Psalm 73 (Masoretic numbering, psalm 72 in Greek numbering) is the opening psalm of Book 3 of the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

and the second of the "

Psalms of Asaph The Psalms of Asaph are the twelve psalms numbered as 50 and 73–83 in the Masoretic Text, and as 49 and 72–82 in the Septuagint. They are located in the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible (which is also called the Old Testament). Scholars have d ...

". It has been categorized as one of the

Wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

Psalms", but some writers are hesitant about using this description because of its "strongly personal tone" and the references in the psalm to the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

(verses 10, ''his people return here'', and 17, ''the sanctuary of God''). In the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

version of the bible and in the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

, this psalm is Psalm 72. Book 3 includes Psalms 73 to 89.Sub-title to in the

New King James Version The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...

Biblical commentator C. S. Rodd argues that the division of the psalms into five books could not have happened before the collection of individual psalms was complete, but must have taken place before the time of

the Chronicler The Chronicler is the author, or group of authors, to whom biblical scholars have attributed the composition of the Books of Chronicles, the Book of Ezra, and the Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;

Verse 1

:''Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.'' It is also possible to render the opening words, with a

marginal note Marginalia (or apostils) are marks made in the margin (typography), margins of a book or other document. They may be scribbles, comments, gloss (annotation), glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, drolleries, or illuminated manuscript, ...

in the

Revised Version The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first and remains the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Versio ...

, as "Only good is God". However,

Alexander Kirkpatrick Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick (25 June 1849 – 22 January 1940) was Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University (1882–1903) and the third Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge (1898–1907). Life Kirkpatrick was born at Lewes, East Su ...

, who makes this observation, argues that "Surely God is good ..." is the preferred form of words.Kirkpatrick, A. (1906)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Psalm 73, accessed 17 February 2022 He suggests that these words represent "the conclusion to which he Psalmisthad been led through the trial of his faith".

Assessment

In the opinion of

Walter Brueggemann Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...

(1984), "in the canonical structuring of the Psalter, Psalm 73 stands at its center in a crucial role. Even if the Psalm is not literarily in the center, I propose that it is centre theologically as well as canonically". This was the favourite psalm of

Martin Buber Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...

, who said about it: "What is it that so draws me to this poem that is pieced together out of description, report and confession, and draws me ever more strongly the older I become? I think it is this, that here a person reports how he attained to the true sense of his life experience and that this sense touches directly on the eternal."

Usage

In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

's ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'', this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.Church of England
Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter
as printed by

John Baskerville John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "wov ...

in 1762, pp. 196ff

References

External links

* in Hebrew and English – Mechon-mamre * King James Bible – Wikisource {{Psalms 073