The manner in which the Book of Psalms opens is important. The first two psalms are keys to the whole Psalter because they are not strictly prayers but declarations. The first prayer is actually Psalm 3. Taken together, Psalms 1 and 2 help us understand the whole book, and their interconnection is shown by a chiastic structure in that Psalm 1 opens with the idea of blessing (ʾasherê hâ’îsh, ‘Blessed is the man’) while Psalm 2 closes with it (ʾasherê kol-chôsê bô,