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Psalm 44 is the 44th psalm from the Book of Psalms, composed by sons of Korah and is classified in the series of lamentations of the people.
Contents
Structure
Usually, the Psalm is organized as follows:
- V. 2-9: Healing Historical Review.
- from 10-23: describing the current disaster.
- V. 24-27: Final request for termination of the disaster through the intervention of God.
As a central message of the psalm Hermann Gunkel noted the contrast between past and present events.
In Jewish traditions, its viewed as suffering in the face of the golden past, all the more shows the plight of the current situation.
Judaism
Literary form
Psalm 44 is a Psalm of communal lament, indicating that the suffering, in this case from being defeated by enemies, is communal.
This Psalm reflects each of five key elements of a lament, or complaint, Psalm:
"We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old" (44:1) In this case, the Psalmist is speaking directly to God.
In these verses, the Psalmist laments that God has been slow to act and has a responsibility to save these people from their enemies.
The Psalmist recites a history of God's saving acts, which includes reference to God commanding victories for Jacob.
These petitions can be quite specific. In verse 26, the Psalmist gives a direct command to God to "Rise up, come to our help."
This particular Psalm includes a brief vow of thanksgiving in verse 8, when the Psalmist writes "In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever" (44:8)
A note about superscripts
Its superscript reads "To the Leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil". It is addressed to the leader of the Korahites, who were likely a group of people who played a role in the music or worship of the temple. The term "Maskil" means "artistic song" and its inclusion in the superscript of this Psalm indicates that it was originally written with artistic skill.