text · B0019
Sefer Tehillim ספר תהלים
Israel's prayerbook — and, in the baraita of Bava Batra, its oldest anthology: David wrote the book of Tehillim "by the hands of ten elders," gathering voices that reach back to the first man. The baraita lists them: Adam HaRishon, Malki-Tzedek, Avraham, Moshe, Heiman, Yedutun, Asaf, and the three sons of Korach. On the timeline the book sits in David's reign, but the tradition understands its contents as the deepest reach-back in all of Scripture.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- ספר תהלים
- Also known as
- Tehillim, Psalms, Book of Psalms
- Era
- bible
II. When
- Traditional
- written down by David, incorporating the words of ten elders, c. 2854–2924 AM per Bava Batra 14b–15a
- Academic
- an anthology; individual psalms dated from the monarchy to the post-exilic period, final collection Second Temple
- Duration
- ≈70 years
- Precision
- approximate
IV. What
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Structure
- 150 psalms in five books; superscriptions attribute individual psalms to David and to the elders the baraita names.
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| "David wrote the book of Tehillim by the hands of ten elders" (דוד כתב ספר תהלים על ידי עשרה זקנים) — and the baraita names them: by the hands of Adam HaRishon, Malki-Tzedek, Avraham, Moshe, Heiman, Yedutun, Asaf, and the three sons of Korach.
The Gemara then polishes the list: why not count Eitan HaEzrachi? Rav answers Eitan HaEzrachi is Avraham; and the Heiman counted is not Moshe (though Rav elsewhere identifies a Heiman with Moshe) — there were two Heimans.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Timeline placement 2854–2924 AM — David's traditional lifetime, as the collecting author; the incorporated material reaches back to earlier figures per the baraita. The span is schematic. | tradition reconstruction | ★★★☆☆ |