Good morning. It’s Monday, June 1st!

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

📖 Verse Of The Day

— Psalm 33:2

🧠 Devotional

Do you know what the word “Psalm” means?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as this:

“a sacred song or poem used in worship”

especially:

“one of the biblical hymns collected in the Book of Psalms.”

The Book of Psalms was originally written in Hebrew, where its Hebrew title is Tehillim (תְּהִלִּים), meaning “praises.”

Later, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek in a translation called the Septuagint. The Greek translators used the word Psalmoi (Ψαλμοί) as the title for the book.

The Greek word psalmos (ψαλμός) referred to a song sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments.

It comes from the Greek verb psallō (ψάλλω), which originally meant “to pluck strings.”

Psalm 33:2 (NIV) says:

“Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.”

Over time, the meaning evolved from the physical act of plucking strings on an instrument, to songs sung with stringed instruments, and eventually to sacred worship songs.

That may actually be part of why the Greek translators used that word as the title. It reflected how these writings were originally used and experienced: as musical worship songs, not just written poetry.

The Book of Psalms was not written by just one person either. Many of the psalms were written by David, but others were written or associated with people like Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, and others. Some psalms are anonymous.

Psalm 150:3-5 (NIV) says:

“Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals…”

The meaning and translation of the word psalmos brings us to this point: the Book of Psalms was deeply connected to music and worship from the very beginning.

These were not just poems to read, but worship songs meant to express praise, grief, repentance, thanksgiving, fear, hope, and every other emotion directed toward God.