Biblexika

Psalms of Solomon

second-temple-judaismGreek (from Hebrew original)c. 80-30 BCE

Eighteen Jewish hymns expressing messianic expectations, reflecting on the Roman conquest of Jerusalem (63 BCE) and anticipating a Davidic messiah

Translation: G. Buchanan Gray in R.H. Charles (1913) (Public Domain)

Overview

The Psalms of Solomon are a collection of 18 Jewish psalms composed in Hebrew around 80-30 BCE, surviving only in Greek and Syriac translations. They reflect the anguished reaction of a community of pious Jews — most likely Pharisees — to the Roman general Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem in 63 BCE. That conquest is described obliquely but unmistakably throughout the collection: a foreign ruler violated the Temple, the holy city was polluted by Gentile boots, and God permitted this catastrophe as punishment for the sins of the Hasmonean rulers and their corrupt priestly class. The Psalms of Solomon represent one of the most important sources for understanding Jewish messianic expectation in the generation before the birth of Jesus.

The collection's most famous text, Psalm of Solomon 17, is the most explicit and extended pre-Christian Jewish description of the expected Messiah. It petitions God to raise up a 'son of David' who will drive out the foreign rulers, purify Jerusalem, gather the scattered tribes of Israel, and reign over the nations in justice and righteousness. This Messiah will be 'pure from sin,' will 'not trust in horse and rider and bow,' will shepherd his people 'in faithfulness and righteousness,' and will be known throughout the earth as 'the Lord Messiah.' The portrait is of a human Davidic king empowered by divine wisdom and the spirit of God — a figure that illuminates both the messianic expectations that greeted Jesus and why his ministry divided opinion so sharply.

The Psalms also contain significant material on resurrection (3:12: 'those who fear the Lord shall rise to eternal life, and their life shall be in the Lord's light'), divine righteousness, the distinction between the pious (hosios) and the wicked, and the meaning of suffering as divine discipline. Together they constitute a vivid window into the theological world of late Second Temple Judaism — a world of intense hope, political crisis, and passionate faith in God's ultimate justice.

Bible connections
  • Matthew 21:5 (entry on donkey; Messiah not relying on horse and rider)
  • Luke 1:32-33 (Davidic throne; son of the Most High)
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (resurrection of the righteous)
  • Isaiah 11 (shoot from Jesse ruling with righteousness)
  • Psalm 72 (ideal messianic king and his universal dominion)
  • Hebrews 12:4-11 (suffering as divine discipline for the righteous)
Key terms
Kyrios Christos (Lord Messiah)– the first appearance of this specific messianic title in any surviving ancient Jewish text, used in Psalm 17:32 to describe the expected Davidic ruler
Hosios (pious/devout one)– the Psalms' term for the faithful community of Torah-observant Jews who suffer under corrupt rulers but trust in God's vindication
Son of David– the expected Messiah's Davidic lineage, central to Psalm 17's portrait; the Messiah will restore the legitimate Davidic monarchy that the Hasmoneans illegitimately usurped
Paideia (discipline)– the theological framework through which the Psalms interpret Jewish suffering: God disciplines the righteous through suffering as a loving parent disciplines a child, not as punishment but as refinement
Did you know?

The Psalms of Solomon were found only in Christian manuscript collections, suggesting that early Christians preserved them precisely because Psalm 17's Messiah portrait seemed so relevant to their claims about Jesus — even though the psalm's Messiah (a conquering Davidic king who drives out the Romans) is quite different from what Jesus actually did. The 'Lord Messiah' title in Psalm 17:32 is the first attestation of what became the most common Christian designation for Jesus.