Psalm 73 (Masoretic numbering, psalm 72 in Greek numbering) is the opening psalm of Book 3 of the Book of Psalms 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-knowle ...
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 ...
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 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, as "Only good is God". However, Alexander Kirkpatrick, 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 ...
, 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 Britai ...
'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 ...