Psalm 51
Encyclopedia
Psalm 51 traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit
, is one of the Penitential Psalms
. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God.
The psalm's opening words in Latin, Miserere mei, Deus, have led to its being called the Miserere Mei or even just Miserere. It is often known by this name in musical settings.
include introductory text ("superscription") in the manuscript attributing it to a particular author and sometimes to an occasion. The New King James Version
of the Bible introduces it: "To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." The Hebrew linguist and scholar Robert Alter
translates it less literally, making explicit what is only implicit in the words used: "...a David psalm, upon Nathan the prophet's coming to him when he had come to bed with Bathsheba." He comments: "The Hebrew verb used for both Nathan and David is 'to come to' [or 'into']', but in the former instance it refers to the prophet's entering the king's chambers, whereas the latter instance reflects its sexual sense."
The superscription in the Septuagint reads: "For the End: A Psalm of David, When Nathan the Prophet Came unto Him, When He Went in unto Bersabee (Batheshba) the Wife of Urias."
, several verses from this psalm are given prominence:
and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
. It is typically included during the Mystery of Repentance (corresponding to the sacrament of confession
), in personal daily prayers, and many of the liturgical services. The various services of the Daily Office may be combined into three aggregates (evening, morning and noonday), and are so arranged that Psalm 50 is read during each aggregate.
In the Agpeya
, Coptic Church's book of hours
, it is recited at every office throughout the day as a prayer of confession and repentance.
In Western Christianity
, Psalm 51 (using the Masoretic numbering) is also used liturgically.
In the Roman Catholic Church
this psalm may be assigned by a priest to a penitent as a penance
after Confession
. Verse 7 of the psalm is traditionally sung as the priest
sprinkles holy water
over the congregation before Mass
, in a rite known as the Asperges
me, the first two words of the verse in Latin
. It also is prayed during Lauds
(Morning Prayer) every Friday in the Liturgy of the Hours
.
Psalm 51 is associated with Ash Wednesday
as a scripture reading in both the Revised Common Lectionary
and the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
In Orthodox Christianity
, Psalm 50 (as numbered in the Septuagint) is used in the Holy Services. It starts, "Gr:
(Ἐλεήμων) Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεός", and is specifically recited by the priest during the Divine Liturgy
, when he censes the Holy Altar and the Iconostasis
before the Great Entrance.
liturgical music
before Vatican II
. Most of the settings, which are often used at Tenebrae
, are in a simple falsobordone
style. During the Renaissance many composers wrote settings. The earliest known polyphonic setting, probably dating from the 1480s, is by Johannes Martini
, a composer working in the Este court in Ferrara
. The extended polyphonic setting
by Josquin des Prez
, probably written in 1503/1504 in Ferrara, was likely inspired by the prison meditation Infelix ego
by Girolamo Savonarola
, who had been burned at the stake
just five years before. Later in the 16th century Orlande de Lassus
wrote an elaborate setting as part of his Penitential Psalms, and Palestrina
, Andrea Gabrieli
, Giovanni Gabrieli
, and Carlo Gesualdo
also wrote settings. Antonio Vivaldi
may have written a setting or settings, but such composition(s) have been lost, with only two introductory motet
s remaining. Settings were also written by Johann Sebastian Bach
and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
.
One of the best-known settings of the Miserere is the 17th century version
by Roman School
composer Gregorio Allegri
. According to a famous story, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, aged only fourteen, heard the piece performed once, on April 11, 1770, and after going back to his lodging for the night was able to write out the entire score from memory. He went back a day or two later with his draft to correct some errors. That the final chorus
comprises a ten-part harmony
underscores the prodigiousness of the young Mozart's musical genius. The piece is also noteworthy in having numerous high Cs in the treble
solos.
Modern composers who have written notable settings of the Miserere include Michael Nyman
and Arvo Pärt
. The album Salvation (2003) by the group Funeral Mist
included the song "In Manus Tuas" which used verses 3–16 in Latin from Psalm 51. Also, the Antestor
song "Mercy Lord", from the album Martyrium
(1994), also cites Psalm 51. The song "White As Snow" by Jon Foreman from his Winter
EP is a paraphrase of Psalm 51. In the Philippines, the Bukas Palad Music Ministry
includes their own version of "Miserere" in their album "Christify" (2010).
and Psalm 51 are pointed out in "Psalm 51 and the 'Opening of the Mouth' Ceremony," by Benjamin Urrutia
, Scripta Hierosolymitana: Publications of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, volume 28, pages 222-223 (1982). The parallels include:
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
, is one of the Penitential Psalms
Penitential Psalms
The Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th century AD, are the Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 . These are specially expressive of sorrow for sin. Four were known as 'penitential psalms' by St. Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century...
. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God.
The psalm's opening words in Latin, Miserere mei, Deus, have led to its being called the Miserere Mei or even just Miserere. It is often known by this name in musical settings.
Introduction
Many psalmsPsalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
include introductory text ("superscription") in the manuscript attributing it to a particular author and sometimes to an occasion. The New King James Version
New King James Version
The New King James Version is a modern translation of the Bible published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The New Testament was published in 1979. The Psalms in 1980. The full Bible was published in 1982. It took a total of 7 years to complete...
of the Bible introduces it: "To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." The Hebrew linguist and scholar Robert Alter
Robert Alter
Robert Bernard Alter is an American professor of Hebrew language and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967.-Biography:...
translates it less literally, making explicit what is only implicit in the words used: "...a David psalm, upon Nathan the prophet's coming to him when he had come to bed with Bathsheba." He comments: "The Hebrew verb used for both Nathan and David is 'to come to' [or 'into']', but in the former instance it refers to the prophet's entering the king's chambers, whereas the latter instance reflects its sexual sense."
The superscription in the Septuagint reads: "For the End: A Psalm of David, When Nathan the Prophet Came unto Him, When He Went in unto Bersabee (Batheshba) the Wife of Urias."
Verse 11
Robert Alter has "Do not fling me from Your presence", commenting: "as elsewhere, this Hebrew verb has a connotation of violent action for which the conventional translation of it as 'cast' is too tame."Liturgical use
The psalm is frequently used in various liturgical traditions because of its spirit of humility and repentance.Judaism
In JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, several verses from this psalm are given prominence:
- The entire psalm is recited in the Arizal's rite of the bedtime Shema on weekdays, and is also part of the regular tikkun chatzotTikkun ChatzotTikkun Chatzot is a Jewish ritual of lamentation that is recited after midnight in memory of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a highly praiseworthy observance which is not universally observed. Over the past few years, there have been attempts to revive the custom of Tikkun...
prayers. - Verse 13 (11 in the KJV) forms a central part of the selichotSelichotSelichot or slichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on Fast Days...
services - Verse 17 (15 in the KJV), "O Lord, open thou my lips...", is recited as a preface to the AmidahAmidahThe Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
, the central prayer in Jewish servicesJewish servicesJewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
. - Verse 20 (18 in the KJV) is recited in the Ashkenazic liturgy before the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
reading on Sabbath and festivals. - Is recited along with Parshat Parah.
Christianity
As a penitential psalm, Psalm 50 (using the Septuagint numbering) is one of the most frequently used psalms in the Eastern Orthodox ChurchEastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
. It is typically included during the Mystery of Repentance (corresponding to the sacrament of confession
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
), in personal daily prayers, and many of the liturgical services. The various services of the Daily Office may be combined into three aggregates (evening, morning and noonday), and are so arranged that Psalm 50 is read during each aggregate.
In the Agpeya
Agpeya
The Coptic cycle of canonical hours is largely monastic, primarily composed of psalm readings. The Coptic equivalent of the Byzantine Horologion is the Agpeya....
, Coptic Church's book of hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
, it is recited at every office throughout the day as a prayer of confession and repentance.
In Western Christianity
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...
, Psalm 51 (using the Masoretic numbering) is also used liturgically.
In the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
this psalm may be assigned by a priest to a penitent as a penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
after Confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
. Verse 7 of the psalm is traditionally sung as the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
sprinkles holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
over the congregation before Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, in a rite known as the Asperges
Asperges
Asperges is a name given to the rite of sprinkling a congregation with holy water. The name comes from the first word in the 9th verse of Psalm 51 in the Latin translation, the Vulgate, which is sung during the Traditional form of the rite, except during Eastertide...
me, the first two words of the verse in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. It also is prayed during Lauds
Lauds
Lauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
(Morning Prayer) every Friday in the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
.
Psalm 51 is associated with Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
as a scripture reading in both the Revised Common Lectionary
Revised Common Lectionary
The Revised Common Lectionary is a lectionary of readings or pericopes from the Bible for use in Christian worship, making provision for the liturgical year with its pattern of observances of festivals and seasons. Its first version was known as the Common Lectionary, assembled in 1983. It was...
and the Roman Catholic Lectionary.
In Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, Psalm 50 (as numbered in the Septuagint) is used in the Holy Services. It starts, "Gr:
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
(Ἐλεήμων) Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεός", and is specifically recited by the priest during the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
, when he censes the Holy Altar and the Iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
before the Great Entrance.
Musical settings
The Miserere was a frequently used text in CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
liturgical music
Liturgical music
Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service , the Lutheran Divine Service, the Orthodox liturgy and other Christian services...
before Vatican II
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
. Most of the settings, which are often used at Tenebrae
Tenebrae
Tenebrae may refer to:* Tenebrae, a Christian worship service held during Holy Week * Tenebrae , a horror film by Dario Argento* Tenebrae , soundtrack album for the Dario Argento film...
, are in a simple falsobordone
Falsobordone
Falsobordone is a style of recitation found in music from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Most often associated with the harmonization of Gregorian psalm tones, it is based on root position triads and is first known to have appeared in southern Europe in the 1480s.Falsobordoni are made up of two...
style. During the Renaissance many composers wrote settings. The earliest known polyphonic setting, probably dating from the 1480s, is by Johannes Martini
Johannes Martini
Johannes Martini was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance.-Life:He was born in Brabant around 1440, but information about his early life is scanty. He probably received his early training in Flanders, as did most of the composers of his generation...
, a composer working in the Este court in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
. The extended polyphonic setting
Miserere (Josquin)
The Miserere, by Josquin des Prez, is a motet setting of Psalm 51 for five voices. He composed it while in the employ of Duke Ercole I d'Este in Ferrara, most likely in 1503 or 1504...
by Josquin des Prez
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
, probably written in 1503/1504 in Ferrara, was likely inspired by the prison meditation Infelix ego
Infelix ego
Infelix ego is a Latin meditation on the Miserere, Psalm 51, composed in prison by Girolamo Savonarola by 8 May 1498, after he was tortured on the rack, and two weeks before he was burned at the stake in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence on 23 May 1498...
by Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar, Scholastic, and an influential contributor to the politics of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. He was known for his book burning, destruction of what he considered immoral art, and what he thought the Renaissance—which began in his...
, who had been burned at the stake
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
just five years before. Later in the 16th century Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance...
wrote an elaborate setting as part of his Penitential Psalms, and Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, Andrea Gabrieli
Andrea Gabrieli
Andrea Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned member of the Venetian School of composers, and was extremely influential in spreading the Venetian style in Italy as...
, Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque idioms.-Biography:Gabrieli was born in Venice...
, and Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo, known as Gesualdo di Venosa or Gesualdo da Venosa , Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was an Italian nobleman, lutenist, composer, and murderer....
also wrote settings. Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
may have written a setting or settings, but such composition(s) have been lost, with only two introductory motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s remaining. Settings were also written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was an Italian composer, violinist and organist.-Biography:Born at Iesi, Pergolesi studied music there under a local musician, Francesco Santini, before going to Naples in 1725, where he studied under Gaetano Greco and Francesco Feo among others...
.
One of the best-known settings of the Miserere is the 17th century version
Miserere (Allegri)
Miserere, full name "Miserere mei, Deus" by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, is a setting of Psalm 51 composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for use in the Sistine Chapel during matins, as part of the exclusive Tenebrae service on Wednesday and Friday of Holy...
by Roman School
Roman School
In music history, the Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music, in Rome, during the 16th and 17th centuries, therefore spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. The term also refers to the music they produced...
composer Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri was an Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a priest and a singer. He lived mainly in Rome, where he would later die.-Life:...
. According to a famous story, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, aged only fourteen, heard the piece performed once, on April 11, 1770, and after going back to his lodging for the night was able to write out the entire score from memory. He went back a day or two later with his draft to correct some errors. That the final chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
comprises a ten-part harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
underscores the prodigiousness of the young Mozart's musical genius. The piece is also noteworthy in having numerous high Cs in the treble
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...
solos.
Modern composers who have written notable settings of the Miserere include Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
and Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
. The album Salvation (2003) by the group Funeral Mist
Funeral Mist
- Biography :The band in its original form was founded in autumn of 1993 by now former members. Bass player Arioch was added in the summer of 1994.In summer 1995, Funeral Mist’s first demo entitled Darkness was recorded but was released in early 1996...
included the song "In Manus Tuas" which used verses 3–16 in Latin from Psalm 51. Also, the Antestor
Antestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
song "Mercy Lord", from the album Martyrium
Martyrium (album)
Martyrium is the debut album of the unblack metal band Antestor. It is one of the earliest Christian extreme metal albums released in Norway...
(1994), also cites Psalm 51. The song "White As Snow" by Jon Foreman from his Winter
Winter (Jon Foreman EP)
Winter is the second EP released by Jon Foreman, frontman of the San Diego rock band Switchfoot. The EP was released on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, as either a digital download or as a physical copy packaged with the Fall EP in a double-disc set....
EP is a paraphrase of Psalm 51. In the Philippines, the Bukas Palad Music Ministry
Bukas Palad Music Ministry
The Bukas Palad Music Ministry is a Filipino, Roman Catholic musical group that composes, records, and performs original religious music...
includes their own version of "Miserere" in their album "Christify" (2010).
Egyptian parallels
Parallels between the Ancient Egyptian ritual text Opening of the mouth ceremonyOpening of the mouth ceremony
The opening of the mouth ceremony was an ancient Egyptian ritual described in funerary texts such as the Pyramid Texts.-Funerary magic:...
and Psalm 51 are pointed out in "Psalm 51 and the 'Opening of the Mouth' Ceremony," by Benjamin Urrutia
Benjamín Urrutia
Benjamin Urrutia is an author and scholar. With Guy Davenport, Urrutia edited The Logia of Yeshua, which collected what Urrutia and Davenport consider to be Jesus' authentic sayings from a variety of canonical and non-canonical sources...
, Scripta Hierosolymitana: Publications of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, volume 28, pages 222-223 (1982). The parallels include:
- Mentions of ritual washing with special herbs (Psalm 51:2,7).
- Restoration of broken bones (verse 8).
- "O Lord, open thou my lips" (verse 15).
- Sacrifices (verses 16,17, 19).
See also
- Benefit of clergyBenefit of clergyIn English law, the benefit of clergy was originally a provision by which clergymen could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be tried instead in an ecclesiastical court under canon law...
— A.K.A. the Neck Verse - Penitential PsalmsPenitential PsalmsThe Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th century AD, are the Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 . These are specially expressive of sorrow for sin. Four were known as 'penitential psalms' by St. Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century...
External links
- Hebrew text, translation, transliteration, recording on the Zemirot Database
- Tehillim — Psalms 51 (Judaica Press) translation with RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
's commentary at Chabad.orgChabad.orgChabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It serves not just its own members but Jews worldwide in general. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation.-History:...