The ninety-first psalm is the 91st psalm from the book of the Psalter (in the Masoretic numbering , the 92nd). Dedicated to the Sabbath ( Shabbat ).
Content
- 1 The writing and authorship of the psalm
- 2 Psalm Content
- 3 liturgical use
- 4 Notes, links
Psalm is written and authored
The Psalm has the inscription “Psalm. Song on the Sabbath ”( Hebrew מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת ). Nothing definite can be said about authorship and time of writing; it is known, however, that this psalm was in liturgical use among the Jews already in the era of the Second Temple . According to Jewish tradition, the original version of this psalm was written by Adam , the first man. Adam was created on the sixth day of creation, that is, on Friday ( Genesis 1:27 ), and when evening came (when it was already Saturday, since, according to the Bible, a new day begins with sunset), he sang a song to God, which was then finalized by Moses , who wrote the final text of the psalm.
Psalm Content
In terms of content, the ninety-first psalm is similar to the previous, much more famous, ninety psalm. It also praises the good that God does to the righteous; but unlike the 90th psalm, the text of the psalm is not a speech addressed to the righteous, but rather a thank-you prayer of the righteous, enjoying the Sabbath rest.
Liturgical use
The ninety-first psalm was probably originally intended for liturgical use in the Jerusalem temple. It was performed by the Levites , according to its inscription, during the Saturday service.
In modern Judaism, the psalm is read in Saturday prayers - a total of three times a day. In the Sabbath rite, the psalm is read immediately after the main hymn (“ Lech Dodi ”), and thus opens the Sabbath prayers. In the morning prayer of the Sabbath, the psalm is read twice, and on holidays that do not coincide with the Sabbath - once.
In Orthodoxy, verses 2-3, 16 of this psalm are used as the first daily antiphon (with a refrain: “By the prayers of the Virgin, Save us, save us”) .