Figure 18 Arthur Wragg, ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to earth; in that very day his thoughts perish’ (Ps. 146:34). Source: Wragg, A. 1934: The Psalms for Modern Life. New York: Claude Kendall.
Figure 19 The unexpected introduction to Psalm 150 by Ivor Stravinsky. Source: Public Domain/Creative Commons/Open Government (UK) Licence.
Plates
Plate 1 Psalm 74: ‘God works Salvation in the Midst of the Earth: The Birth of Christ.’ From The Eadwine Psalter, Trinity College M.17.1, fol. 128v (with permission from the Master and Fellows of Trinity College).
Plate 2 Psalm 78: David and the Unicorn. From The Stuttgart Psalter, Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, Cod. Bibl M 23, fol. 108v (with permission from Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart).
Plate 3 Psalm 81 (Latin 80) as the Sixth Liturgical Division: a Rotund Psalmist plays his Vielle to God. MS Canon Liturg 151, fol. 146v (with permission of The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford).
Plate 4 Psalm 84: A Figure points to Jerusalem’s Palaces and Towers. From The Parma Psalter, Biblioteca Paletina, Parma, MS Parm 1870 (Cod. De Rossi 510), fol. 119v (with permission from the owners of the facsimile of The Parma Psalter, at www.facsimile-editions.com).
Plate 5 Psalm 85: ‘Mercy and Truth are Met Together…’ . William Blake, c.1803, © Victoria and Albert Museum no. 9287 (with permission from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London).
Plate 6 Psalm 91: Christ tramples on a Lion and Serpent-Dragon: a Political Reading. Cover of The Douce Ivory, MS Douce 176 (with permission of The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford).
Plate 7 Psalm 95: Calls to Praise on a Shofar. From The Parma Psalter, Biblioteca Paletina, Parma, MS Parm 1870 (Cod. De Rossi 510), fol. 136v (with permission from the owners of the facsimile of The Parma Psalter, at www.facsimile-editions.com).
Plate 8 Psalm 98:1: Illuminated Initial ‘C’. Christ the Architect of the Universe, holding a Compass from The Bromheim Psalter MS Ashmole 1523, fol. 116v. (with permission of The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford).
Plate 9 Psalm 100 Reversed: The Ku Klux Klan deny Mercy and Justice. Philip Evergood, 1938–9, Jewish Museum New York No. 27477 (© Photo SCALA, Florence, with permission of Scala Group S.p.a.).
Plate 10 Psalm 102:6: The Pelican Feeds her Young as Christ feeds his Church. From The Theodore Psalter, British Library MS 19352, fol. 134r (with permission from the British Library Board).
Plate 11 Psalm 107: Psalms Book V Frontispiece. Donald Jackson, Scribe with Sally Mae Joseph. © 2004, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Plate 12 Psalm 107: YHWH the Provider according to Moshe Tzvi HaLevi Berger, all rights reserved (www.museumofpsalms.com, reproduced with permission).
Plate 13 Psalm 107: God’s Deliverance from Storms at Sea. Thomas Denny: a stained glass window at the church of St. Mary, Whitburn, Durham Diocese (with permission of the Vicar and PCC of St. Mary’s Church, Whitburn).
Plate 14 Psalm 109: Illustrated Initial ‘D’. Judas, betrayer of Christ, hangs himself. From Le Psautier de Bertin, BMB MS 20 fol. 122v. (with permission of Bibliothèque municipal de Boulogne-sur-Mer).
Plate 15 Psalm 110: Christ at the Right Hand of the Father, in Conversation. From The History Bible, KB69B 10 fol. 31r. (with permission of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague).
Plate 16 Psalm 110:1 Illustrated Initial ‘D’. Christ in Judgement Summons the Dead from their Graves. From The Omer Psalter MS 39810 fol. 120r (with permission from the British Library Board).
Plate 17 Psalm 113: A Synagogue Scene illustrating the Celebration of Passover. From The Barcelona Haggadah, Catalonia, Add 14761 fol. 65v (with permission from the British Library Board).
Plates 18 and 19 Psalm 114: The Parting of the Waters, with English and19 and Hebrew text: God’s Creative Care. © Psalm 114, Hebrew and English illuminations, from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms, by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007 (with permission of the author).
Plate 20 Psalm 117: A Vespers Psalm: The Presentation of Mary in the Temple, holding the Hebrew text of Psalm 117. Alessandro Allori (1598). Altarpiece in the Duomo in Lucca. (© simonemphotography123.com).
Plate 21 Psalm 118:19–20: Christ Rides through the Gates of Jerusalem. From The Theodore Psalter, British Library MS 19352, fol. 157v (with permission from the British Library Board).
Plate 22 Psalm 118: An invitation to Enter God’s Gates with Thanksgiving. From The Oppenheimer Siddur (Bodleian Ms. Opp. 776 Fol. 79b it).
Plate 23 Psalm 124:7: Our Soul is Escaped like a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowlers. © Benn, Les Psaumes. Lyon: Musee des Beaux-Arts, 1970 (no page numbers).
Plates 24 and 25 Psalm 126, with English and Hebrew text: © Psalm 126, Hebrew and English illuminations, from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms, by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007 (with permission of the author).
Plate 26 ‘By the Waters of Babylon’. From The Eadwine Psalter, Trinity College M.17.1, fol. 243v (with permission from the Master and Fellows of Trinity College).
Plate 27 Psalm 137:5 ‘If I forget you, O Jerusalem…’. Mosaic of Psalm 137 in the Chagall State Hall, Knesset (© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2020 ).
Plate 28 Psalm 148 fol. 41v: ‘Christus Rex’. From Les Très Riches Heures de Duc de Berry, Musée Condé Chantilly (© with permission from the Agence Photographique de la Réunion des musées nationaux).
Plate 29 Psalm 149:1: ‘Sing to the Lord a New Song’. From The Parma Psalter, Biblioteca Paletina, Parma, MS Parm 1870 (Cod. De Rossi 510), fol. 213b (with permission from the owners of the facsimile of The Parma Psalter, at www.facsimile-editions.com).
Plate 30 Psalm 150: ‘Praise the Lord!’. Marc Chagall’s stained glass window at Chichester Cathedral (© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2020).
Preface
It was almost twenty-five years ago when my initial conversations with Christopher Rowland and John Sawyer resulted in a contract to produce a volume on the Psalms in the Blackwell Bible Commentary Series. It took two years of research to recognise the size of a project which was to examine the Jewish and Christian reception history of the Book of Psalms over two and a half millennia. The first step required setting up a data base, both digitally and in hard copy, which would organise the vast amount of material into time periods and types of reception. Even with the support of several short-term research assistants, and two sabbaticals, I was not able to start writing what would become Volume One until 2004. Very soon I realised that this