followers?
Assuredly the dead in Sheol do not praise him. Most commonly does the
psalmist urge that he has long trusted Yahwe; that Yahwe is his only
hope, and that therefore Yahwe can not fail him.
In addition to the lament and the petition—the two most characteristic
features of this group—one generally finds the vow. If God will come to
the help of the sufferer, he will in turn render some specified service
to Yahwe. It may be an animal sacrifice at the sanctuary, or it may be
such a spiritual sacrifice of praise and testimony as will turn sinners
to Yahwe. Yet another common feature of this group is the protestation
of confidence that Yahwe will most certainly deliver the suppliant.
Frequently it is found near the end of the psalm, and so confident is
the sufferer of deliverance that he commonly uses the perfect tense, as
if his salvation were already effected.
Of the fifty Psalms of Lamentation in the Psalter, thirteen express the
petition of the nation or the religious community for Yahwe’s
deliverance. Psalms 79, 74, 44, 80, 83, 60, 137, and 129 lament the
humiliation and suffering endured by the nation at the hands of foreign
enemies; 85 and 126 recognize in general terms Israel’s affliction, and
implore Yahwe’s mercy; while Psalms 10 and 123 lament the wrongs
inflicted upon the pious of the land by the powerful and godless rich.
Of these Psalms 137, 129, 125, and 123 are distinctive both for
originality and simplicity of expression and for sincerity and intensity
of feeling. Psalm 137 recalls the wrongs and the insults received at the
hands of Babylonians and Edomites and calls for vengeance upon those
nations. Psalm 129, in much the same spirit, remembers Israel’s manifold
sufferings at the hands of many foes and petitions vindictively for
revenge. On the other hand 125 recalls Yahwe’s goodness in restoring the
nation from exile and pleads with confidence for a further manifestation
of his favor; while in 123 the contempt of the rich and the proud causes
the pious to look with humble and childlike confidence to the God of
mercy.
Undoubtedly greater far than any of the preceding psalms is Psalm 90,
which, transcending the limitations of the nation and the sect, laments
the brevity and troubled nature of human life, and pleads for some
knowledge of the plan of the eternal God, some permanency for human
effort, some small measure of happiness in life’s brief day.
To this group of national prayers of lamentation and petition ought
possibly to be added Psalm 67. There is here, to be sure, no lament, but
verses 2 and 3 are a petition for the coming of Yahwe’s salvation to
earth, and verses 4, 5, and 6 may also be understood as a petition for
the establishment of divine government upon earth:
May peoples praise Thee, O God;
May all peoples praise Thee.
May nations be glad and sing for joy.
For thou shalt judge peoples righteously
And govern nations upon earth.
Verses 7 and 8 are then simply a positive expression of confidence that
the prayer just uttered is to be answered and God’s supreme blessing
received. The psalm is not then an eschatological hymn of praise, but
rather an eschatological prayer.
Psalms 20 and 72 have distinctive positions in this group, since each
offers up a petition in behalf of the king. In Psalm 20 the king had
apparently presented his offerings and sacrifices at the sanctuary, and
the priest prays, in verses 2-6 that God will remember the king’s
sacrifices and grant him help in the day of trouble and all his hearts
desires. Naturally, in the case of a king, the chief concern is that he
should be victorious over his enemies whenever war should come. In verse
7 the priest, possibly informed by some sign that the sacrifice had
indeed been accepted by Yahwe, gives positive assurance that the prayer
has been answered:
Now I know that Yahwe will save his anointed.
Verse 8 reaffirms faith in Yahwe as mightier than horse or chariot,
while verse 9 again predicts victory over the enemy. The psalm concludes
in verse 10, as it began, with a petition for the king.
Psalm 72 might be fitted into the coronation service, being then the
prayer offered for a just and successful reign. This would mean
translating the successive sentences of the psalm from verse 1 to verse
11 and from verse 15 to verse 17 as petitions. Thus verse 2 would be
translated:
May he judge thy people with righteousness
And thy poor with justice.
and other verses correspondingly. This psalm is then in no sense a psalm
of lamentation, but it seems to be a psalm of petition in behalf of the
king who is about to begin his reign.
The remaining thirty-seven Psalms of Lamentation, or almost one-fourth
of the Psalter, arise out of the distress of the individual. The most
common misfortune is sickness (Psalms 13, 6, 88, 70, 39, 77, and 102),
accordingly the petition is that the afflicted one may be saved from
death by Yahwe’s merciful power.
Together with sickness there is usually the bitter complaint against the
wicked enemies (Psalms 3, 13, 70, 64, 140, 7, 55, and 109). It is of
course altogether understandable that men should be alienated from a
sick person, regarding him as justly smitten of God and afflicted, and
that such men should in turn be regarded by the sick man as enemies. It
is also possible that in some instances, as in Psalms 22 and 69, it may
be a matter of religious persecution. On the other hand the language
used in a number of psalms (13, 70, 64, 140, 7, 55, 57, 59, and 109)
rather strongly suggests that the enemies are practicers of black magic,
an art familiar to every land unilluminated by modern scientific
knowledge.
Yet in a considerable number of these psalms it is Yahwe himself who has
sent the affliction. When this is the case the psalmist may do either of
two things: he may acknowledge his misfortune to be just punishment for
his sin, and accordingly petition for forgiveness and deliverance
(Psalms 38, 88, 39, and 102); or he may affirm his innocence and demand
deliverance as a matter of justice (Psalms 26, 7, 17, 59, and 71).
Of all the individual psalms of lamentation, unquestionably the three
finest are 51, 42-43, and 130. Psalm 51 has but one single clause
referring to physical distress! “that the bones which thou hast broken
may rejoice,” and is remarkable for its profound consciousness of guilt,
and its strong conviction that cleansing and regeneration and the
righteous life can only be achieved by divine mercy and divine
redemptive power. As for Psalms 42-43, there is expressed in language of
haunting beauty, both an intense thirst for the presence of God, and the
awakening realization of a something of superior worth in man that can
only be satisfied by the experience of God. This would seem to be the
road along which the Hebrew ultimately arrived at the consciousness of
his own supreme worth and immortality. Yet possibly the rarest of these
psalms both for simplicity of expression and depth of religious insight
is 130. The psalmist, who “waits for God more than they who watch for
the morning” has an amazingly profound consciousness of sin expressed in
the words:
If iniquities thou should’st record, O Yahwe,
Lord who could stand ...
and likewise a sublime conception of God’s mercy:
But with Thee is forgiveness
That Thou mays’t be revered.
Psalms of Testimony and Thanksgiving
Corresponding to the Psalms of Lamentation and Petition are the Psalms
of Testimony and Thanksgiving. The afflicted community or individual
which has, in answer to its petition to Yahwe, experienced deliverance
is obligated to give public expression to its gratitude for Yahwe’s
salvation. Such psalms may be expected to tell the story of the
affliction, the appeal for divine help, and the deliverance. Furthermore
it is altogether natural for any people with a national and a religious
consciousness to look back through the years and the centuries and to
give thanks for the favors manifested by Deity to the fathers.
Originally the first words of such psalms may well have been: “Give
thanks to Yahwe” or “I will give thanks to Yahwe.”
It is best to begin with the individual psalms of thanksgiving, since
the individual experience of affliction and deliverance recurs with
little change from age to age, and the individual psalm of thanksgiving
accordingly approximates more nearly than the national the original
type. The individual psalms of thanksgiving in the Psalter are 116, 30,
32, 138, 66, 21, 18, 118, and 103.
Psalm 116 is the testimony of a man who has been sick unto death. In
anguish and despair he prayed: “O Yahwe save my life.” Yahwe heard his
prayer, restored him to health, and accordingly he is in the temple to
pay his vows, to offer up his sacrifices of thanksgiving and to give his
testimony in the presence of all Yahwe’s people.
Again Psalm 30 is the testimony of a man who had once been very
prosperous, but who by the loss of Yahwe’s favor had been brought low.
Near unto death, he cried unto Yahwe, pleading that his death could not
profit the Deity since the dead in Sheol praise not God. Yahwe saved his
life to the end that he might praise and give thanks to his God
continually.
Psalm 32 is in form and content quite similar to the teaching or wisdom
psalms. Here, however, the teaching is based on a personal experience of
deliverance from sickness, and the teaching is itself a testimony of
gratitude for recovery. In his distress this psalmist made confession of
his sin. Yahwe forgave and healed him. Jonah 2:3-10 is likewise a psalm
of thanksgiving. The afflicted one at the point of death made his prayer
and his vow. That prayer came to Yahwe in his sanctuary and he was
saved. Accordingly he offered to Yahwe the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
Psalms 138 and 66 do not state the nature of the deliverance for which
they give thanks, but the author of 66 follows time honored custom by
offering an actual animal sacrifice at the sanctuary in fulfillment of
his vow. Psalms 18 and 118 express the gratitude of two national leaders
for deliverance from great peril.
The difficulty of deciding with certainty to which group a number of
psalms belong is illustrated by Psalm 21. Verses 2 and 8 are addressed
to Yahwe and express the king’s devotion to his God, while verses 3-7
describe the goodness of Yahwe to the king. Yahwe had bestowed upon him
the crown, had given him length of days, and had maintained him in
security and honor upon his throne. Verses 9-13 are addressed to the
king, probably by the priest, and promise the king complete victory over
his enemies. The concluding verse 14 addressed to Yahwe:
Be exalted, O Yahwe in thy strength
We will sing and praise thy Power.
This verse has the form of a petition, but its formal language amounts
to an ascription of praise. The psalm then does not in the main utter a
petition, nor express faith in Deity, but is rather an expression of
thanksgiving and may well have been originally used in the celebration
of an anniversary of the king’s ascension to the throne.
The classic individual psalm of thanksgiving in the Psalter is 103.
Though it is here an individual who calls upon his soul to bless Yahwe,
yet there is little that is personal about the psalm, for the psalmist
identifies himself with his fellow Israelites and for that matter with
universal humanity. Also there is little to distinguish this psalm of
thanksgiving from the hymn of praise. The psalmist does not refer in
verses 3-5, nor anywhere else, to any single individual personal
concrete experience of Jehovah’s salvation, and the psalm is not in that
sense a psalm of testimony. Yet exhortation to “forget not all His
benefits,” the mention at the very outset of the psalm of the healing of
diseases; linking of this healing with the forgiveness of sin as in the
psalms of lamentation; the enumeration of Yahwe’s gracious favors to
man; all these are calculated to call forth gratitude, and it is
actually as a psalm of thanksgiving that the readers of the Bible have
always regarded it. Notable in the psalm is the conception of the all
but limitless mercy of God; the comparison of God’s compassion to that
of an earthly father’s, the emphasis upon the eternity of God in
contrast to the frail mortality of man and the fact that God’s mercy is
extended to successive generations of men.
The transition to the national psalms of thanksgiving is splendidly made
by Psalm 107. This might perhaps be called a liturgical psalm of
thanksgiving. Verses 1-3 are clearly introductory. There is the general
call to thanksgiving in verse 1:
Give thanks unto Yahwe for he is good,
For his mercy endureth forever.
Then in verses 2 and 3 the call is directed especially to the
representatives of the Diaspora who by divine mercy have returned from
all lands to Zion. The service of thanksgiving proper falls into four
parts. The author has selected the four most wonderful deliverances of
which he has knowledge; the deliverance of travelers hopelessly lost in
the great desert; the deliverance of men who for their rebellion against
God had been fettered and cast into prison; the deliverance of the sick
who for their iniquities had been brought to the gates of death; the
deliverance of sailors from a terrible storm on the much-dreaded sea. We
may suppose that processions representing each of these groups came
forward in the temple, while their stories were being told—possibly by a
soloist—after which the chorus summoned them to give thanks, adding to
the refrain a couplet suitable to each group. The psalm concludes with a
hymn of praise to the God who manifests his power both over nature and
over the affairs of men.
The National Psalms of Thanksgiving in the Psalter are fewer in number
than the individual and further removed from the original type. This may
be because national escapes from peril are rarer and more difficult to
celebrate; and as they become more remote in time, the few psalms of
thanksgiving that have been written to celebrate those deliverances have
less and less interest for the public, and correspondingly less
suitability for public worship, and so are lost. In the Psalter we have
in addition to Psalm 107, Psalms 124, 136, 114, 124, and 65. Of these
Psalm 124 is the only one which could be supposed to have been composed
to celebrate a recent deliverance. On the one hand the language is
general and the figures of speech are familiar, but on the other hand
there is a spontaneity, simplicity and power of expression that suggest
a recent experience of escape from great peril. This is especially true
of verse 7.
Likewise delightful for its originality of literary form is Psalm 114.
It celebrates in poetic and dramatic language the triumphant crossing of
the Red Sea and the Jordan. Obviously it is looking back at these events
through the media of legend and myth, and verse 2 makes it clear that
the poem can not be earlier than the division of the kingdom.
Nevertheless the author is so thrilled by the stories that have come
down to him that his poem possesses amazing spontaneity and power.
In contrast with the two preceding poems, Psalms 136 and 105 are highly
stereotyped. Every second line in 136 is the refrain: “For his mercy
endureth forever” and the psalm was therefor probably written for public
rendition. Both psalms deal with the theme so dear to the Hebrew heart,
Yahwe’s gift to the fathers of the land of Canaan, and both retell
something of the biblical story of the patriarchs, the deliverance from
Egypt, and the conquest.
Psalm 65 seems to be essentially a psalm of harvest thanksgiving. It
accompanies the payment of vows (verse 2). Verses 2-5 are introductory,
announcing the presence of the worshipers at the sanctuary. Verses 6-9
express faith in the God of land and sea, while verses 10-14 accredit to
him the increase of the fields and the flocks. The psalms of testimony
and thanksgiving pass over naturally into the hymns of praise, but as
the hymns form the chief object of this study their treatment is
postponed until the next chapter.
Psalms of Faith
Out of the experience of affliction as expressed in the psalms of
lamentation and petition, and out of the further experience of
deliverance as expressed in the psalms of testimony and thanksgiving,
develops a serene faith and confidence over against the perplexities,
the perils, and the conflicts of life. One characteristic element in the
Psalm of Lamentation and Petition is the affirmation of faith in Yahwe.
That affirmation of faith gradually develops until it becomes the entire
theme of the psalm. This development can be traced to some extent in the
psalms themselves. It is well to begin with Psalm 9, for while it
expresses predominatingly confidence, yet it petitions at some length
for Yahwe’s help against Israel’s enemies. Psalm 27 makes a much
stronger affirmation of faith in Yahwe and a correspondingly briefer
petition for divine protection; while Psalms 4 and 16, expressing quiet
confidence in Yahwe, have only the very briefest appeals for his
assistance. Psalms 11, 62, 63, and 92 still recognize the presence of
enemies, but all are confident that their wicked foes must perish, while
the faithful will experience Yahwe’s blessing.
The classic expressions of faith in Yahwe, however, are Psalms 23, 131,
121, and 91. Psalm 23:1-4 conceives of God under the figure of a
shepherd, who gives to his own food, drink, guidance, protection. With
the thought of danger in verse 4 the psalmist apparently felt the need
of a stronger figure of speech to express his perfect security and good
fortune, so in verse 5 he conceives of God as his host. God is providing
for him most generously and he is confident that he will be the happy
guest of God for the rest of his days.
Psalm 131 is of rarest beauty in its simplicity. This psalmist is aware
that there are problems which he cannot solve by reason, and which might
be permitted to harass his soul. Not in presumptuous pride, but in
sincere humility, he simply trusts Yahwe, with a mind as free from
protest as that of a weaned child in its mother’s arms.
Psalm 121 and more especially Psalm 91 seem to be liturgical in
character. In Psalm 121, verse 1, the psalmist recognizes his need of
help and that the help must come from Deity. Many of his fellow
countrymen had through the centuries uncritically sought help from the
gods of the high places. This psalmist asks with intense yearning and
earnestness whence his help is to come. In verse 2 he answers his own
question:
My help cometh from the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.
It is perhaps a question whether verses 3-8 are a soliloquy, or whether
they are addressed to the psalmist by the priest. In either case the
psalmist has the assurance that Israel’s God, who neither slumbers nor
sleeps, will keep him everywhere and at all times, secure from evil.
In Psalm 91, verses 1 and 2 state the general truth that the man who
trusts God is happy:
Blessed is the man, who dwelleth in the secret place of the most High,
Who abideth under the shadow of the Almighty,
Who saith of Yahwe, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God in whom I trust.”
The verses 3-13 bring to the psalmist the assurance, presumably from
God’s spokesman, the priest, that Yahwe will keep him under his constant
protection, and that he need fear no peril however great. Finally in
verses 14-16 the assurance is confirmed by a divine oracle, the voice of
God, promising the psalmist deliverance from every trouble, long life
and honor.
Among these psalms of faith ought certainly to be included Psalm 46.
Although this psalm does not contemplate any present situation in life,
it looks forward with confidence to the turmoil and conflict, that in
the last days will precede Yahwe’s final victory and subsequent reign of
righteousness and peace. The psalm is written, not from an individual
but from a national point of view. Its motive is sounded forth in the
refrain which occurs at verse 8 and verse 12, and which undoubtedly
ought to be inserted after verse 4 to divide the psalm into three equal
sections:
Yahwe of Hosts is with us,
A fortress for us is the God of Jacob.
It may accordingly be described as a national eschatological psalm of
faith.
The psalm opens with the strong profession of faith of verse 2:
God is for us refuge and strength,
In troubles he proves himself help indeed.
Verses 3 and 4 introduce us to the dread and terrifying phenomena of the
last days; yet are not the believers in Yahwe afraid:
Therefore will we not fear though the earth tremble,
And the mountains sink down into the heart of the sea.
Let its waters roar and rage,
Let the mountains shake with its violence;
Yahwe of hosts is with us,
A fortress for us is the God of Jacob.
The second division, verses 5-7, pictures the serenity of the new
Jerusalem already enjoying what the old Jerusalem lacked, a river
flowing through its midst, and protected by God in this great hour while
the hostile nations rage without its walls. Finally the third division,
verses 9-11, invites us to behold the evidence of the complete and final
defeat of the enemies of God, the bows snapped, the spears broken, and
the chariots burning up in fire. Also one is to hear the voice of God
claiming forevermore his rightful and supreme sovereignty among the
nations of the earth.
Unique among the psalms of confidence is Psalm 139. The psalmist
marvels, in verses 1-6, at Yahwe’s complete knowledge of his earthly
life; in verses 7-12, at the omnipresent power of Deity, from which
there is no escape; in verses 14-16, at the divine wisdom manifested in
the creation of the psalmist’s body and the complete determining of his
life’s course, in verse 17 at the innumerable thoughts and purposes of
God. Verses 19-22 descend to the commonplace in petitioning for the
death of the wicked while the concluding verses 23-24 ask God that his
heart be searched for the discovery of wrong and that he be divinely
guided in the right way. It is perhaps possible to regard verses 1-18 as
an expression of faith in Yahwe, introductory to the petitions 19-24 and
so class the poem as a psalm of lamentation and petition, but the verses
1-18 seem to be relatively so much more important that it seems wiser to
regard it as a psalm of faith.
Teaching or Wisdom Psalms
There is a natural line of development from the psalm of faith to what
may perhaps be called teaching or wisdom psalms. The believing psalmist
assumes that God is in complete control of all the circumstances of
life, and is convinced that God will protect him from all evil and give
him success. This assumption of faith then becomes for many the all
important, fundamental law of life, and as such it must needs be taught
to youth. Thus doubtless originated the wisdom psalms; of which we have
in the Psalter 1, 112, 34, 78, 127, 128, 133, 125, 73, 37, 49.
Psalm 1 is a splendid type of the wisdom psalm, since it begins with the
characteristic opening words: “Blessed is the man,” and then sets forth
the qualities of the good man and claims for him success, while it
asserts for the wicked certain condemnation and ruin. Psalms 112 and 34
are also characteristic wisdom psalms, confined however in the
artificial limitations of alphabetical acrostics. Psalm 78 teaches the
same lesson as to the secret of success from history, recalling how
Yahwe had again and again punished disobedience and rewarded obedience
until he finally rejected Ephraim and accepted Judah, and chose David to
be his servant.
If there were in Israel wise men, such as the author of Ecclesiastes,
who taught that all life was vanity, there were other wise men such as
the author of Psalm 127 who taught that while all human effort without
God’s cooperation was vain, yet life with God’s cooperation was certain
of happiness. God does give his help to man, and one of his very best
gifts is children. Again 128 gives the assurance that he who walks in
Yahwe’s ways will enjoy the fruits of his labor, and in happiness see
his children and children’s children round about him. Psalm 133 pays
simple and charming tribute to the joy of human fellowship.
The assertion that the righteous always prosper and that the wicked
suffer misfortune was inevitably challenged by the sceptics and scorned
by the scoffers, who mocked the believing psalmist in his distress
saying: “Where is now your God?” It became necessary therefore to deal
with this problem on the basis of the facts of life, and we get
accordingly a somewhat different type of wisdom psalm. Psalm 125
testifies to the existence of this problem. Verses 1 and 2, to be sure,
affirm the security of the righteous. Verse 3, however, attempts to
justify the affirmation of the preceding verses by a rational argument.
If the righteous were not certain to prosper in the world, why should
men be righteous? Would not the righteous become wicked and the moral
foundations of life crumble? The petition in verses 4 and 5 requesting
Yahwe’s favor for the good and his punishment for the wicked, while
properly no part of a teaching psalm, are further recognition that
actually certain of the facts of life contradict the psalmist’s theory.
Nevertheless, his own conviction is expressed in verse 1:
They who trust in Yahwe are as Mount Zion
Which cannot be moved but abideth forever.
Psalm 73 is the teaching of one who wrestled with this same problem of
the theodicy. Verse 1 is an assertion of his faith:
Yes God is good to Israel
To those who are pure of heart.
But verses 2-20 tell how nearly the psalmist came to losing that faith
as he saw the wicked prosper, while he himself suffered misfortunes, and
how he recovered his faith with the conviction that the prosperity of
the wicked was but temporary and their ultimate doom certain. Verses
23-28 are accordingly an assertion of the psalmist’s devotion to Yahwe
as in a psalm of faith, but the main thesis of the psalm is stated in
verse 1, and so may therefore be best grouped with the wisdom psalms.
Psalm 37 is composed in stanzas of four lines, the first letters of the
first lines of the stanzas spelling out the alphabet. The author of the
psalm is an old man who gives warning against fretting over the
prosperity of the wicked, and who affirms on the basis of his long
experience of life, that, while the prosperity of the wicked is
short-lived, God never forsakes the righteous. The use of the acrostic
form may itself be taken as evidence of this psalmist’s unquestioning
belief in the above dogma.
The author of Psalm 49 has no certain promise of prosperity for the
righteous, nor does he threaten the wicked with premature death, but he
does smile at their fatuous confidence, since death must surely overtake
them. Therefore he does not let their possession of wealth trouble him
because it cannot be taken to Sheol. On the other hand there seems to be
just a suggestion in verse 16 that God can relieve the pious from the
grasp of death:
Surely God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol
For he will receive me.
Chapter II
HEBREW SANCTUARY HYMNS OF PRAISE
The hymn of praise is very similar to the psalm of thanksgiving. Indeed
it is sometimes difficult to decide in which category a psalm belongs,
as in the case of Psalm 103. The fundamental difference is that the
psalm of thanksgiving expresses gratitude while the hymn of praise
expresses adoration. The psalm of thanksgiving testifies to that which
has actually been experienced, the hymn of praise voices enthusiasm for
the wisdom and power and goodness that are in God. The psalm of
thanksgiving is thus in its nature subjective, conscious of what the
psalmist has experienced, while the genuine hymn is objective,
forgetting self in adoration of Deity.
The question of the nature of the hymn of praise is involved with the
question of its origin. Praise did not in the beginning burst forth
spontaneously from the human heart. Religion arose out of a
consciousness of need, and a feeling that there was a power to meet that
need. In Babylonia, as in India and elsewhere the hymn of praise is
often but little more than an introduction to a petition. The singer
tells the Deity that He is wise and then asks for wisdom; or strong and
asks for strength, or rich and asks for material blessings. Praise is
suspiciously close to flattery and far from disinterested. In Israel
also it is believed that the Deity desires praise. There is no profit
for Yahwe in the death of the psalmist, since the dead praise not Yahwe.
But in Israel praise is not a mere preliminary to a petition. The Old
Testament psalmist does not praise God and then ask for favors. Almost
no hymns are found in the psalter followed by what can actually be
called a petition. The Hebrew hymn of praise has passed beyond that
stage of development. As the expression of faith in Deity in the psalm
of lamentation developed into the independent psalm of faith, so the
words of praise that once introduced the petition for help have
developed into the independent hymn of praise. Nor is the Old Testament
hymn of praise just an expression of gratitude for the divine favors
received; with or without anticipation of favors to come. The hymn of
praise is not a mere variant of the psalm of gratitude. The hymn of
praise has transcended the human experience of need and deliverance and
forgets the self in adoration of Deity. Praise is an end in itself,
desired of God, and necessary for the human spirit.
The first home of the hymn of praise, in the light of all that is known
of the development of religion, must undoubtedly have been the
sanctuary. This judgment is confirmed by the testimony of the Old
Testament psalms:
Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion.
—Psalm 65:2.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise.
—Psalm 100:4.
Praise him ye servants of Yahwe,
Ye who stand in the house of Yahwe.
—Psalm 135:1, 2.
Sing unto Yahwe a new song,
His praise in the congregation of saints.
—Psalm 149:1.
Behold bless ye Yahwe, ye servants of Yahwe,
Who by night stand in the house of Yahwe.
—Psalm 134:1.
I will praise Yahwe with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and the congregation.
—Psalm 111:1.
Such pious Hebrews as the authors of Psalms 42-43 and 84 longed for the
sanctuary because it was preëminently the place for worship and praise.
Typical sanctuary hymns of praise are Psalms 150, 148, 147, 146, 145,
111, 135, 117, 113, 33, 115.
The external form of the hymn of praise is very simple. It is introduced
by the call to praise, originally addressed by the priesthood of the
sanctuary to the worshippers. The characteristic form of the call was:
“Praise ye Yahwe,” “Hallelujah.” So Miriam called upon her Hebrew
sisters to praise Yahwe when the victory had been gained at the Sea of
Reeds over Pharaoh’s forces:
Praise ye Yahwe, for he hath triumphed;
Horse and rider hath he thrown into the sea.
—Exodus 15:21.
This call to praise was followed by the body of the hymn setting forth
in participial phrases, adjectival clauses, or independent sentences the
reasons why men should praise Yahwe. Then the hymn was rounded out in
good symmetrical form with the same concluding call to
praise:—“Hallelujah.”
While the above is the standard form of the hymn, a few psalms repeat
the call to praise at intervals throughout the psalm, creating somewhat
the impression of a union of little hymns. Thus Psalm 147 is in three
parts each introduced by a call to praise. Part I has the call to praise
in verse 1, and the reasons for praise in verses 2-6. Part II has the
call to praise in verse 7 and the reasons for praise in verses 8-11.
Part III has the call to praise in verse 12 and the reasons for praise
in verses 13-20. The whole hymn then concludes with “Hallelujah.”
Likewise Psalm 148 is in two parts. Part I has the call to praise in
verses 1-5a, and the reasons for praise in verse 5b and verse 6. Part II
has the call to praise in verses 7-13a, and the reasons for praise in
verses 13bc and 14abc. Again there is a concluding “Hallelujah.”
It is worth observing that in general the Old Testament hymn of praise
speaks of Yahwe in the third person. Human being calls upon human being
to praise Yahwe, and human being tells human being why Yahwe is worthy
to be praised. Hymns which thus use the third person exclusively are
Psalms 150, 149, 148, 147, 146, 134, 117, 113, 111, 100, 98, 96, 95, 47,
29, 24, 19:2-5b; 19:5c-7. Yahwe is addressed in the second person in the
following verses: Psalm 135:13; Psalm 97:9; Psalm 99:3, 8; Psalm 115:1,
2; Psalm 93:2, 3, 5. The second and third persons are used in about
equal degree in Psalm 68, 145, 194, while Psalms 8, 84, 67 use the
second person exclusively. Now the use of the second person is of course
characteristic of prayer. The fact therefore that in the standard Hebrew
hymn of praise the third person is used, because Hebrew is calling upon
his fellow Hebrew to Praise Yahwe, testifies rather powerfully to the
social and democratic character of worship in Israel.
Taking up now the three divisions of the Hebrew hymn in order, it is to
be noticed that the call to praise has undergone certain changes in the
wording. While in the great majority of the hymns the call to praise is
“Hallelujah” in Psalm 134 the call is: “Bless ye Yahwe”; and in Psalm
100 all the land is bidden: “Shout to Yahwe”; and in Psalm 33 the
righteous are called upon to: “Rejoice in Yahwe.” Most impressive
perhaps of all the calls to praise is that of Psalm 29, where the
summons is addressed to the residents of heaven:
Ascribe to Yahwe, ye gods,
Ascribe to Yahwe glory and strength.
Again, when it is an individual who sings his hymn of praise, he must
either address deity in the first person, as in Psalm 145:1:
I will extol thee, my God, O King;
And I will bless thy name for ever and ever;
or he must call upon himself to praise Yahwe as in Psalm 146:1:
Praise Yahwe, O my soul.
Still further variation from the standard form is found, when the call
to praise takes the form of a petition to Yahwe, a petition however
which is really an ascription of glory to him. This occurs very
beautifully in Psalm 115:1:
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But unto thy name give glory.
So also in Psalms 67 and 68, the petitions of the opening verses are
really that God will glorify his own name, and the petitions merge
altogether naturally into the calls to praise that follow.
The calls to praise in the various hymns, however they vary, yet bear
eloquent testimony to the enthusiasm which animated the Hebrew hymns.
They were sung not only to the accompaniment of many musical
instruments, but also with dancing. The singing was not limited to
sanctuary choirs, but was participated in by the entire concourse of
people. The call to praise goes out to those in the sanctuary Psalm
150:1; to priests, Levites, Israelites, proselytes Psalm 135:19ff; to
Jerusalem Psalm 147:12; to all nations Psalm 117; to everything that
hath breath Psalm 150:6; to all things animate and inanimate in heaven
and earth Psalm 148.
The reasons given in the body of the hymns why men should praise Yahwe
naturally vary somewhat. However one predominant reason is that God in
wisdom and power created the entire physical universe as it was visible
to the ancient Hebrew; the firmament with sun, moon and stars, and the
waters above the firmament; the earth and everything upon the earth, and
the waters beneath the earth. It is Yahwe who causeth the winds to blow,
and the lightnings to flash, and hail and snow and rain to fall upon the
earth; it is Yahwe who causeth all vegetation to grow, and giveth
increase to the flock, and sustaineth life in everything that breatheth.
(Psalms 148:5-6; 147:4, 8, 15-18; 146:6; 135:6, 7; 115:15; 104:2-32;
68:10, and 29:3-10.)
A second almost equally prominent reason for praising Yahwe is for his
wisdom, might, and goodness revealed in his dealings with Israel. He had
chosen the race for his own, had redeemed it from the power of Egypt,
had revealed unto it his will in laws, statutes and commandments, had
led it safely through the great desert, and had given it possession of
the land of Canaan. (Psalms 148:14; 147:2,13,20; 135:4,9-12; 33:12.) It
is noteworthy that little attention is given to the return from exile,
partly, perhaps, because it may have been easier to see the hand of God
in remote history, and partly because the return from Babylon and the
subsequent history were not themes to create hymnal enthusiasm. On the
other hand Israel did, as it will appear, look toward the future for
Yahwe’s final and most glorious participation in human affairs.
A third potent reason for praising Yahwe is because of his merciful help
extended to the weak and lowly on the earth, the widow, the orphan and
the stranger, the oppressed and the troubled. Especially is he to be
praised, because he saves the righteous and destroys the wicked. (Psalms
147:3; 146:7-9; 145:14, 18-20; 113:6-9; 103:13; 33:18-20; 68:6.)
Again the psalmist praises Yahwe for what he is in himself. His
greatness is unsearchable. He is high above all Gods. His understanding
is infinite. He is gracious and full of compassion. He is righteous in
all his ways and holy in all his works. He is good, his mercy is
everlasting and his faithfulness is extended to generation after
generation. His name is holy and to be revered. (Psalms 150:2; 147:5;
146:7-9; 135:3, 5; 113:4; 111:4, 9; 100:5.)
Yet another reason for praising Yahwe is that he stands in such contrast
to the gold and silver idols of the nations, which are the work of men’s
hands, and powerless to see or hear or help. (Psalms 135:15-17;
115:4-8.) Likewise Yahwe is an infinitely more reliable and potent
source of help than the mortal human prince who goeth so soon to the
grave and whose thoughts and plans then perish forever. (Psalm 146:3,
4.)
As the hymns in praise of Yahwe quite fittingly begin with Hallelujah
“Praise ye Yahwe,” so also the great majority of them come to a
conclusion with “Hallelujah.” (Psalms 150, 149, 148, 147, 146, 135, 117,
115, 113, 104.) There are a few hymns which have not the Hallelujah at
the close (Psalms 29, 33, 111, 145), but these are not typical hymns.
Psalms 29 and 33 do not use “Hallelujah” in the opening call to praise,
while 111 and 145 are individual and alphabetical hymns of praise, in
which “Hallelujah” could not well be made an integral part of the hymn.
On the other hand a number of hymns have a longer and stronger
concluding call to praise than the simple “Hallelujah”:
Let everything that breatheth praise Yahwe.
Praise ye Yahwe.
—Psalm 150:6.
The praise of Yahwe shall my mouth speak;
And let all flesh bless his holy name
For ever and ever.
—Psalm 145:21.
The dead praise not Yahwe,
Nor any who go down into silence;
But as for us we will praise Yahwe
Both now and evermore;
Praise ye Yahwe.
—Psalm 115:17, 18.
House of Israel, bless ye Yahwe;
House of Aaron, bless ye Yahwe;
House of Levi, bless ye Yahwe;
Worshippers of Yahwe, bless ye Yahwe;
Blessed by Yahwe from Zion who inhabits Jerusalem;
Praise ye Yahwe.
—Psalm 135:19-21.
Such in general is the sanctuary hymn of praise, but each of the hymns
in this group (Psalms 150, 148, 147, 135, 113, 145, 111, 146, 115, 33,
117) merits or demands at least brief individual mention. Of all these
Psalm 150 deserves to be mentioned first because its position at the end
of the psalter may be accepted as strong testimony of the great
importance attached to praise in the worship of Israel. The psalm also
merits consideration for its own sake because of the clarity and
symmetry of its arrangement:
Call to praise Yahwe (verse 1a); where praise Yahwe (verse 1bc);
wherefore praise Yahwe (verse 2); wherewith praise Yahwe (verses 3, 4,
5); concluding call to praise Yahwe (verse 6).
Psalm 148 is particularly notable for the universality of its call to
praise. Verses 1-5 call upon everybody and everything in the heavens
above to praise Yahwe, while verses 7-13 call to his praise everything
and everybody on the earth beneath including:
Kings of the earth, and all people;
Princes, and all judges of the earth;
Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
After the tremendous universality of this call to praise, the brevity of
the body of the hymn, with the reference to Yahwe’s supreme glory on the
one hand, and the reference to his goodness to Israel on the other hand,
is very effective:
Let them praise the name of Yahwe,
For his name alone is supreme.
His glory is above earth and heaven,
And he hath given victory to his people.
The praise is he of all his faithful ones,
Even of the Israelites, the people near to him,
Praise ye Yahwe.
Psalm 147 is a splendid example of the union of three little hymns in
one composition. The absence of a concluding call to praise is
surprising; it has doubtless been lost in process of transmission.
Psalm 135 has a number of little variations from the ordinary usage of
the hymns. Verses 1 and 2 are a typical call to praise:
Praise ye Yahwe;
Praise ye the name of Yahwe;
Praise him, ye servants of Yahwe,
Ye who stand in the house of Yahwe,
In the courts of the house of our God.
But then verses 3 and 4 are two little hymns in themselves:
Praise Yahwe; for Yahwe is good.
Sing praises unto him, for he is gracious,
For Yahwe hath chosen Jacob for himself,
And Israel is his treasure.
With verse 5 one would expect a renewed call to praise, as for example:
Praise Yahwe for Yahwe is great,
but instead of the call to praise there is substituted an affirmation of
faith:
For we know that Yahwe is great,
And our Lord above all gods.
Verses 6-12 proceed in normal course reciting the greatness of Yahwe in
creation and in history, but verse 13 contains its surprise, for the
third person is exchanged for the second and Yahwe is directly
addressed:
Thy name, O Yahwe, endureth for ever,
Thy remembrance, O Yahwe, to all generations.
The second person is the natural usage of prayer, and the subject of
verse 14 would have been appropriate for petition:
For Yahwe will deliver his people,
And he will show mercy to his servants.
Possibly this very fact accounts for the use of the second person in
verse 13. The thought of rescue naturally suggests the idea of the idol
worship of the oppressors (verses 15-18), and the contrast between the
impotent idols and Yahwe lends enthusiasm to the mighty concluding call
to praise (verses 19-21).
In this group of sanctuary hymns, Psalm 113 undoubtedly deserves a
unique place. The call to praise is distinctive both for its sublimity
of conception and the beauty of the language:
Praise ye Yahwe;
Praise, ye servants of Yahwe,
Praise the name of Yahwe.
Blessed be the name of Yahwe
Now and evermore;
From the rising of the sun to its going down
Yahwe’s name is to be praised.
—Verses 1-3.
However the rarest beauty and chiefest charm of this hymn is in the
unexpected contrast between the Yahwe exalted high above all nations and
Yahwe stooping from on high to the poorest and weakest of the earth.
There is here a beautiful illustration of the characteristic Hebrew
tendency to make truth concrete, in the case of the childless wife whom
Yahwe remembers, and saves from being divorced, causing her to remain at
home the joyful mother of children:
High above all nations is Yahwe;
Above the heavens his glory.
Who is like Yahwe our God,
Who dwelling in high heaven,
Stoopeth to look upon the earth?
He raiseth up poor men from the dust;
From the dung hill he lifteth needy men,
To seat them beside princes.
Even with the princes of his people.
He causeth the barren woman to live at home
The mother of children joyful.
Praise ye Yahwe.
It is safe to say that no greater hymn of praise is to be found in the
psalter than Psalm 100. It is great in its originality, clarity, and
strength. It is addressed to the congregation entering the temple, and
though not sung by the procession might yet be called a processional
hymn. It is perhaps a question how wide the application of verse 1 is,
whether the call to praise goes out to all the earth and all humanity,
or whether the call is intended simply for all the land of Palestine.
Verses 3 and 4 seem to make it reasonably clear that the call to praise
is here meant not for humanity but for the Jewish people. The psalm is
not then an eschatological hymn as the wider application of verse 1
might suggest. The hymn falls into two divisions of almost equal
lengths, verses 1-3 and verses 4-5. In the first division verses 1 and 2
constitute the call to praise:
Shout to Yahwe all the land:
Serve Yahwe with gladness;
Come in before him with singing.
Verse 3 makes up the body of the hymn in this division, and it is to be
noted that while the actual content of verse 3 is characteristic reason
for praise, yet the introduction of “Know ye” adds another to the
succession of imperatives in this psalm, increases its strength, and is
reminiscent of the fact that there were requirements for those who would
enter Yahwe’s temple as Psalm 24:3-5 makes clear:
Know ye that Yahwe is God:
It is He who hath made us, and we are
His people and sheep of his pasture.
In the second division verse 4 is the call to praise:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
His courts with praise;
Be thankful to him, bless his name,
and verse 5 the body of the hymn:
For good is Yahwe: unto everlasting his mercy
And to all generations his faithfulness.
There is no further conclusion and assuredly none is needed.
Psalm 134 is a simple liturgical hymn of a night service in the
Jerusalem temple. Some one representing the congregation standing
without calls upon the priests in the sanctuary to lift up hands to the
Holy of Holies and bless Yahwe (verses 1-2). The priests from within
replying invoke Yahwe’s blessing upon the worshipper.
Another very beautiful liturgical hymn of praise is Psalm 24. Verses 1
and 2 are sung by the congregation approaching the sanctuary, and are
hymnal in character. Arrived at the sanctuary the question is asked, who
are worthy to enter Yahwe’s sanctuary (verse 3), and the answer is given
in verses 4, 5. These three verses belong to the category of the
teaching psalms. In verse 6 the congregation announces that it seeks the
God of Jacob. However the temple doors are closed and the congregation
demands that the gates be lifted up to permit the King of Glory to
enter, verse 7. Verse 8 brings the challenge from within the temple:
“Who is this king of glory?” and the answer is returned by the company
without: “Yahwe strong and mighty, Yahwe mighty in battle.” Again the
demand is made that the temple gates be lifted up (verse 9), but again
the challenge comes from within: “Who is this king of glory?” And now
the company returns the age-old title of the king, “Yahwe of hosts, he
is the king of glory,” and we are to understand that the gates did lift
up, and that the mighty God passed in.
It is clear that this liturgical hymn is made up of what were once
independent literary units. This is sufficiently obvious from the fact
that in verse 6 the worshipping company are seeking the deity’s
presence, as indeed is presupposed by verses 3-5, while in verses 7-10
the company is seeking entrance for Yahwe himself into the temple or
more probably into the city. The whole constitutes a noble liturgical
hymn of praise.
Psalms 111 and 145 have little claim to recognition other than that they
are alphabetical psalms, the twenty-two lines of 111 beginning with the
twenty-two successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, while the first
lines of the twenty-two couplets of Psalm 145 likewise begin with the
twenty-two successive letters of the alphabet.
Psalm 146 opens in the characteristic style of an individual hymn of
praise:
Praise ye Yahwe:
Praise Yahwe, O my soul;
While I live I will praise Yahwe;
I will sing praises unto my God, while I exist.
Then, however, there are three verses in the manner of wisdom
literature, although introduced by verse 3 in the hortatory style of the
prophet:
Trust ye not in princes,
Nor in man in whom is no help:
His breath goeth out, he returneth to his ground;
In that day his thoughts perish.
Happy is he who has Jacob’s God for his help,
Whose hope is in Yahwe his God,
Maker of heaven and earth.
Verses 6-9 give the standard reasons why men should praise Yahwe, and
verse 10 closes the hymn with that hopeful outlook for the future so
significant, and so characteristic of the Hebrew religion and the Hebrew
hymn of praise:
Yahwe shall reign forever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise ye Yahwe.
Psalm 115 varies so widely from the standard hymn of praise that it is
just a question whether it belongs with the hymns, or with the psalms of
petition. As previously pointed out, the introductory call to praise
here takes on the form of a petition, fortified moreover as in prayers
of petition with reasons why Yahwe should answer it.
Not to us, Yahwe, not to us,
But to thy name give glory,
For thy mercy’s sake, for thy truth’s sake.
Why should the nations say,
Where is their God?
—Verses 1, 2.
What would ordinarily be the body of the first division of the hymn
begins with verse 3 and runs on to verse 8 contrasting the God who is in
the heavens and who has power to do whatever he wills with the impotent
and useless idols of the nations (verses 3-8).
A new section clearly begins with verse 9. In a hymn proper verses 9-11
would constitute a renewed call to praise, but here they are a summons
to Israelites, priests, proselytes to trust Yahwe:
Israel, trust in Yahwe:
Their help and their shield is he.
House of Aaron, trust in Yahwe;
Their help and their shield is he.
Worshippers of Yahwe, trust in Yahwe;
Their help and their shield is he.
There follows in verses 12-14 not reasons why Yahwe should be trusted,
corresponding to the manner in which the body of a hymn gives reasons
why Yahwe should be praised, but rather a strong affirmation of
confidence, which again is a common feature of the prayer of petition.
Yahwe remembers us and will bless,
He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless the worshippers of Yahwe,
The small with the great,
Yahwe will increase you,
You and your children.
Blessed are ye of Yahwe,
Maker of heaven and earth.
Finally where in verses 16-18 would ordinarily be expected a renewed
call to praise, we have here something that resembles the vow of a
prayer of petition, although it is hymnal to the extent that it promises
to praise Yahwe for evermore.
It ought also to be observed that the psalm has a number of features
that indicate it to be liturgical in character. Verses 1-8, it may be
supposed, were sung by the congregation made up of Israelites, and
proselytes, led by priests and Levites. Then verses 9-11 constitute an
antiphonal response to their petition, one choir singing: “O Israel,
trust in Yahwe,” while the second choir responded: “He is their help and
their shield.” The whole congregation that first sang verses 1-8 now
sings verses 12-13, and in reply to their affirmation of faith, the
temple choir gives the comforting assurance of Yahwe’s favor in verses
14-15. Then the congregation sings the hymnal vow of verses 16-18. It
remains accordingly a question whether we have in Psalm 115 a liturgical
hymn of praise, or a liturgical psalm of petition in which the hymnal
spirit and form has a prominent place.
Psalm 33 is also difficult of classification. Verses 1-3 are a typical
hymnal call to praise and verses 4-7 give customary reasons for praising
Yahwe. Then verse 8 issues a renewed call to worship Yahwe and verses
9-11 again give customary reasons for so doing. But when we arrive at
verse 12 we have the characteristic introduction to a wisdom psalm:
Happy the nation whose God is Yahwe,
The people he hath chosen for his inheritance.
and there follow in verses 13-19 the sententious utterances,
characteristic of the wisdom literature, teaching that neither men nor
nations are saved by physical might, but only by the mercy of Yahwe
extended to those who fear him. Not inappropriately there follows, in
verses 20 and 21, an affirmation of faith in Yahwe, which is followed in
turn by the brief petition:
Let thy mercy, O Yahwe, be upon us,
According as we have trusted in thee.
The first half of the psalm, verses 1-11 is a hymn of praise; the second
half, verses 12-22, despite the petition at the close is perhaps best
called a wisdom psalm.
In the very short Psalm 117 the call to praise goes out in verse 1 to
“all nations” and to “all peoples.” It is a question however whether the
mercy of Yahwe in verse 2 is extended to all peoples or limited to the
Hebrews. In any case this little hymn of praise forms a suitable
transition to the special group of eschatological hymns of praise.
Chapter III
HEBREW ESCHATOLOGICAL HYMNS
The sanctuary hymns of praise which we have been studying have for, the
most part, the backward look through Israel’s history to the creation of
the world. A few of them also have in small degree the forward look
calling for Yahwe’s praise because of what he will yet accomplish in the
world; and certainly many of the hymns are characterized by an
enthusiasm for Yahwe’s greatness that asserts or presupposes his
supremacy in the universe. Nevertheless it is right to gather together a
special group of hymns which look forward more definitely and concretely
to the actual triumphant consummation of Yahwe’s plan, and the
achievement of Israel’s glorious destiny. These hymns are sung in
contemplation of Yahwe’s great final victory. He has at long last
appeared to judge the world; his mightiest enemies have suffered
complete and final defeat. He has taken his rightful position upon his
throne, and all nations acknowledge his authority. The physical world
will now yield its abundant increase, and the divine reign of peace and
righteousness will begin. Such hymns, fittingly called eschatological,
are Psalms 96, 98, 149, 47, 99, 97, 93, 82.
One not inconspicuous difference in these eschatological hymns is in the
call to praise. Many eschatological hymns indeed seem to have been
introduced simply by the triumphant shout: “Yahwe is king.” (Psalms 99,
97, 93.) The announcement of the momentous fact, that at last Israel’s
God has actually ascended his throne to take to himself power and
sovereignty over the earth, does of itself inspire hymnal enthusiasm.
Quite probably the abruptness of the announcement corresponds to the
suddenness and unexpectedness of the event itself. However hymns
beginning with the shout: “Yahwe is king” sometimes follow up that
announcement with a summons to praise Yahwe. Indeed the very fact that
Yahwe has become king is reason why men and nations should be called
upon to praise him. So while Psalm 93, beginning with “Yahwe is king,”
has no further call to praise, Psalm 97 does complete the great
announcement with a brief call to praise:
Yahwe is king, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many shores be glad.
And Psalm 99 follows up the announcement not with one but with repeated
calls to worship Yahwe (verses 1, 3, 5, 9).
Another group of eschatological hymns (Psalms 96, 98, 149) begins indeed
with a call to praise, but feels the utter inadequacy of the old songs.
The amazingly new world situation demands a new song. Consequently they
start with:
Sing to Yahwe a new song.
They may later make explicit announcement that Yahwe has become king as
in Psalm 96:10:
Say among the nations, Yahwe is king,
or that fact may be made implicitly understood by the general context of
the hymn.
Shout before the king Yahwe.
—Psalm 98:6.
Let Zion’s sons rejoice in their king.
—Psalm 149:2.
Undoubtedly there were also in Israel eschatological hymns, which issued
the great call to praise in varied and impressive ways, following up the
call to praise with the momentous announcement of Yahwe’s assumption of
world government. Of such hymns Psalm 47 is a representative. It calls
the peoples to the praise of Yahwe in verse 2 and announces the great
fact of his newly accepted kingship in verse 3:
All ye peoples, clap your hands,
Shout to God with the voice of triumph,
For Yahwe most high is to be feared,
A great king is he over all the earth.
It was observed in the study of the sanctuary hymns that certain of them
(147, 148) repeated the call to praise at intervals throughout the hymn,
creating somewhat the impression of a union of little hymns in one. This
phenomenon seems to be particularly conspicuous in the eschatological
hymns. Thus Psalm 96 may be divided into three hymns: I, verses 1-6; II,
verses 7-10; III, verses 11-13. So also Psalm 98 divides into: I, verses
1-3; II, verses 4-6a; III, verses 6b-9. Likewise Psalm 99: I, verses
1-4; II, verses 5-8; III, verse 9. Psalm 47 breaks into two parts: I,
verses 1-5; II, verses 6-9; and Psalm 149 likewise: I, verses 1-4; II,
verses 5-9. In all these hymns the repeated calls to praise represent
growing momentum and power of hymnal enthusiasm for Yahwe, the great
king.
Turning from the introductions to the conclusions of the eschatological
hymns we find that Psalm 149 is the only one of those found in the
psalter that does actually end with, “Hallelujah.” Others, however
(Psalms 97, 99, 96, 98), do end with the hymnal note of praise and all
conclude with the note of triumph. In Psalm 149 it is Israel’s national
triumph:
To execute vengeance upon the nations,
Punishments upon the peoples,
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
To execute upon them the Judgment written,
An honor is it for all His faithful ones.
—Verses 7-9.
In Psalm 47 it is Yahwe’s great political triumph:
For to God belong the shields of the earth;
He is greatly exalted.
Psalms 96 and 98 close with the joyous anticipation that the reign of
Justice is at hand:
... For he has come to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with equity.
It is interesting that three other psalms conclude with the thought of
the holiness of Yahwe and Yahwe’s house:
Exalt Yahwe our God,
And worship at his holy hill,
For holy is Yahwe our God.
—Psalm 99:9.
Rejoice ye righteous in Yahwe,
And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
—Psalm 97:12.
Thy testimonies are very sure:
Holiness becometh thy house,
O Yahwe, forever.
—Psalm 93:5.
In the study of the standard hymns of praise it was observed that Deity
is regularly spoken of in the third person, while in only a very few
instances the second person, the usage of prayer, is employed. Of the
eschatological hymns we have examined there are four in which the second
person occurs, Psalms 97, 99, 93, and 82. Psalm 97 is a hymn in three
sections. The first section, verses 1-6, makes the announcement of
Yahwe’s appearance on earth and the third person is used. The second
section, verses 7-9, speaks of Yahwe’s supremacy over the gods, and
where the psalmist is speaking of the joy of Jerusalem and Judah’s towns
over Yahwe’s victory he uses the second person. But the third section,
treating of Yahwe’s deliverance of the righteous again uses the third
person. It is difficult to account for the use of the second person in
the second section of this hymn, unless it is that the very thought of
Judah’s joy over Yahwe’s triumph brought Yahwe nearer to the
consciousness of the psalmist, and so put the psalmist into the attitude
of mind of a suppliant toward Yahwe, with the consequent use of the
second person, as in prayer.
Psalm 99 seems to be a hymn of four sections. The first section consists
of verses 1, 2, 3, containing six lines ending with the refrain: “Holy
is he.” The second section consists of verses 4 and 5 containing also
six lines and ending likewise with the refrain: “Holy is he.” There is
furthermore a natural line of division at the end of verse 7, and if we
can suppose that the refrain was here inadvertently omitted, we should
again have six lines ending with the same refrain. This leaves us in
verses 8 and 9 a fourth section of six lines ending in the refrain
slightly expanded: “For holy is Yahwe our God.” Moreover the hymn is
divided into two main divisions of twelve lines each, each ending with a
little hymn of three lines, which is substantially the same:
Exalt ye Yahwe our God,
And worship at his footstool,
Holy is he.
—Verses 5, 9.
Again there is in this hymn the same difficulty in accounting for the
use of the second person as in Psalm 97, and again the same explanation
is to be offered. In verse 3a, to be sure, there may be a mistake in the
text, for it is scarcely felicitous to have the second person in verse
3a and the third person in verse 3b. In verses 4 and 8 however, the very
subject matter is that which would ordinarily be followed by petitions,
and which would bring about the attitude of the mind in prayer, and the
consequent direct address to God:
Thou has restored equity;
Thou has executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Yahwe, our God, thou didst answer them:
A forgiving god wast thou to them,
And one avenging their wrongs.
Again Psalm 93 may be divided into four sections, though not all four of
equal length. Verse 1, of three lines, makes the great announcement in
the third person that Yahwe is king. Verses 2 and 3, of four lines, are
addressed to Yahwe in the second person and inform him that his throne
is from everlasting, but that mighty foes are in rebellion against him.
Then verse 4, of three lines, makes the reassuring announcement in the
third person that Yahwe is mightier than the foes. Verse 5 addresses
Yahwe in the second person, expressing confidence that his divine
authority will endure, and his house retain forever its sanctity. It
seems not improbable that the verses employing the third person, and the
verses employing the second persons were sung by different choirs, and
that we have in this psalm a liturgical eschatological hymn.
The actual content of the eschatological hymns has to some extent been
shadowed forth in this discussion. The one great fact in the hymns is
the triumphant intervention of Yahwe in the affairs of the world. His
appearance on the earth is accompanied by the most spectacular physical
phenomena. The heavens declare his glory and the earth trembles. While
clouds and darkness surround his person, his lightnings illuminate the
world; the hills melt like wax beneath his feet, and a fire goeth before
him and destroyeth his enemies (Psalm 97:2-6; Psalm 99:1). The
appearance of Yahwe on the earth is followed by his complete and final
victory. Turbulent and mighty as the waves of the great ocean, all his
enemies are speedily vanquished. His right hand and his holy arm achieve
for him the victory, and all the ends of the earth witness the salvation
achieved by God (Psalm 98:1; Psalm 93:3, 4). In virtue of this great
victory Yahwe is now to be feared above all gods; indeed he is
recognized as the one and only god. All those who had served graven
images and boasted of their idols are put to shame. Yahwe reigns from
his temple in Jerusalem, and the peoples of the earth bring their
offerings into his courts, as they worship him, ascribing to him all
glory and strength (Psalm 96:3, 4, 7, 8; Psalm 97:7). Yahwe’s
sovereignty extends into the political realm. He who is great in Zion is
high above all peoples. He is the great king over all the earth. His
sovereignty means the extention of his favor to Israel, the rescue of
his faithful servants from the might of wicked oppressors, and the
elevation of the Hebrew race to power:
He subdueth peoples under us,
And nations under our feet.
Indeed according to Psalm 149 it means the most complete and vindictive
vengeance of Israel upon the nations (verses 6-9). However, in hymns
broader and more generous of conception it means the establishment of a
reign of righteousness and peace over all the earth, for which not only
the peoples but the physical world itself will rejoice. The world is to
be established so that it can not be moved. The earth will give her
increase. Yahwe will bless his people and the very ends of the earth
will fear him (Psalms 96:13; 98:9, 67; 82).
Unique in the group of eschatological hymns is Psalm 82. It has no call
to praise, no summons to the Israelites, nor to the nations, nor to the
physical universe, to rejoice at God’s appearing; it does not even
announce that God has become king. What it does is to single out from
all the momentous events of God’s final victory on earth one scene, but
the description of that one scene is of itself such as to kindle hymnal
enthusiasm and to give the psalm the atmosphere and character of a hymn.
God takes his place as judge in the council of the gods (verse 1). He
arraigns the gods for their protection of the wicked, and exhorts them
to do justice to the poor and the fatherless, and to rescue them from
their oppressors. He realizes, however (verse 5), that appeal to these
judges is hopeless. They are without understanding and in darkness,
while the very moral foundations of the world tremble. Therefore God
pronounces final judgment upon the judges. They had been given the
status of gods but now they are to die like men (verses 6, 7). This
pronouncement, implying as it does that God will now himself give
justice to the earth, calls forth the petition of verse 8:
Arise O God, judge the earth,
For thou shalt inherit all nations.
Despite this anticipatory petition at the close, Psalm 82 is essentially
a positive announcement of God’s triumph, and calling forth as it does
hymnal enthusiasm, is itself essentially a hymn.
Similarly Psalm 2 must be assigned to the group of eschatological hymns.
Here again there is no call to praise, no summoning of the nations to
welcome God’s appearing, no proclamation that Yahwe has become king over
all the earth. Like Psalm 82 this psalm also selects and describes a
single situation out of the many that go to make up Yahwe’s final
establishment of his kingdom upon earth. It is presupposed in the psalm
that Yahwe has already proclaimed his sovereignty over the earth and
established his own anointed king upon the throne of the world in
Jerusalem. But (verses 1-3) the nations of the world are plotting
rebellion against Yahwe and against his anointed king. Their rebellion
(verses 4-6) simply provokes Yahwe to derisive laughter. Over against
their impotence he simply reaffirms his inflexible decision:
As for me I have set my king
Upon my holy hill of Zion.
Then the king takes up the word (verses 7-9) and announces the divine
decree. Yahwe had formally adopted him as son, and had given to him the
kingdoms of the earth with power over them to break them in pieces. The
king has spoken. Another voice makes the practical application (verses
10-12) and warns the kings and the rulers of the earth to make their
humble peace with Yahwe, and with his anointed, before his wrath is
fully aroused.
Chapter IV
HEBREW NATURE HYMNS
The abode of the hymns already discussed was the sanctuary and their
place was in sanctuary worship, but there is a group of hymns, the real
background of which was Nature’s great out of doors. These hymns include
Psalms 29; 19:1-5b; 19:5c-7; 104; and 8. Of these Psalm 29 resembles
most closely in its literary form the standard hymns. It has the call to
praise, the body of the hymn setting forth the greatness of Yahwe; and
it has a conclusion, though the conclusion is not a renewed summons to
exalt the deity. The hymn as a whole expresses the reaction of the
psalmist to a thunder and lightning storm. He watches it rise in the
Lebanon mountains in the North, and follows it with his eye and ear and
imagination until it loses itself in the desert of Kadesh. He observes
the forked lightning (verse 7) but is vastly more impressed by the
thunder to which he attributes the destructive power of the storm. The
significant fact is that the storm does not create in the psalmist fear,
but moves him to adoration of his great God, and to renewed faith and
confidence. The introductory call to praise (verses 1-2) summons the
gods above to worship Yahwe and to ascribe to him glory and strength.
The body of the hymn celebrates the thunder, “The Voice of Yahwe,”
somewhat as Psalm 19:8-10 celebrates: “The Law of Yahwe.” Verse 9c: “But
in his temple every one saith Glory” forms a transition to the
conclusion in verses 9-10, which remembers that the God of the thunder
storm was also the God of the flood, the eternal king, who because of
his eternal existence and his great power can give strength and peace to
his people.
Psalm 19 contains two short nature hymns or more probably two fragments
of hymns. The first Psalm 19:1-5b seems to be a hymn of the night. It
does not call upon the heavens to praise God, as the typical hymn would
do, but simply announces that the heavens do declare God’s glory. This
they do without language or words or sounds over all the earth,
ceaselessly declaring his glory from day to day, from night to night,
from age to age. Psalm 19:5c-7 has no introductory nor concluding call
to praise, and the few lines that we have, effective though they are,
are probably only a fraction of the body of the original hymn. Moreover
the original was undoubtedly a hymn to Shamash the Assyrian Sun God. The
Assyrians watched with reverent eye the Sun God’s glorious journey
across the heavens. They knew also of his wearisome return in the
underworld from West to East, and they were glad to think of the bride
and the repast awaiting him in his tent on the edge of the heavenly
ocean. The Hebrew like the Assyrian had great admiration for the
illuminating rays and the fervent heat of the sun, but he would go no
further than to compare the sun to a bridegroom, and a strong man. It
does seem strange that the psalmist has retained in verse 4c the sun’s
tent: “For the sun he hath set a tent in the sea,” but even so it is
Yahwe who has placed the tent there, even as it is Yahwe who has placed
the sun in the heavens. The Hebrew who used this fragment of a poem saw
God’s glory revealed in the progress of the sun across the sky by day,
even as he saw that glory revealed in the star studded heavens by night.
Psalm 104 differs from the standard Hebrew hymns of praise in two
respects. It is addressed in considerable part directly to Deity in the
second person, while the standard Hebrew hymn regularly uses the third
person. Also it has a petition at its close, which the standard hymn has
not. In these two respects Psalm 104 resembles a prayer. However the
petition is very brief, formal, almost incidental; it can scarcely be
said to grow out of the psalm, and certainly the hymnal portion (verses
1-34) can not be regarded as introductory to it. Psalm 104 is also
remarkable among Hebrew hymns for its length, as a hymn devoted
exclusively to the activity of God in nature. Of the other nature hymns
in the Psalter, Psalm 19:1-5b and Psalm 19:5c-7 are mere fragments, and
Psalms 8 and 29 are relatively short, but Psalm 104 contains
seventy-nine lines of which the first seventy-one are dominated by the
theme:
How manifold are thy works, O Yahwe!
All of them in wisdom thou hast made.
—Verse 24.
As it stands in the text Psalm 104 has a hymnal introduction and
conclusion. The brief introduction may indeed be a liturgical addition.
In it the psalmist calls upon himself to praise Yahwe: “Bless my soul
Yahwe.” The conclusion is longer and expresses the psalmist’s life long
devotion to his God:
I will sing to Yahwe while I live;
I will sing praises to my God so long as I exist.
May my meditation be pleasing to him;
As for me I rejoice in Yahwe.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bless my soul Yahwe
Praise ye Yahwe.
Verses 33, 34, 35cd.
Again it may be noted that the petition in verse 35ab: “Let sinners be
consumed, out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more,” has no real
organic connection with the hymn, and certainly the concluding
“Hallelujah” may well be an addition.
The analysis of the body of the hymn is clear. Verses 1-4 praise the God
of heaven; verses 5-9, the God of creation; verses 10-18, the God of the
earth, the domestic animals, and man; verses 19-21, the God of the
night; verses 22-24, the God of the day; verses 25-26, the God of the
sea; verses 27-30, the God who giveth life to everything that liveth.
The body of the hymn then culminates in the pious wish that Yahwe’s
glory may endure forever and that the mighty God may rejoice in his
works, even he who causes the earthquake and the volcanic eruption. Here
also comes the petition, but a petition has really no place in a genuine
Hebrew hymn of praise.
It is clear that Psalm 104 is predominatingly and essentially a hymn of
praise. Yet it has in its use of the second person; in the presence of
the petition; and perhaps also in its length, since it is a nature hymn,
features that seem unhebraic. It is perhaps also significant that its
close resemblance to the famous Egyptian hymn of Pharaoh Iknaton has
often been observed. We have, it would seem, in Psalm 104 a very
probable example of the influence of foreign literature, Egyptian,
Assyrian, or both.
Psalm 8 might be considered an impressionistic soliloquy of the starry
night, were it not dominated by the thought of God, and addressed
directly to God. It begins with an exclamation for the psalmist is
overwhelmingly impressed with the realization of the glory of God:
Yahwe our God,
How sublime is thy name in all the earth,
Thou who hast placed thy glory upon the heavens.
—Verse 2.
Yet how strange that the great God of the universe should have revealed
himself to the weak children of Israel. It is assuredly the knowledge of
God as the creator of the heavens that is to overcome arrogant rebellion
against God, such rebellion as actually prevails in the psalmist’s
world. May it not be true that the great God hath chosen through the
testimony of the humble to confound the mighty:
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has established strength
To bring to silence the enemy and the rebel.
But how marvelous this condescension of God to stoop to man in his
weakness, and then what a marvelous place God has given man in the
universe! The psalmist feels first the insignificance of man:
As I look at thy heavens, the fine workmanship of thy fingers,
The moon and the stars which thou hast shaped,
What is man that thou should’st remember him?
Even the son of man that thou should’st care for him?
—Verses 4-5.
Then, however, he pays tribute to the place that God has given man:
Yet thou hast made him but a little lower than God,
And crownest him with glory and honor,
Thou causest him to rule over the works of thy hands;
Everything hast thou placed beneath his feet,
Sheep and oxen all of them,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
That which passeth on the paths of the sea.
—Verses 6-9.
And now in recognition both of the glory of God revealed in the heavens
and also of the goodness of God to man, the psalmist again exclaims out
of the fullness of his heart:
Yahwe our lord,
How sublime is thy name in all the earth.
Psalm 8 takes a unique position among the Old Testament hymns of praise.
It is addressed altogether in the second person to Yahwe, and to that
extent takes on the form and nature of a prayer. But it has no
suggestion of a petition, nor does it make any definite effort to
express gratitude. It has something of the reflective attitude, as it
seems to ponder over man’s place in the universe, but it is assuredly
not a teaching nor a wisdom psalm. It has been maintained by some
scholars that the first two and last two lines were meant to be sung by
a chorus, while the body of the hymn is a solo. However, it is more
natural to suppose that in the use of the plural, “Yahwe _our_ Lord,”
the psalmist is simply recognizing himself as one of the many followers
of Yahwe, rather than that a choir is singing. The truth is that the
psalm is intensely individualistic and dominated from beginning to end
by the feeling of adoration for Yahwe, the Hebrews’ God and only God,
whose name is glorious in all the earth. It is a hymn of praise, but one
that stands apart because of the originality and beauty of its literary
form, and the sincerity and profundity of the spiritual experience that
inspired it.
Chapter V
HEBREW HYMNS IN PRAISE OF SACRED INSTITUTIONS
But there were in Hebrew religious poesie not only hymns in praise of
deity, but also hymns in praise of sacred institutions. Especially
prominent were hymns in praise of the sanctuary. Naturally however, only
those that were written in praise of the temple in Jerusalem, or could
be so interpreted had a chance for survival, and of those we have in the
Psalter only 84, 122, 48, and 87.
It is best to begin with Psalm 84, for it represents a transition stage
between the psalm of lamentation and petition and the hymn of praise. In
great part Psalm 84 is addressed in the second person to deity, and it
actually has, in verses 9, 10, a petition for Yahwe’s favor. The request
in these verses is not explicit, yet the context, especially verses 3
and 11, makes it clear that our psalmist, like the author of Psalms
42-43, earnestly desires the privilege of worshipping in the temple.
Moreover the petition of verses 9, 10 is reinforced by a profession of
devotion in verses 11-13 that corresponds to the affirmation of faith,
so characteristic a feature of the prayer of supplication. In so far
this psalm is also itself a psalm of lamentation and supplication. On
the other hand verses 2-8 are essentially an expression of devotion to
the temple:
How lovely is thy dwelling,
O Yahwe of hosts!
Longeth, yea fainteth my soul
For the courts of Yahwe;
My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God.
—Verses 2-3.
He envies the birds which nest in the temple (verse 4), the priests who
are continually in the sanctuary praising God, and the men who, by God’s
favor, are privileged to pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to pass from rampart
to rampart, and to behold God in Zion. Psalm 84 therefore deserves to be
grouped with the hymns in praise of the temple.
As Psalm 84 has kinship with the psalms of lamentation and supplication,
so Psalm 122 has a certain kinship with the psalms of faith. In the
latter the psalmist has a joyous confidence in Yahwe, in this psalm he
has great joy in the temple and the holy city. Verses 1 and 2 affirm his
joy in the temple, and his positive intention of attending in company
with others the great festivals:
I am glad whenever they say unto me,
Let us go to the house of Yahwe.
Our feet shall assuredly stand
Within thy gates O Jerusalem.
Then follows, in verses 3-5, his praise of Jerusalem the city of David:
Jerusalem that is built
As a city compact and solid,
Whither go up Yahwe’s tribes.
A law is it for Israel to give thanks to Yahwe’s name,
For there abide the thrones of justice,
The thrones of the house of David.
Having thus praised the city, the psalmist exhorts others to pray for
it:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
May thy dwellings prosper,
May peace be within thy walls,
Prosperity in thy palaces.
—Verses 6, 7.
The psalm then closes with his personal protestation of devotion to the
city:
For the sake of my brethren and companions
I will say: “Peace be in Thee.”
For the sake of the house of Yahwe our God
I will seek thy good.
—Verses 8-9.
It has been said above that this psalm has some similarity to the psalms
of faith. It is possible that it also, in verses 6-9, reflects the
influence of prophetic style. But, since the spirit that animates it is
one of enthusiasm for the holy city, it is best classed among the hymns
of praise.
Psalm 48 is also, in a sense, a transition hymn, for it praises, not God
alone, but both God and the city in which he dwells. Verse 2 praises
Yahwe, and verse 3 the city:
Great is Yahwe and to be praised exceedingly
In the city of our God on his holy mountain.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of all the earth,
Is Mount Zion, on the Northern slope,
The city of the great King.
Then verses 4-8 record the city’s chief glory, that Yahwe has been in
its midst, its mighty defender against its foes:
God is known in her palaces as a defense:
For lo, kings assembled;
They invaded her together;
They saw, so they marveled;
They were troubled, they fled.
Fear seized them there,
As pain seizes a woman in travail,
While thou didst shatter them,
As an east wind the great merchantmen.
Our psalmist and his associates are obviously pilgrims to Jerusalem.
They had previously heard of such events as the deliverance of Jerusalem
from Sennacherib; they have now seen with their own eyes the sacred
sites which testify to such deliverances. They have meditated on Yahwe’s
goodness in the holy temple, and are certain of his universal fame.
Therefore, they can bid Zion and the towns of Judah rejoice in their
God:
As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Yahwe of hosts, in the city of our God.
God will establish it forever.
We have thought O God of thy loving kindness
In the midst of thy temple.
As thy name O God,
So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth.
Victories fill thy right hand.
Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the towns of Judah be glad
Because of thy deliverances.
It is evident that the closing verses (13-15) must have been spoken in
Jerusalem, and it is perhaps equally clear that they must have been
spoken, not by the pilgrims to residents of Jerusalem, but rather by
residents of Jerusalem, probably the temple choir to the pilgrims,
exhorting them to make their final procession around the city, that they
may know it and be able to tell the story of the city to the oncoming
generation, and so inspire in them reverence and loyalty for the God of
their fathers:
Walk about Zion and go round her:
Count up her towers;
Give heed to her ramparts;
Consider her palaces,
That you may tell it to the coming generation,
For this God is our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide even unto death.
But if verses 9-12 were spoken by the pilgrims, and verses 13-15 by the
temple choir, then it is probable that likewise verses 2-4 were spoken
by the pilgrims, and verses 5-8 by the temple choir. Thus Psalm 48 may
be considered a liturgical hymn of praise, rendered in the temple on one
of the great religious festivals that brought the pilgrims of the
diaspora to the holy city.
Psalm 87 is a hymn devoted entirely to the praise of the temple and the
holy city. Unfortunately the text is in disorder. Probably verse 5b
should be brought back to verse 1, and then the introductory verses 1-3
would read:
Its foundation is in the holy mountains,
And the Most High doth sustain her.
Yahwe loveth the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things he speaketh concerning thee,
O city of God.
The rest of the psalm is exceedingly difficult. Verse 3 leads us to
expect a divine pronouncement regarding Zion’s future glory. In that day
Egypt and Babylon, Philistia and Tyre, together with far distant
Ethiopia, will recognize it as a distinction to be a Hebrew. Verses 4
and 5 perhaps read:
I will cause Egypt and Babylon to remember thy children,
Behold Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia,
They shall say of Zion, “This one and that one was born in her.”
Then the psalmist informs us (verses 6, 7) that Yahwe himself will count
up the scattered Jews of the diaspora, and they in turn in that great
day will be proudly mindful of the mother city:
Yahwe will count them in the midst of the peoples
This one and that one was born there;
And princes as common people will say
We shall all make our home in thee.
Two psalms, 119 and 19:8-15, are in praise of the Jewish law. Since
Psalm 119 is an alphabetical psalm, each successive eight lines
beginning with the twenty-two successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet,
its one hundred seventy-six lines are necessarily a very mechanical and
mediocre production. Psalm 19:8-15, on the other hand, is a much finer
piece of craftsmanship. The first six lines (verses 8-10) which are
strikingly uniform in style, draw attention to six complementary virtues
of the law. Then four lines (verses 11-12) express in general terms the
joy that is to be found in knowledge of the law and the practical
benefit to be derived from obedience to it. Verses 13 and 14 present his
humble petition that he be delivered from violating the law unwittingly
or presumptuously, while verse 15 dedicates the hymn so carefully
written, not to any princely patron but to Yahwe, his strength and
redeemer.
Another little group of hymns deals with the king, who as the anointed
of Yahwe was also a sacred institution. From a modern standpoint however
Psalm 45 is purely secular in character, celebrating as it does the
king’s wedding day. Verse 2 is introductory in which the author
announces himself as a clever poet. Verses 3-10 are in
characteristically extravagant praise of the king. Verses 11-16 are
devoted to the bride, while verse 17 makes tactful and appropriate
reference to the princes yet to be born. Verse 18 concluding the poem,
makes the naïvely modest promise that the pen of the poet will guarantee
immortal fame to the king.
Psalm 101 is likewise secular, for it is evidently a king’s
proclamation. As such it may have been used in the coronation service in
the temple, and so preserved in the sanctuary song book. Quite
naturally, as is always to be expected, the king promises to walk
uprightly in his own private life, to choose wise counsellors, to turn a
deaf ear to slanderers, to give protection to honest men, and to
suppress the wicked.
Psalm 72 might likewise be fitted into the coronation service, being
then the prayer offered for a just and successful reign. This would mean
translating the successive sentences of the psalm from verse 1 to verse
11 and from verse 15 to verse 17 as petitions. Thus verse 2 would be
translated:
May he judge thy people with righteousness
And thy poor with justice,
and the other verses correspondingly, and the psalm would accordingly be
classed as a prayer of supplication. On the other hand if the successive
sentences, with the necessary exception of verse 1 are to be regarded as
predictions of a glorious reign, then the psalm is to be regarded as a
hymn in praise of the Messiah, or possibly of an ordinary king who has
just ascended the throne.
Psalm 110 and Psalm 2 are clearly hymns in praise of the king. Psalm 110
brings to the king in verse 1 the oracle of Yahwe:
Oracle of Yahwe to my lord, sit on my right hand
Until I make thy enemies my footstool.
Then in verses 2-7 the priest supplements this oracle with his assurance
of Yahwe’s effective support, and the king’s great triumph over all his
enemies. The imagery describing Yahwe’s activity belongs to eschatology,
and we undoubtedly have here an eschatological hymn in praise of the
king.
Psalm 2 is likewise an eschatological hymn, dealing with that same
feature of the last days as Psalm 110, and the last futile rebellion of
the nations against the will of Yahwe and Yahwe’s king. In verses 1-3
some one, perhaps a layman, asks why the nations are so foolish as to
rebel against Yahwe:
Why do the nations rage,
And the peoples plan a mad thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand,
And princes plot together
Against Yahwe and against his anointed:
“Let us break their bands
And cast from us their cords.”
Then in verses 4-5 a priest, one who knows the plan of God, gives
answer:
He that sitteth in the heavens laugheth;
The lord is scornful of them.
Presently he will speak to them in his anger,
And terrify them in his rage:
“I, on my part, have set my king
Upon Zion, my holy hill.”
And now it is for the king himself to add a final authoritative word
concerning Yahwe’s plan, for to the king himself Yahwe had actually
spoken:
I will declare the decree;
Yahwe said to me: “You are my son;”
I this day have adopted you.
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
And the entire earth your possession.
You can beat them with an iron rod;
You can break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Yahwe’s decree, bestowing such power over the nations upon Israel’s
king, having thus been made known, it only remained to advise the
nations to make humble submission to Yahwe and to Yahwe’s representative
upon the throne in Zion:
And now, O kings, be prudent;
Take warning, ye judges of the earth.
Worship Yahwe with reverence,
Submit to him with trembling.
Do homage to the son, lest he be angry and ye perish,
For his anger is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who secure his protection.
Here again, as in Psalm 110, because of the prominence of the king in
this dramatic setting forth of one of the important features of the last
days, Psalm 2 must be classed as an eschatological hymn in praise of the
king.
Division II
ASSYRIAN HYMNS OF PRAISE
Chapter VI
ASSYRIAN HYMNAL INTRODUCTIONS TO PRAYERS
As in the case of the Hebrew hymns of praise, so also it is right to
attempt to see the Assyrian hymns in relation to the whole body of
Assyrian religious poetry. Assyrian communities and Assyrian individuals
inevitably had their afflictions, and like their kinsmen the Hebrews
they called out unto deity in their distresses in prayers of lamentation
and supplication. They experienced also on various occasions what they
believed to be deliverances out of their troubles, and when they could
attribute those deliverances to the aid of deity, they felt gratitude
and expressed their gratitude by sacrifices and thanksgiving to the
gods. Furthermore the Assyrians felt adoration for deity, trusted in
deity, reflected upon the will of deity and the secret of the prosperous
life, and like their kinsmen the Hebrews they strove to express their
ideas and their emotions in poetry. Accordingly we have in Assyrian
religious poetry much that corresponds to what is found in the Old
Testament psalter.
However, one striking difference between Hebrew and Assyrian religious
poetry confronts us at the very outset. The Hebrew poetry is concerned
with the one god Yahwe, while Assyrian poetry has to do with many gods,
Shamash, Sin, Nebo, Ninib, Nergal, Adad, Nusku, Bel, Marduk, and others.
This might seem to make it very difficult, if not impossible, to form
any unified conception of Assyrian religion, or to make any satisfactory
comparison between the psalms of Assyrian and Israel. But from the
beginning there were many points of similarity between the Assyrian gods
of the various city states, who frequently bore, to be sure, different
names, but who represented or were associated with the same objects or
forces in nature. Furthermore the growth of political unity in
Mesopotamia was accompanied there, as it has been elsewhere, by a growth
in religious unity. As one city gained authority over other cities, its
god not only acquired greater prestige, but he also extended his
authority in greater or lesser measure over the conquered cities and
over the gods of those cities. Moreover he tended to take to himself the
chief prerogatives and attributes of the conquered deities. With the
growth and organization of empire there developed, in the exaltation of
one god to a supreme place, a tendency toward monotheism; and with the
inevitable interchange of religious ideas a gradually increasing
similarity in the attributes and prerogatives of the chief gods.
Especially is it to be recognized that hymnal enthusiasm tends to blot
out for the time the consciousness of other deities, and to exalt in
wisdom and power and goodness the deity which is being worshipped, so
that for the moment the attitude of the worshipper may be practically
that of a monotheist. Accordingly the many names for deity have
relatively little significance; they offer no serious obstacle to the
student who would compare the religious ideas and experiences of
Mesopotamia with the religious ideas and experiences of Israel.
Here again, however, it must be borne in mind that the literature of
Assyria which has survived is only a small fraction of that which once
existed, and what we now have owes its survival in part, to be sure to
merit, but in part also to mere chance. Nevertheless sufficient
literature exists to justify two general observations. The first is
this, that the closest correspondence between Assyrian and Hebrew
religious poetry is to be found in the psalms of lamentation and
supplication, which represent and express only the lowest level of
religious experience in the Hebrew psalms. The second general
observation is that while Hebrew religious poetry develops, and clearly
differentiates into independent literary species, the Assyrian religious
poetry does not achieve so full a development, nor so clear a
differentiation. The one explanation of this fact would seem to be that
Assyrian religion did not go so far in emancipating itself from
superstition and formalism, and in achieving a lofty conception of deity
and a profound religious experience. Certain it is that Assyria did not
develop to the same degree as did Israel the independent prayer of
thanksgiving, the independent psalm of faith, the independent wisdom
psalm, nor the independent hymn of praise.
The number of Assyrian hymns copied, transliterated, and translated by
Assyriologists, is between sixty and seventy. The number can not be
definitely fixed, since many texts are but mere fragments because of the
breaking and marring of the clay tablets. The fact that so many hymnal
compositions are incomplete necessarily makes the task of interpreting
the individual hymns and of arriving at well founded general conclusions
much more difficult. The sixty odd hymns, it may be of interest now to
note, are distributed among the Assyrian deities as follows: Marduk 14,
Nergal 8, Shamash 7, Ninib 7, Ishtar 6, Sin 5, Adad and Nusku 3 each,
Nebo, Bel, and Belit two each, Enlil, Asshur, Sarpanitum, Damkina one
each.
Perhaps the most important general fact about the Assyrian hymns is that
the great majority of them are addressed directly to the deity in the
second person, which is the usage of prayer. Moreover a very large
proportion of these can not be called independent literary compositions,
since they are followed by, and are introductory to, prayers, or magical
ceremonies, or the offering of sacrifices. In some cases the prayer is
much longer than the hymn, while in others the prayer shrinks to a very
brief petition, couched in general terms. This has occasioned much
confusion of terminology, some calling a poem a hymn, others naming it a
prayer. It is necessary therefore at this point to attempt to
distinguish clearly between the hymn and the prayer.
The purpose of the hymn is to praise the deity and the emotion behind
the hymn is enthusiasm for the great and glorious god; for his power,
for his wisdom, for his great achievements. The genuine hymn,
accordingly, is objective rather than subjective. The prayer, on the
other hand, is concerned with the relationship of worshipper and deity.
The worshipper is in trouble and looks to the deity for forgiveness, or
prosperous and turns to the deity with gratitude. The prayer is
accordingly subjective rather than objective. In the hymn, the deity is
prominent; in the prayer the worshipper. Prayers are most naturally
addressed to the deity in the second person, while the hymn, in which
the worshipper recedes into the background and the thought is of God
alone, would more naturally employ the third person. Since then these
Assyrian hymns are in the second person, which is the usage of prayer,
and since the vast majority of these hymns are actually followed by
prayers, it is best to begin with the hymns which are clearly only
hymnal introductions to prayers, and then to pass by way of those, in
which the petition is secondary and unimportant, to that which
approaches the genuine independent hymn. It seems at least possible that
the Assyrian hymn is an evolution from the hymnal introduction of the
prayers.
Beginning then with class I of Assyrian hymns, the hymnal introductions
to prayers, it is to be further observed, that these prayers are temple
prayers. Marduk No. 9 has fourteen lines of directions for the
performance of certain ceremonies, after which the priest is instructed
to take the hand of the sick man and repeat the psalm, of which lines 17
to 44 are the hymnal portion, and 45 to 94 the prayer proper. So also
Marduk No. 12 states in lines 1 to 5 of the text that the Urugallu
priest is to arise in the first hour of the night on the second day of
Nisan, wash in river water, put on a linen garment, and repeat the
psalm; of which lines 6 to 28 are hymnal, 29 to 32 petition the favor of
the deity for the city Babylon and the temple Esagila.
In a hymn to Marduk No. 11, the connecting link between the hymnal
portion and the petition is: “I, the Urugallu priest of Ekur, would
speak the favorable word.”
A hymn to Ishtar No. 3 is followed by an enumeration of the sacrifices
for the goddess and of presents for the temple servants. Above all, the
hymns are in such a uniform and formal style, and the gods are so
frequently addressed as lords of such and such temples that one is
compelled to look to the temple as the birthplace and home of many of
these Assyrian hymns.
It is altogether natural that there should be a hymnal introduction to
the temple prayer. The Assyrian god in his temple is as the king in his
palace. He must not be approached abruptly or brusquely. Indeed the
Assyrian gods are kings, queens, princes. Consequently the formal court
style is used in addressing them. It is not used rigidly in all hymns,
but it is the norm from which it is advisable to take our departure. An
example of this formal court style is Nergal No. 1.
O lord mighty and exalted, first born of Nunammir,
Prince of the Annunaki, lord of the battle,
Offspring of Kutushar, the mighty queen,
O Nergal, strong one of the gods, darling of Ninnenna.
Thou treadest in the high heavens, lofty is thy place.
Thou art great in Hades, there is none like thee
With Ea, in the multitude of the gods, is thy council preëminent.
With Sin in the heavens thou see’st through everything.
Given thee has Bel, thy father the black headed race, all living
creatures,
The living creatures of the field he has entrusted to thy hand.
Assyrian hymns of class I can be divided into two portions, the first
portion, the invocation, the second portion, the ascription of praise.
It is especially the invocation in which the court style is seen. Every
member at the court of a monarchy has an official title, be that member
king, queen, prince or noble. That title consists first of all in the
lineage or genealogy by virtue of which he has his rank. So it is with
the Assyrian deity. Thus the hymn to Nebo No. 1 begins:
O lord, first born of Marduk,
O Nebo lofty offspring of Sarpanitum.
A hymn to Ninib No. 1:
O strong son, first born of Bel,
Great perfect son of Isara.
A hymn to Nergal No. 1:
O lord, mighty and exalted, first born of Nunammir,
Prince of the Annunaki, lord of the battle.
Offspring of Kutushar, the mighty queen, Ninnenna,
O Nergal, strong one of the gods, darling of Ninnenna.
Hymn to Marduk No. 7:
O mighty, powerful, strong one of Eridu,
O noble, exalted, first-born of Ea.
Just as the king’s title includes mention of the provinces and countries
over which he holds sway, so the god is to be addressed as lord of those
cities and temples, in which he is recognized and honored. Nebo is:
Lord of Ezida, protection of Borsippa.[1]
Marduk is:
Marduk, the mighty, who causeth Itura to rejoice;[2]
Lord of Isagila, help of Babylon, lover of Ezida.
Sin is:
Father Nannar, lord of Ur, chief of the gods,[3]
Father Nannar, lord of Egissirgal, chief of the gods.
Nusku is:
God of Nippur, leader and counsellor of the gods.[4]
The sway of the gods was extended however far beyond their temples and
temple cities. Marduk is not merely “King of Ezida, lord of Emachtila,”
he is “Marduk, lord of the lands,” and “Marduk, king of heaven and
earth.”[5] So also Ishtar is “Ishtar, queen of all peoples, directress
of mankind”;[6] while Shamash is:
Shamash, king of heaven and earth,[7]
Ruler of things above and below.
It would be expected that the gods would have official duties at the
heavenly court, and that these offices would be included in their
titles. Opposed to this, however, must have been the tendency of the
worshippers to exalt their own special deity to a supreme position; and
this would tend to bring with it the elimination of all titles that
would suggest a subordinate position, and they would be inclined at the
same time to attribute to their own deity those offices, for which other
deities were famed. Nebo however is addressed as
Nebo, bearer of the tablets of destiny of the gods, director of
Esagila.[8]
Nusku is:
Protector of the sacrificial gifts of all the Igigi,[9]
Messenger of Anu, who brings Bel’s commands to fulfilment.
Founder of the cities, renewer of the sanctuaries,[10]
a title quite appropriate for an earthly king but seemingly rather
incongruous when applied to a god.
It is Nusku, leader and counsellor of the great gods,[11] Ninib is
Ninib, mighty god, warrior, prince of the Annunaki, commander of the
Igigi.[12]
It may be said here that we probably owe to the court style the ever
recurring adjectives: “strong,” “mighty,” “powerful,” “perfect,”
“unique,” “glorious,” “noble,” “exalted,” and such nouns as “ruler,”
“governor,” “judge,” “lord,” “prince,” “king,” which have been
transferred from the earthly sovereigns to the gods they worshipped.
Here too it may be pointed out that it is altogether in harmony with
court style that the god’s prowess as a warrior, or wisdom as a
counsellor, or ethical virtues as a ruler should be expressed in his
titles, even as such qualities have been expressed in the titles of
earthly kings.
Not all hymns, however, of class I are, strictly speaking, temple hymns.
The Assyrian deities were not limited to their temples and the cities
over which their sway extended. They were also identified with natural
forces and the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon and the stars. The
Babylonians and Assyrians were impressed by the glory of the rising and
the setting sun, the beauty of the waxing and waning moon; by the
brilliancy of the evening star and the planets and by the grandeur of
the thunder-storm. Certain phenomena also had their deep significance.
An eclipse of the moon might well bode disaster for king and court and
land. The rising of the sun was the auspicious moment for the banishing
of all the demons and all the powers of darkness.
Accordingly we have a group of hymns which do not belong so much to the
temple as to the great out-of-doors. In other words they are nature
hymns. They have such invocations as the following:
O lord, chief of the gods, who alone is exalted on earth and in
heaven.[13]
or thus:
O Sin, O Nannar, mighty one,[14]
Sin who art unique, thou that brightenest
That giveth light unto the nations,
or this:
Sarpanitum, shining star, dwelling in Endul,[15]
Strongest of the goddesses, whose clothing is the light;
Who crossest the heavens, who passest over the earth,
Sarpanitum whose station is lofty.
or this:
Lord, illuminator of the darkness, opener of the face of heaven[16]
or this:
To Nusku mighty lord (lofty) judge,[17]
Shining Light, illuminator of the night, god ...
The following first lines of a hymn are neither invocation nor
ascription, yet how naturally does an appeal made to the sun-god for
freeing of the king from the ban resting upon him, at the moment of the
scattering of darkness before the rising sun, begin with such an hymnal
introduction, as this:
O Shamash, when out of the great mountain thou comest forth,[18]
Out of the great mountain, the mountain of the springs, thou comest
forth,
When out of the mountain, the place of destinies, thou comest forth,
Where heaven and earth meet together out of the heaven’s foundations,—
So far we have been dealing with the first portion of the hymnal
introduction, namely the invocation. We have seen that the court style
would prescribe that the god be addressed by his proper title, which
includes his lineage and his sovereignty over temple and city, or his
exalted place in nature, or both. Naturally however when the sway of the
god extended far beyond temple and city to all lands, to heaven and
earth, it was not so necessary to salute the god as lord of city and
temple. And similarly when the god was exalted to a supreme position
among the gods, the matter of pedigree became secondary. Perhaps this
explains the shortening of the invocation in certain hymns to a single
line:
(Holy) Ishtar, heroine among goddesses,[19]
Thy seat ... in the midst of the bright heavens,
or even to a single word
Lord, warlike art thou, perfect in understanding thro’ thyself,[20]
Ninib, warlike art thou, perfect in understanding thro’ thyself,
Shamash, when out of the great mountain thou comest forth[21]
Shamash, from the foundation of the heavens thou shinest forth[22]
On the other hand, it was easy to expand indefinitely the invocation
from its natural length of four to six lines, until the invocation
became itself hymnal praise of the god. So with Sin No. 5 where the
hymnal invocation to Sin covers 23 lines.
Following the invocation in the hymnal introductions of Assyrian prayers
is the ascription of praise, just as modern prayers frequently begin
with the elements of invocation and ascription. The ascription of praise
may be quite similar in content, but while the invocation assumes
certain attributes of the deity as already recognized and known by
everyone and as having become official titles of the deity, the
ascription definitely assigns virtues or attributes to the deity. The
invocation consists of phrases and adjectival clauses: it makes no
statement. It is simply an extended nominative of address. The
ascription consists of independent sentences, asserting certain
attributes of the deity. It is altogether natural that the humble
worshipper, approaching the god, should assign to that god greatness and
wisdom and authority and might, for this not only pleases the god, but
also tends to awaken sympathy for the helpless and suffering suppliant,
and reminds the deity of his responsibility for the worshippers.
More particularly it is also to be expected that the worshipper assigns
those special virtues or powers to the deity, to which he is about to
make his appeal. Man posits in God that which corresponds to his own
need. Accordingly, correspondence between the ascriptions and the
petitions show the unity of the whole composition and indicate that it
is a prayer. Frequently the suppliant is a sick person, and so naturally
reference is made to the power of the deity to heal:
Shamash, to give life to the dead, to loosen the captive is in thy
hand.[23]
Where thou dost regard, the dead live, the sick arise,
The afflicted is saved from his affliction, beholding thy face.[24]
The cause of his misfortune, the Babylonian seeks not in natural causes,
but in the displeasures of the deity, and this displeasure may be due to
sin. To Ninib he prays:
Free me from sin, remit the transgression,[25]
Take the shame away, remove the sin
and this petition is made to the god of whom he says in the ascription:
From him who sin possesses thou dost remove the sin,[26]
The man with whom his god is angry thou art quick to favor.
If, however, the worshipper feels that he has been unjustly treated,
then he appeals to the justice of God:
The law of all men thou directest.
Eternally just in Heaven art thou.
The just wisdom of the lands art thou.
The pious man thou knowest, the evil man thou knowest[27]
Shamash honors the head of the just man;
Shamash rends the evil man like a thong;
Shamash, the support of Anu and Bel, art thou;
Shamash, lofty judge of heaven and earth art thou.
Here follows the plea for the healing of the king.
As healing of sickness was a magical performance, magical powers are
attributed to the gods, in the hymnal introduction. Thus:
Heaven and earth are thine;
The space of heaven and earth is thine;[28]
The magic of life is thine;
The spittle of life is thine;
The pure incantation of the ocean is thine.
In a Nusku magical text No. 3 Nusku is addressed as:
Mighty in battle, whose attack is powerful,
Nusku, who burns up and conquers the fire
and there follows in the petition:
Burn the sorcerer and the sorceress;
May the life of my sorcerer and my sorceress be destroyed.
In Sin No. 4 the suppliant is one with whom his god and goddess were
angry, upon whom destruction and ruin had come, whose heart was darkened
and soul troubled. It is appropriate that he should say to his god,
The fallen one whom thou seizest thou raisest up;
A judgment of right and justice thou judgest.
The fallen one whom thou seizest thou raisest up;
A judgment of right and justice thou judgest.
He who has sin thou forgivest quickly the sin;
Him against whom his god is angry thou regardest with favor.
In Marduk No. 12 the petition:
To thy city Babylon show favor
corresponds to the ascription:
Bel, thy dwelling is Babylon, Borsippa thy crown.
It has been seen in the case of the invocations that they vary in length
from a single word to twenty-three lines, and it is fairly obvious that
the increasing length of the invocation gives it more and more of hymnal
character. There is a similar variation in the length of the
ascriptions. There are some of a single line:
Thy name is altogether good in the mouth of the people.[29]
Thy name is (spread) in the mouth of men, O protecting God,[30]
Among all gods thy deity is praised.
In other hymnal introductions the ascription is three, six, eight,
eleven, and more lines in length. As the ascription increases in length,
and as the lament and petition of the prayer likewise diminish in
length, and as the ascription of praise changes in character, no longer
corresponding to the petitions of the suppliant, we get the evolution of
the hymn.
In the well-known prayer to Ishtar (No. 7), the hymnal introduction
consists of thirty-seven lines. In it occur such rhetorical questions
as:
Where is thy name not heard, where not thy decrees?
Where are thy images not made, where are thy temples not founded?
Where art thou not great, where art thou not exalted?
Anu, Enlil and Ea have exalted thee; among the gods have they
increased thy dominion.
Yet the last lines of this same hymn are particularly suitable to a
prayer of lamentation and petition:
Where thou dost regard, the dead live, the sick arise;
The afflicted is saved from his affliction, beholding thy face
and this same hymn to Ishtar opens with the words:
I pray unto thee, lady of ladies, goddess of goddesses,
Furthermore, in the hymnal portion is imbedded a lament of four lines,
with the refrain:
How long wilt thou tarry?
Therefore this psalm, although containing hymnal material of exceptional
beauty, is a single composition, a prayer with a hymnal introduction. On
the other hand, Marduk No. 4 has sixteen lines extolling the exploits of
the war god, when the text breaks off. The breaking of the text makes a
decision difficult, but as there is no indication in any of the
ascriptions of praise that a prayer is to follow, one would be inclined
to pronounce it a fragment of a hymn rather than of a prayer.
Marduk No. 1 is actually followed by a prayer of an individual, but
since the hymnal portion consists of thirty-eight lines describing in
large measure mythical feats of the god, one is almost justified in
regarding this hymnal portion as an independent hymn.
On the border line between prayer and hymn is Sarpanitum No. 1. The
petition is a very general one, asking favor for the worshipper, the
king and the sons of Babylon:
To the servant who graciously calls upon thy name, be gracious;
For the king who fears thee determine a good fate;
To the sons of Babylon give generously.
It would seem that this petition might be little more than a pious
conclusion, or even a postscript to the hymn. If this be true, then the
main purpose of the psalm is that of praise, and one must class it among
the hymns, remembering however that it is an evolution from the hymnal
introduction of the prayer.
Very similar is the case of Sin No. 5. In this psalm are twenty-three
lines of invocation, fifteen lines of ascription, and eleven lines of
petition. Moreover the portion which we have called ascription opens
with a couplet of question and answer:
Who is exalted in heaven, thou alone art exalted;
Who is exalted on earth, thou alone art exalted.
This couplet is followed by eight lines in praise of the word of Sin,
expressed however in the second person, not the third. Unfortunately,
the translation of four of the remaining lines is so uncertain that no
conclusion can be drawn from them as to the nature of the whole psalm.
However, the petition at the close is a general one in behalf of temple
and city, and the calling upon the various gods of the pantheon to
placate Sin is a recognition of the supreme place of that deity. Here
again then, as in the case of the hymn to Sarpanitum, we have a hymn,
standing at the end of the line of development of the hymnal
introductions.
We have left of the hymns of Class I, two hymns which have no petition
at the close. The first of these, however, the hymn to Enlil, may be
regarded as introductory to the offering of sacrifices. Nevertheless it
is practically an independent hymn and sung, as the conclusion shows, by
a congregation:
Father Enlil, with song majestically we come. The hymn to Shamash (No.
7) is unique among the Assyrian hymns, because of its length, being four
hundred and twenty-four lines. The style is uniform throughout. In the
beginning of the poem line four is a repetition of line two, and line
three simply adds the name Shamash to line one. As in other hymns so
here the god’s name is held back from the first line in order that it
may be inserted with greater emphasis in the second line. Here too there
are repeated invocations to the god, that is we have an invocation and
ascription of praise, then a second invocation and ascription of praise.
Throughout the poem nearly every line is complete by itself and there is
no strophic arrangement. Nor are there rhetorical questions, nor
questions and answers, to relieve the monotony. Portions of it read like
wisdom literature:
He who receives not a bribe, who has regard for the weak,
Shall be well pleasing to Shamash, he shall prolong his life,
The judge, the arbitrer who gives righteous judgment,
Shall complete a palace, a princely abode for his dwelling place.
He who gives money at usury, what does he profit?
He cheats himself of gain, he empties his purse.
These two features, the great length of the hymn and the presence of
these wisdom passages would seem to indicate a late and somewhat _blasé_
development of the hymn. Not great enthusiasm for the deity, but sober
reflection and the pious wish to say everything possible about the deity
controlled the writer. The complete absence of any magical element,
whether of ceremonies or prayers, shows that there must have been a
considerable hymnal literature of which unfortunately we are not in
possession.
We have seen that the great majority of Assyrian hymns are addressed in
the second person to deity, which is the usage of prayer; that the
temple is the home of these hymns but that a few of them might be called
Nature hymns; that they may be divided into two portions, the invocation
and the ascription of praise; that they are written in the court style,
employing the honorific titles of royalty and nobility; that with very
few exceptions they are followed by petitions for divine help, and that
the ascriptions of praise are frequently so worded as to be little else
than introductory to such petitions; that, as the hymnal portion is
lengthened, and as the lament and petition are shortened until they
disappear entirely, we have the evolution of the hymn; that it begins
with something approaching flattery of the god, as introductory to the
appeal for aid, and develops into a genuine expression of adoration for
deity.
The invocation of the Assyrian hymn corresponds in a loose way to the
call to praise of the Hebrew hymn, and the Ascription of praise
corresponds much more closely to the body of the Hebrew hymn. It exalts
the deity as being great in the midst of the gods, as bearing a glorious
name, as possessor of temples and cities, and as ruler over wide areas,
as the creator and preserver of the physical universe, and as being
himself wise, and powerful, and merciful, a king and judge among gods
and men. Closer attention will be given to the content of the Assyrian
hymn when comparing that content with the content of the Hebrew hymns of
praise.
It ought to be observed that in many instances the Assyrian hymnal
introduction to prayer is clearly attested to be the vehicle of
individual rather than congregational worship. In certain hymns we have
examples of god addressing god in hymnal language, and in connection
with other hymns there are directions for the priest to repeat himself
both hymnal introduction and the petition which follows it. Moreover in
the petition which follows the hymnal introduction a space is frequently
left for the insertion of the name of the suppliant. Still more
important is the fact that in the hymnal introductions themselves the
first personal pronoun frequently occurs:
I pray unto thee, lady of ladies, goddess of goddesses.[31]
I reverence thy name, Marduk, powerful one of the gods,[32]
Regent of heaven and earth.
Lord, leader of the Igigi, I am obedient to thy word.[33]
Strong one, glorious one, begotten of Nunammir
Who art clothed with sublimity, powerful one I will praise thy
name.[34]
On the other hand there is but one example of the actual use of the
first person plural in the hymnal introductions:
Father Enlil with song majestically we come,
The presents of the ground are offered to thee as sacrifice.[35]
It is not contended that the hymnal introductions are strongly
individual in character, showing the marks of individual originality and
genius; on the contrary they are on the whole rather stereotyped and
monotonous in their sameness: neither is it urged that the god of these
hymnal introductions seems to be in any very marked way the god of the
individual human being, but that the hymnal prayer does provide a way
for the individual to approach deity in the sanctuary, and that worship
was accordingly individual as well as social.
For very many of the Assyrian Hymnal Introductions there is no clear and
certain way of determining whether the hymn is congregational or
individual, although the general character of the titles and attributes
ascribed to deity suggests in many instances the social rather than the
individual hymn. However we do have two examples of the processional
hymn. Above we quoted the first two lines of a twenty-five line Sumerian
processional hymn to Enlil. In this case the worshippers are advancing
into the sanctuary bringing with them their sacrificial gifts:
O lord of Sumer figs to thy dwelling we bring.
We have another splendid example of a processional hymn in the hymn to
Marduk, No. 13. It is a hymn of thirty-seven lines, of which the first
thirty lines welcome the god to his temple, while the last seven lines
implore his favor for the cities of Nippur and Sippar and especially for
Babylon and his temple Esagila:
Thy city Nippur cast not away let her cry to thee: O lord peace.
Sippar cast not away let her cry to thee: O lord peace.
Babylon the city of thy peace cast not away let her cry to thee:
O lord peace.
Look graciously upon thy house look graciously upon thy city let
them cry to thee: O lord peace.
This hymn was sung while the great god, Marduk was being conducted in
triumphant procession to his temple:
Return lord, on thine entrance into thy house, may thy house rejoice
in thee.
In the first thirty lines this pious wish is repeated with a succession
of titles for the deity. Then not only the city, but the great Gods one
by one greet Marduk, wishing him on his entrance into his house peace.
But processional hymns were also sung when the god was carried forth
from the temple:
Arise, come out, O Bel the king expects thee.
Arise, come out, our Belit the king expects thee.
Bel comes out from Babylon the lands bow before him.
Sarpanitum comes out fragrant incense is burned.
Tashmitum comes out frankincense full of cypresses is burned.
It has been mentioned that a common motif for praise was the possession
of sanctuaries. It is of interest that out of such hymnal lines as the
following developed the independent hymn in praise of the sanctuary:
Thy house Izida is a house incomparable;[36]
Thy city Borsippa is a city incomparable.
In Ekur, the house of festivals, is thy name exalted.[37]
In Ekur, the temple of holiness, exalted are his decrees.[38]
In Marduk No. 7 and Bel No. 1 we have two fragments of hymns which
apparently were devoted entirely to the praise of the sanctuary, as
these two hymns are not addressed in the second person to deity, the
discussion of them is postponed for a later section.
It is also of interest that hymnal lines in praise of the divine word
tended to develop into the independent hymn in praise of the word. Such
lines are:
Thy word, when it extends to the sea the sea is frightened;[39]
Thy word, when it extends to the marsh the marsh laments.
Thy word, when it is proclaimed in heaven, the Igigi prostrate
themselves.[40]
Thy word, when it is proclaimed on earth, the Annunaki kiss the
ground.
Thy word, when it sounds on high like a stormwind, makes food and
drink to abound.
Thy word, when it sounds over the earth, vegetation springs up.
Thy word, it makes fat stall and stable, it multiplies living
creatures.
Thy word, it causes truth and righteousness to arise so that men
speak the truth.
Thy word, it is like the distant heaven, the hidden underworld,
which no man can see.
Thy word, who can know it, who can compare (anything) with it.
Before concluding this chapter on Assyrian hymnal introductions to
prayers, it is well to give one complete example of such a hymn, the
home of which was the sanctuary:
Strong son, first born of Bel,[41]
Great perfect offspring of Isara,
Who art clothed with might, who art full of fury,
Storm god, whose onslaught is irresistible,
Mighty is thy place among the great gods,
In Ekur, the house of festivals, is thy head exalted.
Bel thy father has granted thee
That the law of all the gods thy hand should hold;
Thou renderest the judgment of mankind;
Thou leadest him that is without a leader, the man that is in need;
Thou graspest the hand of the weak, thou raisest up him that is bowed
down;
The body of the man that to the lower world has been brought down thou
dost restore.
From him who sin possesses the sin thou dost remove;
The man with whom his guardian god is angry, thou art quick to favor.
Ninib, prince among the gods, a warrior art thou.
[There follows a petition for the forgiveness of sins.]
The following hymn, which belongs not so much to the sanctuary as to
Nature, is of peculiar interest because of the light it throws upon
Psalm 19:40-6. Here indeed the Sun god not only runs his course but is
in very truth a bridegroom, and has his tent, and, refreshed by the
banquet he has enjoyed, is strong to run his race:
Shamash, at thy entrance into the midst of heaven,[42]
May the door of the pure heaven greet thee,
May the gate of heaven bless thee;
May justice, thy beloved messenger, direct thy way;
In Ebarra the seat of thy sovereignty, let thy sublimity shine,
May Ea, thy beloved wife, come before thee with joy,
May thy heart be at rest,
May for thy divinity a banquet be prepared.
Shamash, warrior hero, be praised.
Lord of Ebarra, may thy course be guided aright,
Walk the straight path, go upon the course permanently fixed for you.
Shamash, judge of the world, determiner of its decisions art thou.
The following delightful fragment of a hymn to Shamash seems to belong
even more to Nature’s out of doors than the preceding hymn:
[Beginning of tablet broken.]
Lord, illuminator of the darkness, opener of the face of [heaven][43]
Merciful God, who raisest up the lowly, who protectest the weak,
For thy light wait the great gods
The Annunaki all of them gaze upon thy face
The mortals all together as a single individual thou leadest.
Expectant with raised head they look for the light of the sun;
When thou appearest they exult and rejoice;
Thou art their light unto the ends of the distant heaven.
Of the wide earth the object of attention art thou;
There gaze upon thee with joy numerous peoples.
[Text breaks off.]
Corresponding to this hymn to the Sun God, the following hymn to the
Moon God, Sin, is likewise very beautiful:
O Sin, O Nannar, mighty one,[44]
Sin who art unique, thou that brightenest,
That givest light unto the nations,
That unto the human race art favorable,
Bright is thy light in heaven,
Brilliant is thy flame like the fire god.
Thy brightness fills the broad earth;
The mortals rejoice, they grow strong who see thee.
O Anu of the heavens whose purpose no man understands,
Overwhelming is thy light like Shamash thy first born;
Before thy face the great gods bow down, the fate of the world is
determined by thee.
Chapter VII
ASSYRIAN ANTIPHONAL HYMNS
There is also among the Assyrian hymns addressed in the second person to
deity a group of hymns, which are distinguished by refrains, frequent
repetitions of a phrase or clause, or marked parallelisms of lines. It
is, however, in most cases very difficult to know whether the hymn is
actually antiphonal or not.
Nergal No. 4 is a hymn fragment of ten lines. For the first eight lines,
the second half of each line is the refrain: “Destroyer of the hostile
land,” while the first half of each line gives a separate title of the
god. Thus:
Warrior raging flood ..., destroyer of the hostile land;
Warrior, lord of the underworld, destroyer of the hostile land;
God that comest forth from Shitlam, destroyer of the hostile land;
Great steer, mighty lord, destroyer of the hostile land.
One would be inclined to suggest that a priest chanted the first half
line and a choir the refrain. The difficulty is that elsewhere we have
such refrains where an individual is the speaker.
In a hymn to Ramman (No. 3) Enlil thus addressed his son Ramman:
Thou, O my son, thou storm with all seeing eyes,
Thou storm god with vision from on high;
Ramman, thou storm,
Thou storm god with vision from on high;
Thou storm who like the seven demons flieth,
Thou storm god with vision from on high.
Storm, may thy sonorous voice give forth its utterance,
Thou storm god with vision from on high.
The lightning thy messenger send forth,
Thou storm god with vision from on high.
The next five lines, still continuing the message of Enlil to his son,
has the refrain: “Who can strive with thee.”
My son, go forth, go up, who that cometh can strive with thee?
If the foe do harm, the father is over thee, who can strive with thee?
With the small hail stones thou art skillful, who can strive with
thee?
With the great hail stones thou art skillful, who can strive with
thee?
Let thy small and great stones be upon him, who can strive with thee?
Since these two refrains are both in a passage spoken by an individual,
it must be concluded that in this hymn at any rate the refrain is used,
not for antiphonal rendering, but for impressiveness, perhaps for
magical power.
In the light of the above fact, it is altogether possible that the
refrain occurring eight times in the invocation to Sin (Sin No. 5) may
have been recited by the priest, and not by the choir in antiphonal
response to the priest. The refrain differs from the preceding examples
in that the titles of deities which lend variety to the lines are
imbedded in the middle of the refrain:
Father Nannar, lord Anshar, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, lord great Anu, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, lord Sin, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, lord of Ur, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, lord of Egishirgal, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, lord of the tiara, brilliant one, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, whose rule is perfect, chief of the gods;
Father Nannar, who dost go forth in the robe of majesty, chief of
the gods.
A fragment of a hymn to Nebo (Nebo No. 2) has in a passage of five lines
yet a different use of the refrain. The refrain which makes up the
second half of each line is varied in three lines by the introduction of
a new word from the first half line:
O lord, thy might is a might incomparable;
O Nebo, thy might is a might incomparable;
Thy house Ezida is a house incomparable;
Thy city Borsippa is a city incomparable;
Thy district of Babylon is a district incomparable.
The carrying forward in the refrain of the important word of the first
half line does suggest very forcibly that an individual chanted the
first half line, and a choir the second half line. The same arrangement
would hold for the couplet that follows the above lines, the second line
of the couplet being a response to the first.
Thy weapon is a dragon from whose mouth no poison flows;
Thy weapon is a dragon from whose mouth no blood sprays.
But mere arrangement in couplets and close parallelisms seems
insufficient to prove the presence of responses, for in a hymn to Nebo
(Nebo No. 4) it is Nusku who speaks, though the couplet would suggest a
response:
Lord, warlike art thou, perfect in understanding through thyself,
Ninib, warlike art thou, perfect in understanding through thyself.
Likewise the priest, we are informed, speaks in the following couplet:
Bel, to whom in his strength there is no equal,
Bel, gracious king, lord of the lands.
(Marduk No. 12.)
So also the hymnal introduction of the two following couplets is to the
prayer of an individual:
Thou treadest in the high heavens, lofty is thy place;
Thou art great in Hades there is none like thee.
With Ea in the multitude of the gods is thy counsel preëminent
With Sin in the heavens thou see’st through everything.
(Nergal No. 1.)
There are two long hymns to Nergal (Nergal No. 5 and No. 6) in which the
antiphonal response seems to be a certainty. In Nergal No. 5 the
response, coming in the second line, consists of the words: “God Nergal”
followed by an additional word or phrase borrowed from the preceding
line.
Warrior whose terribleness ...
God Nergal, Warrior;
Prince of the shining face and flaming mouth ...
God Nergal, Prince of the Shining Face;
Legitimate son, favorite of Bel, Great Guardian ...
God Nergal, Legitimate Son;
Chief of the great gods Clothed in grandeur and splendor ...
God Nergal, Chief;
Mighty one over the Annunaki Whose splendor is terrifying ...
God Nergal, Mighty One
Lord of the raised head, Lofty one, favorite of Ekur ...
God Nergal, Lord of the Raised Head
High one of the great gods Whose judgment and decision ...
God Nergal, High One
Lofty giant Who spittest out poison ...
God Nergal, Lofty Giant
Of gigantic size with terrible limbs, raging demons to right and left
of him,
God Nergal, of Gigantic Size
Of tremendous power, whose blow is effective, crouches a demon at his
side,
God Nergal, of Tremendous Power;
Great sword god, at the noise of whose feet the barred house opens,
God Nergal, Great Sword God
Lord who goeth about by night, to whom bolted doors open of
themselves,
God Nergal, Lord Who Goeth by Night;
Warrior his whip cracks and men cry: “The noise of his weapon”
God Nergal, Warrior His Whip Cracks;
Perfect one, whose strength is overwhelming ...
God Nergal, Perfect One;
Combatter of the enemy of Ekur, the foe of Duranki thou combattest,
God Nergal, Combatter of the Enemy;
Frightful one, raging fire god ...
God Nergal, Frightful One;
Storm flood which overwhelms the disobedient land ...
God Nergal, Storm Flood which Overwhelms.
[Tablet breaks off.]
Since the second line of each of the twenty-five couplets above begins
with the words: “God Nergal” and, then adds the first word or phrase of
the preceding line, it may be called a refrain with variations. Moreover
it would seem probable that a priest chanted the longer first line, and
a choir the second line in response.
Nergal No. 6 opens with an introductory couplet:
Flood watering the harvest knows any one thy name?
Powerful one, flood watering the harvest knows any one thy name?
This usage of repeating the first line and adding a word to it, suggests
that the second line was repeated with greater emphasis, and possibly by
a choir in response to a priest. After this introductory couplet there
follow eleven couplets with a double refrain, made up of the first half
lines of each couplet. Thus:
Powerful one, mighty one, lord of the kingdom of the dead,
Most mighty one, divine scion of Shitlam;
Powerful one, great strong steer,
Most mighty one, lord of Gushidi;
Powerful one, ruler, divine prince of Erech,
Most mighty one, lord of Kutha.
For the eleven such couplets one is inclined to surmise a choir chanting
the refrains, and a priest announcing the titles of the deity. This
seems more probable than that one choir repeated the first line and a
second choir the second line. After two ordinary couplets, marked only
by fairly close parallelism, there follows a triplet in praise of the
incomparable god:
Lord who is like thee who rivals thee?
Most mighty one who is like thee who rivals thee?
Nergal who is like thee who rivals thee?
With the change of the invocation from “Lord” to “Most mighty one” to
“Nergal” the lines undoubtedly grow in intensity until the name Nergal,
which is held back until the third line, would be thundered forth in
that third line with the greatest enthusiasm. Here again it seems highly
probable that a choir chanted the refrain: “Who is like unto thee, who
rivals thee?” The second part of this hymn consists of eighteen lines in
couplets and triplets in praise of the word of Nergal. The ease with
which the second half line follows from the first half line suggests
that here the priest chanted the first half line, and a choir the second
half line.
In this same class of Antiphonal hymns belong two hymns with a veritable
din of repetitions. The first is Sin No. 3. It opens with the formal
invocation:
Thou whose glory in the sacred boat of heaven is self created,
Father Nannar lord of Ur,
Father Nannar lord of Ekissirgal,
Father Nannar lord of the new moon.
Lord Nannar first born son of Enlil.
It is easy to suppose that a priest chanted the entire first line, and
that a choir chanted the first half lines of the next four lines while
the priest supplied in the second half lines the titles of the deity.
There follows what might be regarded as an imitation of the huzzas of a
crowd welcoming a sovereign. Here it is welcoming the ascent of the moon
god in the heavens:
When thou ascendest, when thou ascendest,
When before thy father before Bel thou art glorious,
Father Nannar when thou art glorious, when thou pursuest thy way,
When in the boat that in the heavens ascendest thou art glorious,
Father Nannar when unto Esaguz thou mountest,
Father Nannar when like skiff upon the floods thou ascendest,
When thou ascendest, when thou ascendest, thou when thou ascendest,
In thy rising and in thy completion of thy course, yea in thine
ascension.
After one further couplet the long subordinate clause ends, and the
principal statement is made:
“Hail thou that in the majesty of a king daily rises.”
In the above, the clause: “when thou ascendest” is repeated nine times
and may well have been shouted by the choir or concourse of worshippers.
Nergal No. 7 is a hymn with an even greater complexity of repetitions,
and is somewhat suggestive of the repetitions characteristic of the
Hindu hymns sung to the accompaniment of the rattling Indian drums. The
first fourteen lines are:
Nergal’s heroism I will praise (I will sing)
When with a shout the house of the hostile land the lord attacked,
When Shitlam’s scion the house of the hostile land the lord
attacked,
Shitlam’s scion who alone is a warrior,
(When with a shout) the house of the hostile land the lord
attacked,
When with rejoicing the house of the hostile land the lord
attacked,
The great steer the strong one who alone is a warrior,
When with rejoicing the house of the hostile land the lord
attacked,
When with a shout the house of the hostile land the lord attacked,
an ox bound in the yoke,
When Shitlam’s scion the house of the hostile land the lord
attacked, his creative implement ...
When with a shout the house of the hostile land the lord attacked,
whose reed is in process of growth,
When the great steer the strong one the house of the hostile
land the lord attacked, his raven is black,
When with a shout the house of the hostile land the lord attacked,
When Shitlam’s scion the house of the hostile land the lord
attacked, his raven is white.
[Gap in text.]
As to the rendering of this first part of Nergal No. 7, the first line
“Nergal’s heroism, I will praise, I will sing” makes it certain that an
individual, probably a priest or a choir leader, sang the first line,
and highly probable that he recited the beginnings of each line, and the
new additions to the lines, leaving to the choir to recite the refrain.
The main purpose of the hymn, as announced in the opening line, was to
narrate the heroic exploits of the gods in war against the enemy. The
narration was sung by the leader, and the repetitions, giving clarity
and emphasis, and possibly magical power, were evidently sung by the
choir. The second portion of the hymn, as it is continued beyond the gap
in the inscription until the tablet breaks off, differs from the first
part, in that it largely lacks the repetitions, and in that it does not
employ the third person of the verb, but is addressed directly to deity.
It belongs accordingly among the hymnal introductions.
Finally there is now appended to this chapter the discussion of three
hymns, which might perhaps be better called dramatic rather than
antiphonal compositions. The first hymn is Ishtar No. 6, and it has
three distinct parts. Part I is addressed by the worshipper to the
deity, and consists of eleven lines. In lines 1-7 the worshipper
attempts to set forth clearly certain prominent characteristics of the
deity he is seeking:
Light of heaven, which flames like fire over the earth thou art;
Goddess when over the earth thou standest
One who as the earth stands firm thou art;
Unto thee the way of truth pays homage;
When thou enterest a man’s house,
A leopard gone forth to seize the lamb thou art;
A lion which strides over the plains thou art.
And having thus stated her attributes, the worshipper goes on to summon
the goddess by her names:
Storming Virgin Ornament of heaven,
Virgin Ishtar Ornament of heaven,
Thou who art adorned with the brilliancy of sparkling stones
Ornament of heaven,
Sister of Shamash Ornament of heaven.
Part II is the reply of the deity to the worshipper, announcing first in
a strophe of four lines her appearance and the purpose thereof:
To give omens I rise I arise in perfection;
Beside my father to give omens I rise I arise in perfection;
Beside my brother Shamash to give omens I rise I arise in
perfection;
In the bright heavens to give omens I rise I arise in
perfection.
In the next strophe of four lines she expresses her gratification over
her praise, possibly in allusion to the hymnal lines just sung by her
worshipper or worshippers:
In joy over my praise, in joy over my praise
In joy a goddess I walk proudly.
Ishtar goddess of the evening I am
Ishtar goddess of the evening I am.
Part II concludes in a strophe of seven lines, each line setting forth a
great feat of Ishtar’s, and ending with the clause: “that is my glory.”
Here again it is shown that the presence of a refrain is no certain
proof of antiphonal rendering, since the repetition is in the mouth of
the individual Ishtar. Part III is the petition.
The hymn to Ramman (Adad No. 3) is also a composition in three parts.
Part I, lines 1-14 is a hymn of praise addressed in the second person
directly to Ramman, of which the first ten lines are in praise of the
name of Ramman. The lines are in three divisions, and the first six
lines end with the refrain: “Bull mighty and glorious, is thy name
exalted God.”
Ramman the glorious, bull mighty and glorious, is thy name
exalted God;
Lord Ramman, bull mighty and glorious, is thy name exalted God;
Ramman heaven’s child bull mighty and glorious, is thy name
exalted God;
Lord of Karkar, bull mighty and glorious, is thy name exalted
God;
Ramman, lord of plenty, bull mighty and glorious, is thy name
exalted God;
Companion of Lord Ea bull mighty and glorious, is thy name
exalted God.
The next three lines introduce variety into the second division, while
the tenth line is uniform with the first six, save for a change of
wording in the first division:
Father Ramman lord that rideth the storm is thy name exalted
God;
Father Ramman that rideth the great storm is thy name exalted
God;
Father Ramman that rideth the great lion is thy name exalted
God;
Ramman lion of heaven bull mighty and glorious is thy name
exalted God.
The last four lines of Part I pass over from the praise of the name of
Ramman to praise of the activity of the god of the storm:
Thy name doth dominate the land;
Thy majesty covers the land like a garment;
At thy thunder the great mountain father Mullil is shaken;
At thy rumbling the great mother Ninlil trembles.