The authorship of Psalm 22

Abstract

There is no consensus on the authorship of Psalm 22. The superscription of Ps 22 says that it is la-Dawid. Ancient writers and some modern scholars hold that la-Dawid indicates Davidic authorship. Some crit i ca l scholars say that it is not David who authored Ps 22. The survey on the authorship of Ps 22 reveals that the ancient writers hold to the Davidic authorship of Ps 22 . Some modern scholars who indicates Oavidic authorship, hold to the tradition that David composed most of the psalms, including Ps 22. It was only in the the 19th century that the divergent issues relative to the authorship of Ps 22 came out. The study of the ancient Hebrew inscriptions on the meaning of the preposition la- shows that it consistently means "belonging to" denoting ownership . Nowhere in Hebrew epigraphy that la- means "for." In translating the superscription la-Dawid, it should then mean "be l onging to David," indicating authorship. A passage by passage study of Ps 22 , it indicates that the sufferings mentioned in Ps 22 can be readily identified within the persecution of David under Saul. Thus, the study strengthens the idea that David is the author of the chapter since the experiences mentioned can be identified with him. The experience of David also extends to the experience of Jesus which makes this psalm Messianic. From the study, we can say that la-Dawid means "belonging to David" denoting a uthorship. Since it is found in the superscription of Ps 22, it is most likely that David is the author of such. This claim is strengthened by the experience of David which can be related to the suffering described in Ps 22.