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Psalm 151

David recalls his life as a shepherd, his anointing and his defeat of the Philistine in this short psalm.^{1 2 3}

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At a glance

Length: 7 verses in the Greek form.^{2 3}
Genre: A psalm retelling David’s early story.^{5 sources}5 sources1. this site's data 4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51
Languages: Greek, Latin and Syriac witnesses, and a Hebrew form from Qumran.^{8 9}
Attributed to: David, in the Greek heading.^{2 3}

Summary

David recalls being anointed despite his brothers’ impressive appearance. The youngest brother and shepherd who made a musical instrument becomes the man who beheads the Philistine with his own sword. The Greek heading places this psalm outside the numbered collection. Biegas reports that James Sanders published a Hebrew form in the Cave 11 Psalms Scroll in 1965.^{7 sources}7 sources2. this site's data 3. Swete 1. this site's data 8. Biegas 9. Pajunen 10. Biegas 11. Biegas

The youngest brother
Psalm 151 1:1–3
David recalls tending sheep and making a musical instrument.¹
Chosen over his brothers
Psalm 151 1:4–5
David recalls being taken from the flock and anointed, although his brothers were tall and handsome.¹
The Philistine defeated
Psalm 151 1:6–7
David recalls beheading his opponent with the Philistine’s own sword.¹

Stories

The shepherd is anointed
Psalm 151 1:4–5
The poem retells David’s selection from among his brothers, a story also told in 1 Samuel 16.^{5 sources}5 sources1. this site's data 4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51
David and Goliath
Psalm 151 1:6–7
Swete and Biegas read Psalm 151 as a poetic retelling of David’s story in 1 Samuel 16–17.^{6 sources}6 sources2. this site's data 3. Swete 4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

2 Samuel 6:5 · Psalm 151 1:2medium confidence
Swete associates David’s music here with other biblical descriptions of his music, including 2 Chronicles 29:26.^{4 sources}4 sources4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51
Psalms 78:70 · Psalm 151 1:4–5medium confidence
Swete notes echoes of David’s selection in Psalms 78:70 and 89:20.^{4 sources}4 sources4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51

Retellings

1 Samuel 16:11–13 · Psalm 151 1:4–5medium confidence
Swete (1900) and Biegas (2018) read Psalm 151 as retelling David's story in 1 Samuel 16–17; Swete also points to 1 Samuel 16:7.^{4 sources}4 sources4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51
1 Samuel 17:51 · Psalm 151 1:7medium confidence
The ending recalls David using the Philistine’s own sword. Swete also notes parallels in 1 Samuel 17:26,43.^{5 sources}5 sources1. this site's data 4. Swete 5. Biegas 6. 1 Samuel 16:11–13 7. 1 Samuel 17:51

Where each church stands

Psalm 151 Full table →

Protestant: Not included
Not in Article VI's list.
¹²
Catholic: Not included
Trent: a Psalter 'of a hundred and fifty psalms'; not in the 1592 Vulgate appendix.
^{13 14}
Greek Orthodox: Scripture (after Psalm 150, titled 'outside the number')^{15 16}
Russian (Slavonic) Orthodox: Varies (Psalm 151)
Printed after Psalm 150 with a note that it is translated from the Greek and absent from the Hebrew.
Confidence: medium¹⁷
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo: Scripture (part of Psalms)
Inferred from Cowley's statement that the LXX additions to Psalms are present; he does not name Psalm 151.
Confidence: medium¹⁸

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Swete reports that Sinaiticus treats Psalm 151 as part of the Psalter, while Alexandrinus excludes it from the Psalter proper. Athanasius called it David’s work and Psalm 151. The Orthodox Study Bible lists 151 psalms, against 150 for Catholics and Protestants. Trent defined a Psalter of 150.^{19 20 21}

Kept

Early church: Greek

According to Swete, Athanasius’s Letter to Marcellinus recommends singing Psalm 151 in praise of God’s choice of David.¹⁹

Left out

Catholic

Trent’s explicit definition of 150 psalms leaves this song outside that collection.²¹

Sources

21 sources from 17 works

1
Checked in this site's verse database: Psalm 151:1-7 (WEB)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
How this was derived
SELECT std_ref, text FROM verses WHERE work_id='web' AND std_book='AddPs' ORDER BY std_ref
2
Checked in this site's verse database: Psalm 151 heading and verse count (WEB, Brenton Greek)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
How this was derived
SELECT work_id, count(*), min(std_ref) FROM verses WHERE std_book='AddPs' AND work_id IN ('web','lxx-brenton-gr') GROUP BY work_id ORDER BY work_id
3
H. B. Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (Cambridge, 1900), p. 252-253↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
H. B. Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (1900)
- 4
  p. 253↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
- 19
  p. 252↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
Marcin Biegas, “Postać Dawida w hebrajskiej wersji Psalmu 151 (11Q5)”
6
1 Samuel 16:11–13↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
7
1 Samuel 17:51↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
9
Mika S. Pajunen, The Use of Different Aspects of the Deuteronomistic Ideology in Apocryphal Psalms, BZAW 419 (2011), repository reprint p. 3 n. 5↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
12
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571), Article VI, as printed in E. J. Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1919)↩
13
Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures↩
14
Sixto-Clementine Vulgate (1592), preface to the Appendix (Prayer of Manasseh, 3–4 Esdras)↩
15
Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece, online Old Testament (Septuagint text)↩
16
The Orthodox Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2008), front matter (contents, introduction, canon table)↩
17
Russian Synodal Bible, as published by Azbuka Very (azbyka.ru): contents and chapter notes↩
18
R. W. Cowley, 'The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Today', Ostkirchliche Studien 23 (1974) 318–323↩
20
The Orthodox Study Bible (2008), canon table, p. xiii↩^a ↩^b
21
Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures, tr. J. Waterworth (1848)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c

Psalm 151

At a glance

Summary

Contents

The youngest brother

Chosen over his brothers

The Philistine defeated

Stories

The shepherd is anointed

David and Goliath

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Retellings

Where each church stands

Psalm 151 Full table →

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Kept

Early church: Greek

Left out

Catholic

Sources

Report a problem

At a glance

Summary

Contents

The youngest brother

Chosen over his brothers

The Philistine defeated

Stories

The shepherd is anointed

David and Goliath

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Retellings

Where each church stands

Psalm 151 Full table →

Why some kept it, why others left it out

Kept

Early church: Greek

Left out

Catholic

Related books

Sources

Report a problem