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Prooemia in Psalmos

INTRODUCTIONS TO THE PSALMS.

55.531 After Moses and his successor Joshua the son of Nun, and those called judges in Israel, when Saul finally took up the kingdom of Israel, and was rejected. God raised up for them a virtuous king, both just and a prophet, who composed the book of 150 Psalms, moved by the Holy Spirit, 55.532 metrically according to the proper meter of his own language, melodiously with rhythm and various instruments and dances and odes, singing them. For he held a harp, and he also had various choirs under him of lesser prophets; for so he called those who attended the prophets; and often he named them sons of prophets, having different instruments, one cymbals, another flutes, another 55.533 drums, another trumpets, another a psaltery and harp, and another singers called bucolic. And each choir had a leader, of whom one was called Asaph, another Jeduthun, another the sons of Korah, another Ethan the Israelite, another Moses the man of God. Therefore, whenever he was moved by the Spirit to prophesy, either concerning the captivity of the people, or concerning their return, or concerning didactic morals, or concerning providence, or concerning the Lord Christ, he would compose each psalm metrically, tending to a single theme (for this reason there are both short and long psalms), and he would deliver it to one choir. But if again he saw fit in the middle of the psalm to hand over the remainder of the psalm to another choir, then this succession of the psalm was called Diapsalma. Thus also when to the so-called singers, that is, the bucolics, in the middle of the psalm he wished to hand it over, then it was called an Ode of Diapsalma; since the singers in succession received the remainder of the psalm to sing.

And it is possible for one who wishes to learn about this from what is written in the Chronicles of the kingdoms thus: And he sang this ode in the hand of Asaph the prophet. After he first delivered the psalm, then each choir, both by itself and in unison with delight and rhythm, some with these instruments, others with those, sang the psalm antiphonally with dancing, to the glory and praise of God.

And it is also possible to learn about this again, how 55.534 David himself, having recovered the ark from the foreigners, danced before it, and being reproached by his own wife Michal, he said: I will play and make merry before the Lord. For not only did he not cease, but he also promised to intensify such things. Some, not having paid attention to the order and accuracy, nor having wished to be taught these things by those who know, have turned to allegories, declaring that not all the psalms are by David, but saying they are clearly by those who received them from him; which the Lord or an apostle never mentioned of any other concerning a psalm, except of David. We therefore depict him seated, and the choirs before him on the right and on the left, so that one may know also the spectacle of this arrangement. And after these things, speaking also of those psalms he was deemed worthy to prophesy concerning the economy of the Lord, having varied them in their composition and diversely alternated their form concerning the passion and resurrection of his humanity. Likewise also that in his divinity he is eternal and creator of all things and renewer of the universe, to whom the whole purpose of the God-inspired Scripture looks. Choir of Jeduthun, choir of the sons of Korah, choir of Ethan the Israelite, choir of Asaph, choir of Moses the man

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Prooemia in Psalmos

ΠΡΟΟΙΜΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΨΑΛΜΩΝ.

55.531 Μετὰ τὸν Μωϋσέα καὶ τὸν τούτου διάδοχον Ἰησοῦν τοῦ Ναυῆ, καὶ τοὺς λεγομένους κριτὰς ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, ἐπιλαβομένου λοιπὸν τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ Σαοὺλ, καὶ ἀποδοκιμασθέντος. ἤγειρεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς βασιλέα ἐνάρετον, δίκαιόν τε καὶ προφήτην, ὃς συνέταξε τὴν βίβλον Ψαλμῶν ρνʹ, ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου 55.532 κινούμενος, ἐμμέτρως κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τὸ ἴδιον τῆς ἰδίας γλώσσης, ἐμμελῶς μετὰ ῥυθμοῦ καὶ ὀργάνων διαφόρων καὶ ὀρχήσεων καὶ ᾠδῶν αὐτοὺς ᾄδων. Ἦν γὰρ οὗτος κατέχων κιθάραν, εἶχε δὲ καὶ διαφόρους χοροὺς ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν μικρῶν προφητῶν· οὕτω γὰρ ἐκάλει τοὺς παραμένοντας τοῖς προφήταις· πολλάκις δὲ καὶ υἱοὺς προφητῶν αὐτοὺς ὠνόμασεν, ἐχόντων διάφορα ὄργανα, τοῦ μὲν κύμβαλα, τοῦ δὲ αὐλοὺς, τοῦ 55.533 δὲ τύμπανα, τοῦ δὲ σάλπιγγας, τοῦ δὲ ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν, τοῦ δὲ ᾠδοὺς τοὺς λεγομένους βουκολίους. Ἕκαστος δὲ χορὸς ἔξαρχον εἶχεν, ὧν ὁ μὲν ἐλέγετο Ἀσὰφ, ἄλλος δὲ Ἰδιθοὺμ, ἕτερος υἱοὶ Κορὲ, ἄλλος Ἐθὰμ Ἰσραηλίτου, ἕτερος Μωϋσέως ἀνθρώπου Θεοῦ. Ἡνίκα τοίνυν ἐκινεῖτο ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος προειπεῖν, ἢ περὶ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τοῦ λαοῦ, ἢ περὶ τῆς ἐπανόδου αὐτῶν, ἢ περὶ ἠθῶν διδασκαλικῶν, ἢ περὶ προνοίας, ἢ περὶ τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ, συνετίθει ἐμμέτρως τὸν ψαλμὸν ἕκαστον εἰς μίαν ὑπόθεσιν συντείνοντα (διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ μικροὶ καὶ μεγάλοι ψαλμοὶ), καὶ παρεδίδου ἑνὶ χορῷ. Εἰ δὲ πάλιν ἐδοκίμασε κατὰ τὸ μέσον τοῦ ψαλμοῦ καὶ ἄλλῳ χορῷ παραδοῦναι τὸ λοιπὸν τοῦ ψαλμοῦ, τότε αὐτὴ ἡ διαδοχὴ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ἐκαλεῖτο ∆ιάψαλμα. Ὥστε καὶ ὅταν τοῖς λεγομένοις ᾠδοῖς, ἤτοι βουκολίοις, κατὰ μέσον τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ἠθέλοντα (sic) παραδοῦναι, τότε ἐκαλεῖτο Ὠδὴ διαψάλματος· ἐπειδήπερ οἱ ᾠδοὶ ἐκ διαδοχῆς παρελάμβανον τὸ λοιπὸν τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ᾄδειν.

Μαθεῖν δὲ ἔνεστι τῷ βουλομένῳ περὶ τούτου ἐκ τοῦ γεγράφθαι ἐν ταῖς Παραλιπομέναις τῶν βασιλειῶν οὕτως· Καὶ ᾖσε τὴν ᾠδὴν ταύτην ἐν χειρὶ Ἀσὰφ τοῦ προφήτου. Μετὰ τὸ παραδοῦναι δὲ οὗτος πρῶτος τὸν ψαλμὸν, λοιπὸν ἕκαστος χορὸς καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὁμοθυμαδὸν μετὰ τέρψεως καὶ ῥυθμοῦ, τῶν μὲν ἐν τούτοις ὀργάνοις, τῶν δὲ ἐν ἐκείνοις, ἀντιφώνως ᾖδον τὸν ψαλμὸν μετὰ ὀρχήσεως, εἰς δόξαν καὶ αἶνον Θεοῦ. Ἔνεστι δὲ πάλιν καὶ περὶ τοῦτο μαθεῖν, ὡς 55.534 αὐτὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ ὁ ∆αυῒδ ἀναλαβὼν ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων τὴν κιβωτὸν, ὠρχήσατο ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῆς, καὶ ὀνειδισθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας γυναικὸς Μελχὼ, ἔφη· Παίξομαι καὶ γελάσομαι ἐναντίον Κυρίου. Οὐ μόνον γὰρ οὐκ ἐπαύσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιτείνειν τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐπηγγείλατο. Τινὲς δὲ μὴ προσεσχηκότες τῇ τάξει καὶ τῇ ἀκριβείᾳ, μηδὲ θελήσαντες ἐκ τῶν εἰδότων ταῦτα διδαχθῆναι, εἰς ἀλληγορίας ἐτράπησαν, μηδὲ πάντας εἶναι τοὺς ψαλμοὺς ἀποφηνάμενοι τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παραλαμβανόντων φανεροὺς εἰρηκότες· ὅπερ ποτὲ ὁ Κύριος ἢ ἀπόστολός τινος ἑτέρου περὶ ψαλμοῦ οὐκ ἐμνημόνευσεν, εἰ μὴ τοῦ ∆αυΐδ. ∆ιαγράφομεν οὖν αὐτὸν καθεζόμενον, καὶ τοὺς χοροὺς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ δεξιᾷ καὶ ἀριστερᾷ, ὅπως γνῷ τις καὶ τὴν θέαν αὐτῆς τῆς τάξεως. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα λέγοντες καὶ οὓς αὐτὸς ἠξιώθη προειπεῖν ψαλμοὺς περὶ τῆς τοῦ ∆εσπότου οἰκονομίας, ποικίλως αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ συνθέσει καὶ διαφόρως ἐναλλάξας τῷ σχήματι περὶ πάθους καὶ ἀναστάσεως τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος αὐτοῦ. Ὁμοίως καὶ ὅτι τῇ θεότητι ἀΐδιος καὶ δημιουργὸς τῶν ἁπάντων ἐστὶ καὶ ἀνακαινιστὴς τοῦ παντὸς, πρὸς ὃν ἀφορᾷ πᾶς ὁ σκοπὸς τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς. Χορὸς Ἰδιθοὺμ, χορὸς τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ, χορὸς Ἐθὰμ τοῦ Ἰσραηλίτου, χορὸς Ἀσὰφ, χορὸς Μωϋσέως ἀνθρώπου