TOM · The Owner's Manual · Old Testament

Psalm 151

Psalm 151 in 30 seconds

Outside the number, from the Greek. David remembers: the youngest son, the shepherd, the anointing and Goliath.

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The Shepherd Boy Anointed// 1 Samuel 16:1–13; 17:32–51

[This psalm is David's own, though it is outside the number. When he fought Goliath one on one.

¹I was small among my brothers,

and the youngest in my father's house;

I tended my father's sheep.

PS 151:1[TEXT]PSALM 151 IS IN BRACKETS. It is in the Greek Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, but not in the Hebrew Bible, which ends at 150. Its own title says it is outside the number. Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches read it as Scripture; Jews, Catholics and Protestants do not. The Hebrew version in the Great Psalms Scroll, 11QPs a, is longer and in two parts, called 151A and 151B, and it names Samuel as the prophet who anointed David. Tradition says David wrote it, and both versions say so. Most scholars think someone wrote it later in David's voice. It retells 1 Samuel 16 and 17. This translation is The Owner's Manual's own, from the Greek. See the Big Question Psalm 151.

²My hands made an instrument;

my fingers tuned a lyre.

³And who will tell my Lord?

The Lord Himself; He Himself hears.

⁴He sent His messenger

and took me from my father's sheep,

and anointed me with His anointing oil.

PS 151:4[TEXT]HIS MESSENGER. The Greek word is angelos, which means messenger or angel. 1 Samuel 16 says God sent the prophet Samuel, and the Hebrew version in the scroll names Samuel.
PS 151:4[NOTE]THE OVERLOOKED SHEPHERD BOY. God passed over the tall older brothers and anointed the youngest, 1 Samuel 16:7. Many Christians see a picture here of the Son of David, chosen by God though men overlooked Him.

⁵My brothers were handsome and tall,

but the Lord was not pleased with them.

⁶I went out to meet the Philistine,

and he cursed me by his idols.

PS 151:6[NOTE]CURSED ME BY HIS IDOLS. The Philistine cursed David by his gods, 1 Samuel 17:43. The Greek calls him the foreigner, allophylos, its usual word for a Philistine.

⁷But I drew his own sword and cut off his head,

and I took away the disgrace from the sons of Israel.]

PS 151:7[NOTE]HIS OWN SWORD. David killed Goliath and cut off his head with the giant's own sword, 1 Samuel 17:51.

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Outside the Number

Psalm 151 · 1 Samuel 16 to 17 · 11QPs a

WHERE IT IS: In the oldest complete Greek Bibles, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, right after Psalm 150. Its title says it is David's own, though it is outside the number.
THE HEBREW VERSION: A longer Hebrew form is near the end of the Great Psalms Scroll, 11QPs a, from Qumran Cave 11, copied about 30 to 50 AD. It has two parts, called 151A and 151B. 151A names Samuel, says David made music to God, and that the mountains and hills do not speak for Him, but the trees and the flock loved David's songs. 151B starts the Goliath story but breaks off.
NOT IN THE HEBREW BIBLE: The Hebrew Bible, the Aleppo and Leningrad codices, ends at Psalm 150.
PROPHECY?: None. At most, many see a picture: the overlooked shepherd boy whom God anointed king, like the Son of David whom men rejected.

Codex Sinaiticus · Codex Vaticanus · Codex Alexandrinus

WHO COUNTS IT AS SCRIPTURE: The Eastern Orthodox churches and the Oriental Orthodox churches, like the Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian and Syriac, read it as part of the Bible. Jews, Catholics and Protestants do not. Old Syriac Bibles also kept four more extra psalms.
WHO WROTE IT? THE TRADITIONAL VIEW: Tradition says David wrote it, and both the Greek and Hebrew versions say so.
THE SCHOLARS' VIEW: Most scholars think someone wrote it later in David's voice, looking back on 1 Samuel 16 and 17.
WHY IT IS IN BRACKETS HERE: The brackets mean it is not part of the Hebrew Psalms. They do not mean it is missing from the oldest copies: the oldest Greek Bibles have it.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: It is old, it is short, and it tells the Bible's own story: God sees the heart, not the height, 1 Samuel 16:7.