The book of Psalms is a set of poems written by several different people . The best known author, who wrote more psalms, is King David.
The book of Psalms is a hymnbook with the best songs for God, written by the Israelites over several centuries. Many psalms have no identified author, but they were probably songs known to many people.
At the beginning of some psalms, the author is identified. The people we know who wrote psalms were:
- David– King David wrote at least 73 psalms, about half of the book. Some psalms are associated with specific events in David’s life, such as his adultery with Bathsheba – find out here: who was David?
- Solomon– son and successor of David, Solomon wrote two psalms ( Psalms 72 and Psalms 127 ) and the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs – read here the story of King Solomon
- Moses– led the Israelites when they left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. He also wrote the first five books of the Bible – see also: who was Moses?
- Coraites– Coraites were a family from the tribe of Levi, who worked in the temple. His ancestor Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron but his sons continued to serve God ( Numbers 26: 10-11 )
- Heman and Ethan– two Ezraite brothers, from the tribe of Judah, known to be very wise ( 1 Kings 4:31 ). Each wrote a psalm
- Asaph’s Family– Asaph was a Levite who was chosen to be the temple worship leader ( 1 Chronicles 16: 7 ). His family continued to lead the praise over the centuries and wrote several psalms
Want to know more about the authors of the Bible? Look here: who wrote the Bible?
The oldest psalm is Psalm 90, written by Moses. The most recent psalms are the psalms that refer to the exile in Babylon, some 1000 years later. The many authors of the book of Psalms show that praise to God can be very varied .
