Misplaced Pages

#912087

100-478: He goes on to say, "This essay will introduce a number of the various approaches that have been brought to bear upon this work. In reviewing these wide-ranging approaches it will be possible both to define the questions that have shaped the reception of this work and to formulate some possibilities for future research." Colophon of the Theodore Psalter--MS 19352, f 208 The Psalms are a book within

200-945: 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 mainly 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

300-594: A benediction ). These divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the Torah : 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

400-418: A doxology , or a hymn of praise. There are several types of psalms, including hymns or songs of praise, communal and individual laments, royal psalms , imprecation , and individual thanksgivings. The book also includes psalms of communal thanksgiving, wisdom, pilgrimage and other categories. While many of the psalms contain attributions to the name of King David and other Biblical figures including Asaph ,

500-476: A column as an illustration of Psalms 103:17 ("There the sparrows will build their nests; and the house of the heron takes the lead among them," the Theodore Psalter has precisely the same composition at Psalms 101:7, "I have become like a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl in the ruined house"). Theodore must have moved the miniature intentionally because he added a new motif instead of

600-510: A concert of praise at the end. He concluded that the collection was redacted to be a retrospective of the failure of the Davidic covenant , exhorting Israel to trust in God alone in a non-messianic future. Walter Brueggemann suggested that the underlying editorial purpose was oriented instead towards wisdom or sapiential concerns, addressing the issues of how to live the life of faith. Psalm 1 calls

700-564: A melody recognizable as the tonus peregrinus of church and synagogue. Mitchell includes musical transcriptions of the temple psalmody of Psalms 120–134 in his commentary on the Songs of Ascents. In "The Flow of the Psalms," O. Palmer Robertson posits a thematic progression throughout the five books of Psalms, delineating distinctive characteristics and emphases: Book 1: Opposition - Predominantly attributed to David, these Psalms are perceived as

800-501: A national recipient (Christ). In addition, the texts indicate that the manuscript was completed in February 1066. Taken together, this information provides rare precise details on the location of the production and the possession of a Byzantine Illuminated manuscript. As such, the Theodore Psalter necessarily provides a fixed point in any discussion of eleventh-century Constantinopolitan illumination." This kind of scene occurs throughout

900-547: A number of minor psalm-types, including: The composition of the psalms spans at least five centuries, from the 10th-century Psalm 29 to others clearly from the post-Exilic period (i.e., not earlier than the fifth century BC). The majority originated in the southern kingdom of Judah and were associated with the Temple in Jerusalem , where they probably functioned as librettos during Temple worship . Exactly how they did so

1000-452: A prayer for the abbot of a monastery (folios 191v-192), ten biblical odes (folios 192v-208r), and a dedication and colophon (folios 207v and 208r). The Psalms and Odes are numbered next to their titles and the Psalm text is divided into hathismata and doxai, reflecting common monastic practice. Numerous initial letters are ornamented, although the significance of the distribution of these letters

1100-409: A special subset of "eschatological hymns" which includes themes of future restoration (Psalm 126) or of judgment (Psalm 82). Communal laments are psalms in which the nation laments some communal disaster. Both communal and individual laments typically but not always include the following elements: In general, the individual and communal subtypes can be distinguished by the use of the singular "I" or

SECTION 10

#1732791505913

1200-534: A third of the psalms are addressed to the Director of Music. Some psalms exhort the worshipper to sing (e.g. Pss. 33:1-3; 92:1-3; 96:1-3; 98:1; 101:1; 150). Some headings denote the musical instruments on which the psalm should be played (Pss. 4, 5, 6, 8, 67). Some refer to the Levites who sang one of eight melodies, one of which was known simply as "the eighth" ( Hebrew : sheminit ) (Pss. 6, 12). And others preserve

1300-480: Is Mathew commenting on the Psalms. There are animals: goats and dogs: mice and birds including pelicans; a dragon and unicorn; and a Tree of Life. There are men playing music, and vegetation. Professor Barber continues his commentary on the Psalter, "The image and prayer on folio 207v develop our understanding of Michael's possession of the book. A blessing bust of Christ can be assumed in the medallion. Below and to

1400-487: Is a kind of calligraphy consisting of large or upper case letters. In the Theodore Psalter the m ajuscule lettering appears in gold. The other kind of text or script used in the manuscript is a smaller text called minuscule . It is also a kind of calligraphy established in the 8th and 9th century by Charlemagne and revived during the Italian Renaissance . Minuscule is the foundational script that forms

1500-455: Is an archpriest —a kind of clerk and monk. The Byzantine Empire witnessed a very prolific movement in the creation of art. The legalization of Christianity by Emperor Constantine in 313 inspired works of art linked to this new religious movement, specifically icons , and they became very popular, and the quintessential art form from Byzantine. Church services created and inspired by religious devotion were called liturgical services. Liturgy

1600-569: Is designed not to achieve favor, as such, but rather to inculcate belief in Divine Providence into one's consciousness, consistently with Maimonides ' general view on Providence . (Relatedly, the Hebrew verb for prayer, hitpalal התפלל, is in fact the reflexive form of palal פלל, to intervene, petition, judge. Thus, "to pray" conveys the connotation of "judging oneself": ultimately, the purpose of prayer— tefilah תפלה—is to transform ourselves.) New Testament references show that

1700-531: Is especially celebrated for its famous school of calligraphy which was established by Theodore. The art of manuscript illumination was cultivated, with many brilliant products of the monastic scriptorium now residing in Venice , Vatican City , and Moscow (e.g., Chludov Psalter ). The Theodore Psalter , created at the monastery in the twelfth century is in the collection of the British Library . In

1800-786: Is essential for understanding Byzantine society, where the correct relationship between the two was critical to the well being of the state." The Theodore Psalter is now in the British Library in London. A great deal of work has gone into preserving and digitizing this psalter, now almost a thousand years old. Psalms The Book of Psalms ( / s ɑː ( l ) m z / SAH(L)MZ , US also / s ɔː ( l ) m z / SAW(L)MZ ; Biblical Hebrew : תְּהִלִּים , romanized:  Tehillīm , lit.   'praises'; Ancient Greek : Ψαλμός , romanized :  Psalmós ; Latin : Liber Psalmorum ; Arabic : زَبُورُ , romanized :  Zabūr ), also known as

1900-421: Is in this manuscript." Barber adds that the (ruling) pattern is relatively uncommon. "The text block is ruled for a single column of text and measures approximately 10.6 cm by 15.2 cm. The number of text lines varies between twenty and twenty-four; normally these are consistent within a quire. The Psalter contains 151 Psalms (folios 1-189r), a unique twelve-syllable poem on the early life of David (folios 189v-191r),

2000-667: Is it always enmeshed in the meanings expressed in the written and the oral that make it perpetually exposed to subjective interpretation? Byzantium was a culture in which the interactions between word and image underpinned, in many ways, the whole meaning of art. For the Byzantines, as a People of the Book, the interface between images and words, and, above all, Christ, the Word of God, was crucial. The dynamic between art and text in Byzantium

2100-464: Is not disclosed by their occurrence." The relationship of icons and text, especially religious text, is an ongoing topic of interest to scholars. Professor Liz James writes: "Art and text, the interface between images and words, is one of the oldest issues in art history. Are works of art and writings different but parallel forms of expression? Are they intertwined and interdependent? She goes on to ask, "Can art ever stand alone and apart from text or

SECTION 20

#1732791505913

2200-502: Is the abbot of the monastery, Michael, who is described as the divinely inspired father and synkellos of the monastery and about whom we have no other firm information. The colophon shows that Michael is to be understood as the patron of this book, which was made at his order. The Stoudios Monastery was known for its rigorous academic and artistic excellence, and especially in the Byzantine style of religious icons. A protopresbyteros

2300-569: The tonus peregrinus melody to Psalm 114. Cantillation signs, to record the melody sung, were in use since ancient times; evidence of them can be found in the manuscripts of the oldest extant copies of Psalms in the Dead Sea Scrolls and are even more extensive in the Masoretic text , which dates to the Early Middle Ages and whose Tiberian scribes claimed to be basing their work on temple-period signs. (See Moshe ben Asher's 'Song of

2400-573: The Old Testament, written in metered verse , or twelve-syllable poetic lines, and are thought to be musical . They have been compared to a harp, or other instruments of music. Byzantine psalters stand out in historically because of the religious and spiritual artistic qualities the Byzantine Empire was known for. This includes images and icons painted by hand. The art within the Byzantine psalters were specifically unique because of

2500-646: The Psalms , or the Psalter , is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible ) called Ketuvim ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament . The book is an anthology of Hebrew religious hymns . In the Jewish and Western Christian traditions, there are 150 psalms, and several more in the Eastern Christian churches. The book is divided into five sections, each ending with

2600-726: The Second Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (787). His successor was Theodore the Studite to whom the monastery owes most of its fame, and who especially fostered academic and spiritual study. He reformed the monastery based not only on the ideas of Basil the Great , but also of Pachomios , the ascetics of the Gazan deserts (e.g. Barsanuphius , John , Dorotheus ) and John Sinaites . During St. Theodore's administration also

2700-468: The Theodore Psalter , a name that memorializes the scribe mentioned in the manuscript's colophon , (folio 208r). In its modern binding, the manuscript is 208 folios in length and gathered into twenty-six quires . Each quire is numbered in the lower margin of its opening folio (except where cut) in carmine and black and on the final folio in black." Barber adds, "The prayer of dedication and

2800-563: The Theodore Psalter E-Facsimile, "Completed in Constantinople in February 1066, the 208 folios of this manuscript include 440 separate images , making this the most fully illuminated Psalter to come down from the Byzantine Empire ." He further writes, "Before entering upon this historiographical discussion the manuscript itself should be introduced. In recent years this Psalter has come to be known as

2900-474: The epode are Psalm 14; the two antistrophes are Psalm 70. It is noteworthy that, on the breaking up of the original ode, each portion crept twice into the Psalter: Psalm 14 = 53, Psalm 70 = 40:14–18. Other such duplicated portions of psalms are Psalm 108:2–6 = Psalm 57:8–12; Psalm 108:7–14 = Psalm 60:7–14; Psalm 71:1–3 = Psalm 31:2–4. This loss of the original form of some of the psalms is considered by

3000-400: The ingathering of exiled Israel by a bridegroom-king; his establishment of a kingdom; his violent death; Israel scattered in the wilderness, regathered and again imperiled, and then rescued by a king from the heavens, who establishes his kingdom from Zion, brings peace and prosperity to the earth and receives the homage of the nations. These three views—Wilson's non-messianic retrospective of

3100-481: The morning services ( Shacharit ). The pesukei dezimra component incorporates Psalms 30, 100 and 145–150. Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as " Ashrei ", which is really the first word of two verses appended to the beginning of the Psalm), is read three times every day: once in shacharit as part of pesukei dezimrah , as mentioned; once, along with Psalm 20, as part of the morning's concluding prayers ; and once at

Theodore Psalter - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-479: The sons of Korah , and Solomon , David's authorship is not accepted by most modern Bible scholars, who instead attribute the composition of the psalms to various authors writing between the 9th and 5th centuries BC. The psalms were written from the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan to the post-exilic period and the book was probably compiled and edited into its present form during the post-exilic period in

3300-468: The 5th century BC. In English, the title of the book is derived from the Greek word ψαλμοί ( psalmoi ), meaning 'instrumental music' and, by extension, 'the words accompanying the music'. The Hebrew name of the book, Tehillim ( תהילים ), means 'praises', as it contains many praises and supplications to God. The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e.,

3400-628: The Babylonian Tiamat , Canaanite Yam and the Leviathan which also appears in the Hebrew Bible—is "reduced to an aquatic pet with whom YHWH can play". The biblical poetry of Psalms uses parallelism as its primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind of symmetry in which restatement, synonym, amplification, grammatical repetition, or opposition develops an idea. Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially

3500-544: The Book of Psalms. Some psalms are called " maskil " ( maschil ), meaning "enlightened" or "wise saying", because they impart wisdom. Most notable of these is Psalm 142 which is sometimes called the "Maskil of David"; others include Psalm 32 and Psalm 78. A special grouping and division in the Book of Psalms are fifteen psalms (Psalms 120–134) known in the construct case, shir ha-ma'aloth ("A Song of Ascents", or "A Song of degrees"), and one as shir la-ma'aloth (Psalm 121). According to Saadia Gaon , these songs differed from

3600-582: The Catholic Church's Pontifical Biblical Commission (1 May 1910) to have been due to liturgical practices, neglect by copyists, or other causes. Verse numbers were first printed in 1509. Different traditions exist whether to include the original heading into the counting or not. This leads to inconsistent numbering in 62 psalms, with an offset of 1, sometimes even 2 verses. The Septuagint, present in Eastern Orthodox churches, includes

3700-481: The Davidic covenant, Brueggemann's sapiential instruction, and Mitchell's eschatological-messianic program—all have their followers. However, the sapiential agenda has been somewhat eclipsed by the other two. Shortly before he died in 2005, Wilson modified his position to allow for the existence of messianic prophecy within the Psalms' redactional agenda. Mitchell's position remains essentially unchanged, but he now sees

3800-602: The Ezrahite (1), and Heman the Ezrahite (1). The Septuagint , the Peshitta (the Syriac Vulgate) , and the Latin Vulgate each associate several Psalms (such as 111 and 145 ) with Haggai and Zechariah . The Septuagint also attributes several Psalms (like 112 and 135 ) to Ezekiel and Jeremiah . Psalms are usually identified by a sequence number, often preceded by the abbreviation "Ps." Numbering of

3900-530: The Gospel of St. Luke, and writes, "This eleventh-century manuscript demonstrates a trend of the High Middle Ages in which transcendental contemplation was initiated by abstract means. Here, thin washes of celestial colors elevate the animal flesh itself, the vellum on which words and pictures are elsewhere inscribed, to guide the viewer's thoughts from the physical world toward (though not all the way to)

4000-496: The Hebrew Psalter proposed—by parallel with other ancient Near Eastern hymn collections—that psalms at the beginning and end (or "seams") of the five books of Psalms have thematic significance, corresponding in particular with the placement of the royal psalms. He pointed out that there was a progression of ideas from adversity through the crux of the collection in the apparent failure of the covenant in Psalm 89, leading to

4100-597: The Orthodox Faith during the schism of Acacius (484–519); they also remained loyal during the storms of iconoclastic dispute in the eighth and ninth centuries. They were driven from the monastery and the city by Emperor Constantine V (r. 741–775); after his death however, some of them returned. Hegumenos (abbot) Sabas of Stoudios zealously defended the Orthodox doctrines against the Iconoclasts at

Theodore Psalter - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-412: The Psalms concern the subject of death and says "This unatural conclusion to every human life can be understood only in the context of the original threat to the original man: 'in the day you shall eat of it you shall surely die.'" Robertson goes on to say "The anticipation from redemption fom the grave overcomes the inevitability of death. The psalmist is fully aware of his need for total deliverance from

4300-399: The Psalms differs—mostly by one—between the Hebrew ( Masoretic ) and Greek (Septuagint) manuscripts. Protestant translations ( Lutheran , Anglican , Calvinist ) use the Hebrew numbering, but other Christian traditions vary: The variance between Masorah and Septuagint texts in this numeration is likely enough due to a gradual neglect of the original poetic form of the Psalms; such neglect

4400-410: The Psalms were the most popular books of the Old Testament in Byzantium. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium observed, "Like a garden, the book of Psalms contains, and puts in musical form everything that is to be found in other books, and shows, in addition, its own particular qualities." Additionally, psalters could be used as a form of guided prayer or meditation. Barber wrote in "Essay One" of

4500-531: The Psalter, and there are surprising examples. Professor Robin Cormack writes in his book Byzantine Art about the Theodore Psalter. Patriarch Nikephoros, an Orthodox patriarch who supported the use of icons 250 years before, during the Iconoclastic Debate, appears in the text, and there are conversations, but there is a surprising twist. He is replaced by a monk who had lived at the monastery at

4600-451: The Psalter. Gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types: Hymns are songs of praise for God's work in creation or history. They typically open with a call to praise, describe the motivation for praise, and conclude with a repetition of the call. Two sub-categories are "enthronement psalms", celebrating the enthronement of Yahweh as king, and Zion psalms, glorifying Mount Zion , God's dwelling-place in Jerusalem. Gunkel also described

4700-481: The Southern and Northern kingdoms. Expressions like "trust in God" diminish. Book 4: Maturity - Notably, with over 10 quotes from Chronicles , indicating a temporal progression beyond the initial three books. Book 5: Consummation - Robertson proposes that the Psalms of Ascent and Hallel Psalms are post-Babylonian exile compositions, portraying a culmination of themes and perspectives Most individual psalms involve

4800-586: The Spirit, such as the Stylite saintes or the Eucharist, to imprinted images on the surfaces of metal, stone, and earth. Eikon designated matter imbued with divine pneuma, releasing charis, or grace. As matter, this object was meant to be physically experienced. Touch, smell, taste, and sound were part of "seeing" an eikon." There are two kinds of script used in the Theodore Psalter. One is called m ajuscule , and

4900-648: The Stoudion. In 1204, the monastery was destroyed by the Crusaders and was not fully restored until 1290, by Constantine Palaiologos . The Russian pilgrims Anthony ( c. 1200) and Stephen ( c. 1350) were amazed by the size of the monastic grounds. It is thought that the cloister sheltered as many as 700 monks at the time. The greater part of the monastery was again destroyed when the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453. The 5th-century monastery's church, which has

5000-666: The Stoudios came to an end at this time. In the middle of the eleventh century, during the administration of Abbot Simeon, a monk named Niketas Stethatos , a disciple of Symeon the New Theologian , criticized some customs of the Latin Church in two books which he wrote on the use of unleavened bread , the Sabbath , and the marriage of priests . As regards the intellectual life of the monastery in other directions, it

5100-583: The Vine' colophon to the Codex Cairensis). Several attempts have been made to decode the Masoretic cantillation, but the most "successful" is that of Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura (1928–2000) in the last quarter of the 20th century. Her reconstruction assumes the signs represent the degrees of various musical scales – that is, individual notes – which puts it at odds with all other existing traditions, where

SECTION 50

#1732791505913

5200-510: The address to "sons of God" at the opening "[is] best thought of [as] the flickering literary afterlife of a polytheistic mythology" but that "belief in them...is unlikely to have been shared by the scribal circles that produced Psalms ". The contrast between the Psalmist's theology and the surrounding area's polytheistic religion is well seen in Psalms 104:26,<refr> Psalms 104:26 </ref> in which locals' mythical fierce sea-god—such as

5300-565: The all-holy and all-blessed monastery." Barber added, "The name of the monastery is lost, but from other evidence within the manuscript we know that it was the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople ." The second part of the colophon reads, "Written and written in gold by the hand of Theodore the protopresbyter of this monastery and scribe from Caesarea, whose shepherd and luminary was the glorious and brilliant Basil, who

5400-583: The basis of the present day Roman upper and lower case type. These small letters appear in red and gold throughout the text, and the cover has those same colors in majuscule. Professor Barber adds, "the predominant script is a minuscule perlschrift typical of the eleventh century. A gilded majuscule is used for emphasized passages and titles. The text is written beneath the ruled line in brown ink, although certain passages, titles, and initial letters of Psalm verses are written in gold on carmine ink. A varied system of marks in carmine or blue link text and image

5500-409: The bird on a column as an illustration of Psalms 103:17. The illustration of the bird on a column was regarded as a pelican in the Theodore Psalter because of the relationship to the word "Pelican" in the text. Though the miniature of the pelican itself is now lost, we have a photograph of the miniature of Crucifixion interpreting a fable of the pelican. It is obvious among the monks of the monastery that

5600-564: The collection bore the imprint of an underlying message or metanarrative , but that this message remained concealed, as Augustine of Hippo said, "The sequence of the Psalms seems to me to contain the secret of a mighty mystery, but its meaning has not been revealed to me" ( Enarr. on Psalms 150:1). Others pointed out the presence of concatenation—that is, adjacent Psalms sharing similar words and themes. In time, this approach developed into recognizing overarching themes shared by whole groups of psalms. In 1985, Gerald H. Wilson 's The Editing of

5700-424: The colophon found that the final opening of the manuscript (folios 207v-208r) provide precise information on the production of this manuscript. The colophon, written on folio 208r can be translated as follows: "This volume of the divine Psalms was completed in the month of February of the fourth indiction of the year 6574 [i.e. 1066 C.E.] on the order of the divinely inspired felker and synkellos Michael, abbot of

5800-431: The current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set. Hermann Gunkel 's pioneering form-critical work on the psalms sought to provide a new and meaningful context in which to interpret individual psalms—not by looking at their literary context within the Psalter (which he did not see as significant), but by bringing together psalms of the same genre ( Gattung ) from throughout

5900-460: The earliest Christians used the Psalms in worship, and the Psalms have remained an important part of worship in most Christian Churches. The Eastern Orthodox , Catholic , Presbyterian , Lutheran and Anglican Churches have always made systematic use of the Psalms, with a cycle for the recitation of all or most of them over the course of one or more weeks. In the early centuries of the Church, it

6000-495: The earliest in origin, characterized by a focus on trust in God, with Yahweh as the dominant name. Book 2: Communication - Despite continued opposition, this book reflects an outreach even to enemies of God. The prevalent name for God shifts to Elohim, especially when borrowing sections from Book 1. Robertson suggests Book 2 may have Northern Kingdom origins. Book 3: Devastation - Marked by the overtaking of Jerusalem, this book holds out hope for Jacob and Joseph, possibly symbolizing

6100-575: The eighth and eleventh centuries, the monastery was the centre of Byzantine religious poetry; a number of the hymns are still used in the Orthodox Church. Besides Theodore and Niketas, a number of other theological writers are known. Three of the Stoudite monks rose to become the ecumenical patriarchs ; and three emperors— Michael V (r. 1041–1042), Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), and Isaac I Komnenos (r. 1057–1059)—took monastic vows in

SECTION 60

#1732791505913

6200-571: The entire Book of Psalms prior to the morning service, on the Sabbath preceding the calculated appearance of the new moon . The reading of psalms is viewed in Jewish tradition as a vehicle for gaining God's favor. They are thus often specially recited in times of trouble, such as poverty, disease, or physical danger; in many synagogues, Psalms are recited after services for the security of the State of Israel . Sefer ha-Chinuch states that this practice

6300-415: The fate of the psalmist. By far the most common type of psalm, they typically open with an invocation of God, followed by the lament itself and pleas for help, and often ending with an expression of confidence. In individual thanksgiving psalms, the opposite of individual laments, the psalmist thanks God for deliverance from personal distress. In addition to these five major genres, Gunkel also recognised

6400-428: The finished book of your prophet and wise king." The image and text together indicate that the Psalter is shown in the left hand of Michael. David is identified as the author of the Psalms, but it is Michael who possesses, for the moment, the Psalter. (see Essay 3). It is his to give to Christ. The manuscript's final opening provides a writer-producer (Theodore), a patron-possessor (Michael), an ordinary author (David), and

6500-474: The history surrounding the creation and use of images two centuries before during opposition to icons in the Iconoclastic controversy . A psalter is a book made specifically to contain the 150 psalms from the book of Psalms . Psalters have also included the odes or canticles , which are songs or prayers in song form from the Old Testament . Psalters were created purely for liturgical purposes, and

6600-404: The icon must be experienced with the senses: "Focusing on the Byzantine icon, this study plunges into the realm of senses and performative objects. To us, the Greek word for icon, designates portraits of Christ, Mary, angels, saints, and prophets painted in encaustic or tempera on wooden boards. By contrast, eikon in Byzantium had a wide semantic spectrum ranging from hallowed bodies permeated by

6700-405: The immediate family, usually in shifts, but in contemporary practice this service is provided by an employee of the funeral home or chevra kadisha . Many Jews complete the Book of Psalms on a weekly or monthly basis. Each week, some also say a Psalm connected to that week's events or the Torah portion read during that week . In addition, many Jews (notably Lubavitch , and other Chasidim ) read

6800-470: The invisible God." The Theodore Psalter features 440 miniatures, or illustrations. They are ‘marginal’ miniatures; they appear in the margins of the book. The miniatures include illustrations from the Gospels , liturgical illustrations and hagiographical miniatures, or stories about Christ. The word miniature means illustration, and originates with the word minium , which had nothing to do with size or

6900-625: The issue as identifying when the historical beginning of the Psalms turns to eschatology. The Psalms were written not merely as poems, but as songs for singing. According to Bible exegete Saadia Gaon (882–942) who served in the geonate of Babylonian Jewry, the Psalms were originally sung in the Temple precincts by the Levites , based on what was prescribed for each psalm (lineage of the singers, designated time and place, instruments used, manner of execution, etc.), but are permitted to be randomly read by anyone at any time and in any place. More than

7000-407: The last great enemy, and attests to expectation of deliverance." Individual psalms were originally hymns, to be used on various occasions and at various sacred sites; later, some were anthologised, and might have been understood within the various anthologies (e.g., ps. 123 as one of the Psalms of Ascent); finally, individual psalms might be understood within the Psalter as a whole, either narrating

7100-540: The life of David or providing instruction like the Torah. In later Jewish and Christian tradition, the psalms have come to be used as prayers, either individual or communal, as traditional expressions of religious feeling. Many authors have commented on the psalms, including: Some of the titles given to the Psalms have descriptions which suggest their use in worship: Psalms are used throughout traditional Jewish worship . Many complete Psalms and verses from Psalms appear in

7200-523: The manuscript was made, it slants the opposition to iconoclasm away from patriarch to monk." There is another interesting detail, and that is the image of the pelican in the manuscript. Eriko Tsuji wrote an article about the Theodore Psalter and the appearance of the image of a pelican, " Where both the Chludov (Moscow, Historical Museum, 129d) and the Barberini Psalters show a bird nesting on

7300-596: The monastery are situated not far from the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) in the section of Istanbul called Psamathia , today's Koca Mustafa Paşa . It was founded in 462 by the consul Flavius Studius , a Roman patrician who had settled in Constantinople, and was consecrated to Saint John the Baptist . Its first monks came from the monastery of the Acoemetae . The Stoudites gave the first proof of their devotion to

7400-469: The monastery grounds, but its activity was suppressed in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917 . During the subsequent decades the ruins of the monastery complex were looted by local inhabitants to repair their houses, while the magnificent 13th century pavement still lies open to elements "and disappears slowly but steadily". In 2013 plans were announced that the church, currently a museum,

7500-550: The monks were harassed and driven away several times, some of them being put to death. Theodore's pupil, Naukratios, re-established discipline after the Iconoclastic dispute had come to an end. Hegumenos Nicholas (848-845 and 855-858) refused to recognize the Patriarch St. Photios and was on this account imprisoned in his own monastery. He was succeeded by five abbots who recognized the patriarch. The brilliant period of

7600-468: The morning and evening services. There is a Minhag (custom) to recite Psalm 30 each morning of Chanukkah after Shacharit: some recite this in place of the regular "Psalm for the Day", others recite this additionally. When a Jew dies, a watch is kept over the body and tehillim (Psalms) are recited constantly by sun or candlelight, until the burial service. Historically, this watch would be carried out by

7700-522: The name for ancient eastern modes, like ayelet ha-shachar (hind of the dawn; Ps. 22); shoshanim / shushan ( lilies / lily ; Pss. 45; 60), said to be describing a certain melody; or ʻalmuth / ʻalamoth ( mute ; Pss. 9, 46), which, according to Saadia Gaon, is "a silent melody, nearly inaudible." Despite the frequently heard view that their ancient music is lost, the means to reconstruct it are still extant. Fragments of temple psalmody are preserved in ancient synagogue and church chant, particularly in

7800-492: The occasion for using the psalm ("On the dedication of the temple", "For the memorial offering", etc.). Many carry the names of individuals, the most common (73 psalms—75 if including the two Psalms attributed by the New Testament to David) being 'of David', and thirteen of these relate explicitly to incidents in the king's life. Others named include Asaph (12), the sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Ethan

7900-557: The other psalms in that they were to be sung by the Levites in a "loud melody" ( Judeo-Arabic : בלחן מרתפע ‎). Every psalm designated for Asaph (e.g. Psalms 50, 73–83) was sung by his descendants while making use of cymbals , in accordance with 1 Chronicles 16:5. Every psalm wherein is found the introductory phrase "Upon Mahalath" (e.g. Psalms 53 and 88) was sung by the Levites by using large percussion instruments having wide and closed bezels on both sides and beaten with two wooden sticks. O. Palmer Robertson observes that many of

8000-526: The pelican can be considered as an image of the Passion of Christ. The miniature cycle of the Theodore Psalter was devised for the abbot of the monastery. By examining the miniatures as a product of the highly intellectual culture of the monastery, we can speculate that the modification by Theodore is a reflection of the interests and concerns of the Stoudios monastery in the eleventh century." Art historian and Stanford professor Bissera Pentcheva points out that

8100-571: The plan of a basilica, was converted by Bayezid II 's equerry, Ilias Bey , into the mosque İmrahor Camii (literally, Mosque of the Equerry ). The ancient structure sustained grave damage from the great fire of 1782; the 1894 Istanbul earthquake also contributed to its ruin. Following the 1894 earthquake, a group of Russian Byzantinist scholars led by Fyodor Uspensky opened the Russian Archaeological Institute on

8200-530: The plural "we". However, the "I" could also be characterising an individual's personal experience that was reflective of the entire community. Royal psalms deal with such matters as the king's coronation, marriage and battles. None of them mentions any specific king by name, and their origin and use remain obscure; several psalms, especially Psalms 93–99, concern the kingship of God, and might relate to an annual ceremony in which Yahweh would be ritually reinstated as king. Individual laments are psalms lamenting

8300-419: The praise of God for his power and beneficence, for his creation of the world, and for his past acts of deliverance for Israel. They envision a world in which everyone and everything will praise God, and God in turn will hear their prayers and respond. Sometimes God "hides his face" and refuses to respond, questioning (for the psalmist) the relationship between God and prayer which is the underlying assumption of

8400-482: The reader to a life of obedience; Psalm 73 (Brueggemann's crux psalm) faces the crisis when divine faithfulness is in doubt; Psalm 150 represents faith's triumph when God is praised not for his rewards but for his being. In 1997, David. C. Mitchell's The Message of the Psalter took a quite different line. Building on the work of Wilson and others, Mitchell proposed that the Psalter embodies an eschatological timetable like that of Zechariah 9–14. This programme includes

8500-441: The right is a standing figure of David, clearly labeled, wearing royal costume and carrying a psaltery. Between them, and now almost lost, is the faint trace of a third figure. This bearded man carries a book in his left hand, looks up toward Christ, and gestures with his right hand. He is identified by the text written around him: "Our most Holy Father Michael, the abbot and synkellos, the Stoudite says...He says, "Savior, take hold of

8600-513: The same idea. An example of synonymous parallelism: Two lines expressing opposites is known as antithetic parallelism . An example of antithetic parallelism: Two clauses expressing the idea of amplifying the first claim is known as expansive parallelism. An example of expansive parallelism: Many scholars believe the individual Psalms were redacted into a single collection during the Second Temple period. It had long been recognized that

8700-423: The same poem. The Hebrew text is correct in counting as one Psalm 146 and Psalm 147. Later liturgical usage would seem to have split up these and several other psalms. Zenner combines into what he deems were the original choral odes: Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4; 6 + 13; 9 + 10; 19, 20, 21; 56 + 57; 69 + 70; 114 + 115; 148, 149, 150. A choral ode would seem to have been the original form of Psalms 14 and 70. The two strophes and

8800-409: The same time. That monk was Theodore the Studite who was made a saint after his death, and who had been persecuted for actively supporting the making and the using icons. Professor Cormack writes, "The prominent role of Patriarch Nikephoros, as triumphant iconophile is replaced with portraits of the monk St. Theodore the Studite. Natural though it was to celebrate a past member of the community in which

8900-596: The scripture in the Epistle to the Romans , chapter 3 . Monastery of Stoudios The Monastery of Stoudios , more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου , translit.   Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou en tois Stoudiou ), often shortened to Stoudios , Studion or Stoudion ( Latin : Studium ),

9000-485: The signs invariably represent melodic motifs; it also takes no account of the existence of older systems of notation, such as the Babylonian and Palestinian systems. Musicologists have therefore rejected Haïk-Vantoura's theories, with her results dubious, and her methodology flawed. In spite of this, Mitchell has repeatedly defended it, showing that, when applied to the Masoretic cantillation of Psalm 114, it produces

9100-505: The start of the afternoon service . On Festival days and Sabbaths, instead of concluding the morning service, it precedes the Mussaf service. Psalms 95–99, 29, 92, and 93, along with some later readings, comprise the introduction ( Kabbalat Shabbat ) to the Friday night service. Traditionally, a different "Psalm for the Day"— Shir shel yom —is read after the morning service each day of

9200-712: The three sons of Korah . According to Abraham ibn Ezra , the final redaction of the book was made by the Men of the Great Assembly . Some of the psalms show influences from related earlier texts from the region; examples include various Ugaritic texts and the Babylonian Enūma Eliš . These influences may be either of background similarity or of contrast. For example, Psalm 29 shares characteristics with Canaanite religious poetry and themes. Not too much should be read into this, however. Robert Alter points out that

9300-572: The week (starting Sunday, Psalms: 24, 48, 82, 94, 81, 93, 92). This is described in the Mishnah (the initial codification of the Jewish oral tradition ) in the tractate Tamid . According to the Talmud, these daily Psalms were originally recited on that day of the week by the Levites in the Temple in Jerusalem. From Rosh Chodesh Elul until Hoshanah Rabbah , Psalm 27 is recited twice daily following

9400-541: The word ‘minimum’. Instead, the word refers to the red lead of the pencils used in the 9th century for these psalters. Throughout the psalter there are both red and blue lines connecting the miniatures to text, much like the way we today link text to photos or other websites. The Theodore Psalter miniatures convey allegorical meaning from the Psalms or the Odes , and have "an extra layer of meaning supplied by images displaying vigorous anti-Iconoclastic propaganda". One example

9500-507: Was a Greek Orthodox monastery in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul ), the capital of the Byzantine Empire . The residents of the monastery were referred to as Stoudites or Studites . Although the monastery has been derelict for half a millennium, the laws and customs of the Stoudion were taken as models by the monks of Mount Athos and of many other monasteries of the Orthodox world ; even today they have influence. The ruins of

9600-472: Was expected that any candidate for bishop would be able to recite the entire Psalter from memory, something they often learned automatically during their time as monks . Christians have used Pater Noster cords of 150 beads to pray the entire Psalter. Paul the Apostle quotes psalms (specifically Psalms 14 and 53 , which are nearly identical) as the basis for his theory of original sin , and includes

9700-596: Was occasioned by liturgical uses and carelessness of copyists. It is generally admitted that Psalms 9 and 10 (Hebrew numbering) were originally a single acrostic poem, wrongly separated by Massorah and rightly united by the Septuagint and the Vulgate. Psalms 42 and 43 (Hebrew numbering) are shown by identity of subject (yearning for the house of Yahweh), of metrical structure and of refrain (comparing Psalms 42:6, 12; 43:5, Hebrew numbering), to be three strophes of one and

9800-446: Was the concept behind icons, ceremonies or rituals, and the creation of religious books. The act of reading the Psalms was not new. It was thought that icons created a mental universe for the reader imbued with images derived from texts. Art History Professor Herbert L. Kessler believes such manuscripts were created to transport the reader to a different place, a place with high spiritual aspirations. He mentions an illuminated manuscript,

9900-402: Was truly great and was also so named." Professor Barber continues, "First, there is Theodore from Caesaera. He describes himself as an archpriest and scribe of the monastery. Furthermore, he has defined himself within this last role in two ways: he has both written and written in gold this manuscript. Clearly, Theodore should be identified with the hands-on production of this work. The second name

10000-517: Was unclear, but there are indications in some of them: "Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar" suggests a connection with sacrifices, and "Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense" suggests a connection with the offering of incense. According to Jewish tradition , the Book of Psalms was composed by the First Man ( Adam ), Melchizedek , Abraham , Moses , David , Solomon , Heman , Jeduthun , Asaph , and

#912087