Three generations are depicted in today’s psalm - a transition of legacy that became the royal Davidic dynasty lasting four hundred years. The psalm begins with an obscure notation -- ‘of Solomon’ - unclear if it means it was written by David’s heir, or by David - for his son, or by some author pretending to be either one of them.
And the psalm ends with another mystery - the only time David’s father, Jesse, is mentioned in this book.
Perhaps there is more to the presence of this generational handover that meets the eye, and perhaps, as some suggest, it is a clerical error that created a creative tapestry of storytelling.
Psalm 72 ends the second of the five books of the Psalms, and as such the verse before the last ends with the word ‘Amen’. But this odd and extra verses is added:
כָּלּ֥וּ תְפִלּ֑וֹת דָּ֝וִ֗ד בֶּן־יִשָֽׁי׃
End of the prayers of David son of Jesse.
Ps. 72:20
What is the meaning of these words? How can this verse indicate the end of the psalms directly attributed to David when there are 18 more to go through the rest of the book? And why is this the only time when his father’s name is also mentioned?
What seems like a terse notation opens up a series of questions about the authorship of the Psalms and the older layers of the poems that were collated as a single collection - somehow, at some time, by someone/s, and we will likely never know the details.
It’s the mention of David’s father that provides a hint to what this text is doing here.
The The Psalms Scroll with ‘David hymns’ discovered in the Dead Sea Caves of Qumran uniquely include the same signature on several occasions, in different scroll fragments.
This collection of sacred texts that differ somewhat from the biblical canon as we know it offers us a glimpse into other textual traditions mostly edited over and forgotten - but not entirely.
There may have been a different collection of psalms or prayers ascribed to David, kept in the caves, but eventually lost. Are psalms 1-72 Davidic - even the ones that mention other authors such as the Korach clan? Or is it just the second book - 42-72?
It’s hard to know but it is likely that whoever added this coda to end today’s chapter was not aware that there are 18 other psalms entitled ‘by David’ that will be coming up next. A simple mention of the royal father of the dynasty opens a portal into many questions about the origins of these poems and the ones we likely lost.
Intergenerational trauma, like family heirlooms, secrets and genes, is handed over whether we like it or not. Perhaps in this psalm hides a riddle that has something to teach us about what we do not yet know?
Who knows, perhaps more scrolls are hiding in some caves that one day will provide us answers to riddles that may not even exist at all.
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