Target year level: Year Three

Scripture text

Psalm 23: 1-6

Introduction

A psalm is a sacred song or hymn. The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament contains a variety of such songs and hymns. Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd, is one of the best known and loved psalms.

The 149/150 psalms in the Book of Psalms may be classified as songs of praise; songs of Zion; psalms of Yahweh’s enthronement; psalms of lament and complaint; royal psalms; thanksgiving psalms; wisdom psalms and a number of smaller psalms genres and mixed types. For more detailed information see Literary Structure of the Psalms.

The numbering of Psalms differs, mostly by one digit, between the Hebrew (Masoretic) and Greek (Septuagint) texts of the Bible. This can sometimes cause confusion in reading Psalms in different English Bible translations. For further information see Psalms Numbering.

For an extensive background, see the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE),  Introduction to Psalms.

World behind the text

The psalms were composed over a lengthy period of 500 years or more. When the psalms are read as a whole, the reader can imagine a wide range of situations in the individual and collective lives of the People of Israel out of which the composition of individual psalms arose and for which they were composed. Gatherings for worship, for prayer, for the celebration of festivals, for processions, for religious sacrifices, for times of harvest, for occasions of victory and defeat, for triumph and defeat in battle, for the ordinary joys, sorrows, certainties and doubts of ordinary life - these form the world behind the texts of the psalms. For further information see Psalms Composition and Background.

It is important to appreciate something of the life of a shepherd in ancient Israel. The ‘green pastures’ and ‘still waters’ provide an enticing image of the occupation of a shepherd, but for most, shepherding was a challenging way of life in a harsh climate and in difficult terrain as suggested by the image ‘darkest valley’ and ‘right paths’ and the need to be comforted. 

World of the text

The psalms have always been much loved among both Jews and Christians. In part this is because they use the literary techniques associated with poetry and song writing to engage those who pray the psalms; read the psalms and sing, chant and recite psalms in various settings for prayer and worship. For further information see Psalms Literary Techniques.

The image of the shepherd is a focal point in Psalm 23. Much of the other imagery in the psalm (‘green pastures’, ‘still waters’, ‘right paths’, ‘darkest valley’, ‘rod and staff’) is linked to this focal image of the ‘shepherd’. These images need to be understood in relation to the literary use of ‘shepherd’ in the biblical texts of the Old Testament and the New Testament. A quick search in the online BibleGateway indicates that there are 113 biblical texts (91 OT, 22 NT) in which the word ‘shepherd’ appears. The topical index of BibleGateway shows that the title ‘shepherd’ was applied to Jesus Christ in a variety of New Testament texts, as it had been to Jesus’ ancestor, David. Shepherds are present at Jesus’ birth and, in John 10:1-16, we have the well-known parable of ‘The Good Shepherd’. For greater detail see Shepherd in Biblical Texts .

World in front of the text

Psalms have been utilised in the life and worship of both Jews and Christians in a variety of settings as indicated in Psalms in Christian and Jewish Life and Worship.

Something of the contemporary appeal and relevance of Psalm 23 is embedded in the following links: Psalm 23 in Movie and Song and Psalm 23 a New Look.

Psalms are an important element in the Liturgy of the Word in the Mass.