In Biblical Hebrew, the works we now know as psalms are referred to simply as tehillīm, ‘praises’. This, perhaps, is somewhat closer to their original meaning. The Book of Psalms...
In Biblical Hebrew, the works we now know as psalms are referred to simply as tehillīm, ‘praises’. This, perhaps, is somewhat closer to their original meaning. The Book of Psalms is, in essence, an anthology of Hebrew religious hymns composed in praise and thanksgiving by a series of important personages of the period, up to and including King David. The term ‘psalm’ itself comes from a Greek world, psalmoi, meaning ‘instrumental music.’ This reminds us that these pieces were not, as they appear now, written poems disconnected from the verbal and aural world. Instead, these were songs, composed to be accompanied on the lyre or other instruments, and therefore the rhythms and the intonations are as important as the words themselves. God was to be praised in song, itself a level above the ordinary words spoken day-to-day among the lay folk. The composition of the psalms spans five centuries, the earliest being Psalm 29, composed around the Tenth Century BC, through to the latest which certainly come from the post-Exilic period, and may even originate in the Fifth Century BC. The psalms are especially associated with the southern Kingdom of Judah, and their composition is linked to the Temple in Jerusalem, where they probably functioned as libretti during worship. Lines from within the psalms themselves give some indication as to their function, either to underscore the festal processions up to the horns of the altar of the Temple, or else in connection with the sacrifices themselves.
The use of the psalms in the liturgy of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem is mirrored by their function in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The psalms are used extensively in the worship of the church, either read, chanted, intoned or sung. In Armenian monasteries, monks chant the psalms in the middle of the night, often before the Night Office (Kisherayin Jam), usually antiphonally, back and forth between two sets of chanters. The Book of Psalms is also a source of theological reflection for Armenians. Much of this theological reflection occurs liturgically, in the daily services of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The psalms are used as both points of origin from which philosophical discussion or theological reflection can emanate, or else as points of theological discussion themselves. This theological reflection is expanded upon by a class of hymns known as the sharagans, usually of one to three verses, which expand upon or offer commentary on the passages which precede them.
An extraordinary example of the early use of printing by the Armenian Apostolic Church, this Book of Psalms (Girk Saghmosats Dayt) reflects the wish of Catholicos Hakob IV Jughayetsi (reigned AD 1655 – AD 1680) to use the most modern of technology to advance the Church. This began with the establishment of an Armenian printing press in Amsterdam in AD 1644, which produced the first Armenian edition of the Bible in AD 1666. The lack of financial backing caused the chief printer, Oskamn Erevantsi, to move the press first to Livorno, and then to Marseilles under the authority of Louis XI. Between AD 1673 and AD 1677, he published no fewer than sixteen titles, including three editions of the Book of Psalms, starting in AD 1672. The last such psalter was realised in AD 1677 by Oksan’s nephew, Soghomon Levonian. The psalter’s existence, however, was dependent on its acceptability to Roman Catholic censors operating in Marseilles; doctrinal wors like Grigor Narek’s Book of Lamentations, and the breviaries of the Apostolic Church, were not so fortunate.
The covers of this remarkable book are constructed from silver, and were probably produced as a later addition to the book in AD 1799, as suggested by a nearly identical psalter with cover now in the History Museum of Erevan, whose inscription dates it to the Armenian year 1248. The cover depicts an angel symbol of the Holy Spirit, repeated on the lower cover, and a large cross with an inscription in capitals reading ‘For the pleasure of Ignatios’ (I vayeloumn Ignatiosin), the name of the commissioner of the cover. The colophon of the printed text itself informs us that the work was prepared for publication by the Archbishop Oksan, who was deceased at the time. Three sponsors are also listed, Melkon, Margar, and Petros, whose donations would have funded the publication.
Contents:
Psalms 1 – 148. Apocryphal Psalm. Doxology of the Three Infants. Magnificant. Doxology of Zakria, the father of John the Baptist. Prayer of Simeon. Prayer of King Manaseh. Prayer of Saint Nerses. Prayer XV from the Book of Lamentations by Grigor Narek. Prayer XLI from the Book of Lamentations by Grigor Narek.