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The Book of Psalms (Hebrew: תְּהִלִּים‎‎ or תהילים‎, Tehillim, "praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί psalmoi, meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music." The book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the psalms are linked to the name of King David, although his authorship is not accepted by some modern Bible scholars.

The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction) – these divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the Torah:

Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)

Book 2 (Psalms 42–72)

Book 3 (Psalms 73–89)

Book 4 (Psalms 90–106)

Book 5 (Psalms 107–150)

Superscriptions and attributions

Many psalms (116 of the 150) have individual superscriptions (titles), ranging from lengthy comments to a single word. Over a third appear to be musical directions, addressed to the "leader" or "choirmaster," including such statements as "with stringed instruments" and "according to lilies." Others appear to be references to types of musical composition, such as "A psalm" and "Song," or directions regarding the occasion for using the psalm ("On the dedication of the temple," "For the memorial offering," etc.). Many superscriptions carry the names of individuals, the most common (73 psalms) being of David, and thirteen of these relate explicitly to incidents in the king's life.

Others named include Moses (1), Asaph (12), the Sons of Korah (11) and Solomon (2). A natural way of understanding these attributions is as a claim to authorship, but it could also mean "to David" or "for David".

The Septuagint bible, present in Eastern Orthodox churches, includes a Psalm 151; a Hebrew version of this was found in the Psalms Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some versions of the Peshitta (the bible used in Syriac churches in the Middle East) include Psalms 152–155. There are also the Psalms of Solomon, which are a further 18 psalms of Jewish origin, likely originally written in Hebrew, but surviving only in Greek and Syriac translation. These and other indications suggest that the current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set.