Psalms Of Solomon Christian Apocrypha Series

Generally, when we hear the word "psalm", we tend to think of the traditional 150 psalms that collectively comprise the Book of Psalms of the Old Testament. Of those 150 psalms, about half of them are traditionally attributed to David. But, King Solomon is also remembered for being a prolific writer, as the author of numerous biblical books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Wisdom of Solomon, as well as this one. Presented here are King Solomon's lost 18 psalms that make up this apocryphal book, the Psalms of Solomon, just as they were first published in English, along with the original prologue and a brand new, lengthy introduction.

What books were left out of the Bible and why? First issued in 1926, this is the most popular collection of apocryphal and pseudepigraphal literature ever published. Here, in one place, are the infancy gospels, the letter of Jesus to Abgarus, the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Legends of Paul and Thecla, the Epistles of Clement and Barnabus, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Books of Adam and Eve, the Secrets of Enoch, the Psalms and Odes of Solomon, the many Testaments of the Patriarchs, and many more ancient books which were highly revered, but ultimately left out of the Bible.

First published in 1911, this book contains an English translation of the odes and psalms attributed to the biblical king Solomon. Rendel Harris draws on Syriac manuscripts to compose a fluid and poetic translation, and includes a transcription of the Syriac original at the back of the volume.

Psalms of Solomon is an ancient Jewish writing from the Second Century BC. As a primary source written by a Jewish writer living during the turmoil of the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria, who forced Jews to eat non-kosher food, abstain from circumcision, and break the Sabbath Day, Psalms of Solomon accurately depicts the angst and trepidation that seized the whole Jewish populace in Jerusalem. Although the poet-composer of Psalms of Solomon witnessed the eventual victory of Jews over the Syrians in Jerusalem along with other Jewish survivors, he did not see the victory of the Hasmonean Revolt and the Maccabees as a total victory. The Maccabees kicked out the Zadokite priests from the leadership of the Jerusalem Temple when they rededicated the Temple. This Temple leadership of the descendants of Zadok, who was the first High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple, was established by King Solomon and maintained by the descendants of King Solomon. It was understood that the Zadokites continue to be the leaders of the Jerusalem Temple in the Second Temple Period, after returning from the Exile and rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple destroyed by the Babylonians. King David and his descendants would rule over Israel forever, and the Zadokites would be the High Priests of the Jerusalem Temple forever. When the Hasmoneans rededicated the Jerusalem Temple without Zadokite priests in Jerusalem Temple leadership, it was going against tradition held for hundreds of years. But the Jerusalem Jewish populace went along with the Maccabean program of placing their own in the office of the High Priest and top leadership in the Jerusalem Temple against long-held Jewish tradition. The military victory over Syrians made them untouchable heroes. And in the lapse of continuity with past tradition in terms of Jerusalem leadership, the Hasmoneans were not only able to seize the office of the High Priest, but they managed to set in motion the usurpation of kingship by the Hasmoneans. Psalms of Solomon was written by a Zadokite in protest of all that was happening in Jerusalem. The poet-composer wanted the Zadokites back in position in the Jerusalem Temple, as has been the tradition for hundreds of years. But the Zadokite poet-composer could not write a blatant condemnation of the Hasmoneans because the Hasmoneans were already entrenched in their power positions. Thus, the Zadokite poet-composer wrote Psalms of Solomon using metaphors and symbolic language that couched his propaganda for the Zadokites.

Explore new approaches to the Psalms of Solomon The Psalms of Solomon: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts explores a unique pseudepigraphal document that bears witness to the 63 BCE Roman conquest of Jerusalem. Essays address a variety of themes, notably their political, social, religious, and historical contexts, through the lens of anthropology of religion, cognitive science, socioeconomic theory, and more. Contributors include Kenneth Atkinson, Eberhard Bons, Johanna Erzberger, Angela Kim Harkins, G. Anthony Keddie, Patrick Pouchelle, Stefan Schreiber, Shani Tzoref, and Rodney A. Werline.

The Psalms of Solomon, the most important early psalm book outside the canonical psalter, reflects the turmoil of events in the last pre-Christian century and gives an apparently eyewitness account of the first invasions of the Romans into Jerusalem. The Psalm of Solomon provides the most detailed expectation of the Jewish Messiah before the New Testament. Wright's critical edition is the first complete critical edition of the Greek texts of the Psalms of Solomon.