Psalm 23

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sepro (talk | contribs) at 22:35, 1 January 2013 (→‎Song: Added item Love Rescue Me by U2). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Illustration from "The Sunday at Home", 1880

In the 23rd Psalm (Greek numbering: Psalm 22) in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer (David) describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music.

The shepherd theme

Psalm 23 portrays God as a shepherd, feeding (verse 1) and leading (verse 3) his flock. The "rod and staff" (verse 4) are also the implements of a shepherd. Some commentators see the shepherd imagery pervading the entire psalm. J. Douglas MacMillan argues that "you prepare a table for me" in verse 5 refers to the "old oriental shepherding practice" of using little raised tables to feed sheep.[1] Similarly, "you anoint my head with oil" may refer to an ancient form of backliner—the oil is poured on wounds, and repels flies. MacMillan also notes that "Goodness and mercy" in verse 6 remind him of two sheepdogs coming behind the flock.[2]

In Jewish tradition

The first verse of the psalm as well as a long tradition ascribe authorship to King David, said in the Hebrew Scriptures to have been a field shepherd himself as a youth.

Psalm 23 is traditionally sung by Jews in Hebrew at the third Shabbat meal on Saturday afternoon. It is also sung during the Yizkor service. Sephardic and some Hassidic Jews also sing during Friday afternoon services and as part of the Sabbath night and day meals. It is read at a cemetery funeral service instead of the traditional prayer during Jewish holidays.

The standard Hebrew text of the Bible used in Judaism is the Masoretic text standardized between the seventh and tenth centuries CE.

In Christian tradition

Psalm 23 is often referred to as the Shepherd's psalm.

For Christians the image of God as a shepherd evokes connections not only with David but with Jesus, described as "the Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John. The phrase about "the valley of the shadow of death" is often taken as an allusion to the eternal life given by Jesus.

Orthodox Christians typically include this Psalm in the prayers of preparation for receiving the Eucharist.

The Reformation inspired widespread efforts in western Europe to make biblical texts available in vernacular languages. One of the most popular early English versions was the Geneva Bible (1557). The most widely recognized version of the psalm in English today is undoubtedly the one drawn from the King James Bible (1611).

The psalm is a popular passage for memorization and is often used in sermons.

Metrical versions

An early metrical version of the psalm in English was made in 1565 by Thomas Sternhold. Other metrical versions to emerge from the Reformation include those from The Bay Psalm Book (1640)[3] and a version influenced by Sternholm published in the Scottish Psalter (1650).[4] The latter version is still encountered, with modernized spelling, in many Protestant hymns. Other notable metrical versions include those by George Herbert and Isaac Watts.[3]

A traditional pairing puts a metrical version of the psalm with the hymn tune Crimond, which is generally attributed to Jessie Seymour Irvine.[5] This version, with its opening words "The Lord's My Shepherd", is probably the best-known amongst English-speaking congregations. Other melodies, such as Brother James' Air or Amazing Grace, are also used. Other tunes sometimes used include Belmont, Evan, Martyrdom, Orlington, and Wiltshire.[6]

Use in funerals

In the twentieth century, Psalm 23 became particularly associated with funeral liturgies in the English-speaking world, and films with funeral scenes often depict a graveside recitation of the psalm. Official liturgies of English-speaking churches were slow to adopt this practice, though. The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England has only psalms 39 and 90 in its order for the burial of the dead, and in the Episcopal Church in the United States, Psalm 23 was not used for funerals until the 1928 revision of the prayer book.

Musical settings

Liturgical and classical

Song

Use in media

  • At the end of the 1973 film The Wicker Man, Howie shouts out Psalm 23, as he is being engulfed in flames.
  • In the 1980 David Lynch film The Elephant Man, Merrick recites Psalm 23, revealing his intelligence.
  • In the 1983 film "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", the prisoners sing Psalm 23 as Jack Celliers (played by David Bowie) is buried in sand.
  • Craig Bartlett's 1988 clay animation short Arnold Escapes from Church shows how a young boy's imagination might interpret the words of Psalm 23.
  • In the graphic adventure game Gold Rush!, originally released by Sierra Entertainment in 1988, the main character Jerrod Wilson is given a clue about his brother's whereabouts in the bible verse Pslam 23.
  • It set to music as the theme tune of The Vicar of Dibley (1994).
  • In the 1997 film Titanic it is recited while the ship is sinking.
  • In the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the character Preacher (played by LL Cool J) recites a slightly modified version of this Psalm while attempting a rather risky plan.
  • In the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" is referenced multiple times.
  • In the 2004 film Van Helsing, the creature of Dr. Frankenstein recites parts of the psalm when brought to the vampires' Masquerade Ball.
  • In the 2005 film Jarhead, Jamie Foxx's character recites the verse, but with his twist.
  • In the 2005 survival horror videogame Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, the captain of the USS Urania commits suicide after reading the psalm.
  • In episode 2.12 "Fire + Water" (2005-'06) of the ABC series Lost, Mr. Eko recites the King James version of the psalm while baptizing Claire and her son Aaron.
  • The song "The House of God, Forever" from Jon Foreman's 2008 EP, Summer is an adapted, version of Psalm 23, put to music.
  • In the 2010 film The Book of Eli, Denzel Washington's character recites the Psalm.
  • In the 2010 film True Grit, Mattie, the narrator, recites part of the psalm.
  • In episode 7 "Revelations" of the 2011 series "Hell on Wheels" Cullen Bohannon and Elam Ferguson recite the psalm as a prayer over the dead and as they ride off into the sunset.
  • In the 2011 film War Horse, a British soldier recites the beginning of the Psalm whilst crossing no-man's land.

Other notable uses

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Verses from Psalm 23 have been used following widely-perceived tragic events: three prominent examples include the recital of the psalm in Todd Beamer's phone call made in Flight 93 during the September 11th attacks, the 9/11 Address to the Nation and Whitney Houston's funeral.

Media

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates
Type Family
Handles wiki
 table code?†
 Responsive/
Mobile suited 		Start template Column divider End template
Float "col-float" Yes Yes {{col-float}} {{col-float-break}} {{col-float-end}}
"columns-start" Yes Yes {{columns-start}} {{column}} {{columns-end}}
Columns "div col" Yes Yes {{div col}} – {{div col end}}
"columns-list" No Yes {{columns-list}} (wraps div col) – –
Flexbox "flex columns" No Yes {{flex columns}} – –
Table "col" Yes No {{col-begin}},
{{col-begin-fixed}} or
{{col-begin-small}} 		{{col-break}} or
{{col-2}} .. {{col-5}} 		{{col-end}}

† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

References

  1. ^ J. Douglas MacMillan, The Lord of Shepherd. (Bryntirion: Evangelical Press of Wales, 1988), 78.
  2. ^ MacMillan, 82
  3. ^ a b Smith Creek Music: 'Psalms Compared: Psalm 23', retrieved 2007-08-05. (no public access!)
  4. ^ Scottish Psalter and Paraphrases at CCEL
  5. ^ "Crimond". Center for Church Music - Songs & Hymns. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  6. ^ [1] Cyberhymnal
  7. ^ a b BBC h2g2 Psalm 23
  8. ^ Together with Psalm 43 and Psalm 150 in an a capella setting for mixed chorus written in 1954. Dixon, Joan (1992). George Rochberg: A Bio-Bibliographic Guide to His Life and Works. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, p. 175.
  9. ^ The Miklós Rózsa Society Website
  10. ^ Blotner, Linda Solow (1983). The Boston Composers Project: A Bibliography of Contemporary Music. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, p. 547.
  11. ^ "Settings of: Psalm 23". ChoralNet. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  12. ^ . Novello & Co Ltd. #NOV290116. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:

"

Template:Link GA

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psalm_23&oldid=530822955"