Content and Significance

Although Psalms 152–55 are usually considered apocryphal writings, they share many themes with the other psalms included in the Bible. Each of the Syriac Psalms is rather brief, but as a whole they proclaim the faithfulness of Yahweh, cry out to Him for release and deliverance, and give thanks to Him for rescue and restoration.

The Syriac Psalms can be outlined as follows:

• Psalm 152 (IV) is attributed to King David on the occasion of his being attacked by a lion and wolf (Charlesworth, “More Psalms,” 616). The psalm is a request for rescue but could also symbolically reference rescue from enemies.

• Psalm 153 (V) is attributed to King David after his rescue from the lion and the wolf pursuing him in Psalm 152 (Charlesworth, “More Psalms,” 616). It is a psalm of thanks for his rescue and the saving of his life.

• Psalm 154 (II) is both a psalm of thanksgiving and exaltation of Yahweh’s faithfulness. A manuscript superscription presenting it as a prayer of Hezekiah “is very late and has little relation to the content of the psalm” (Charlesworth, “More Psalms,” 620; see also Wright, “Apocryphal Psalms,” 264).

• Psalm 155 (III) is a prayer that moves from asking for God’s help to giving thanks to God for his faithfulness. As with psalm 154, a manuscript superscription attributing it to Hezekiah “is late and has no basis in the psalm itself” (Charlesworth, “More Psalms,” 623; see also Wright, “Apocryphal Psalms,” for a different superscription relating it to the time of the end of the exile).