When was the Book of Psalms written?

Answer 1

They were written over a long period of time - all before Christ, of course. Many psalms were written by King David who lived from about 1037BC - 967 BC. However, some of the psalms, if one looks carefully at the words, were obviously written after the Jewish exile in Babylon when Cyrus the king of Persia invaded and took over the Babylonian empire. He decreed that Jews should be allowed back to rebuild their temple. This took place around 539BC and the years following. Therefore it is possible that the psalms were written over a period of well over 200 years. However, by the time of Jesus, the psalms were well established as devotional songs and poems and were quoted by New Testament characters regularly. Even Jesus' dying words on the Cross 'My God, My God. why have you forsaken me' come from Psalm 22.

Scholars say that the psalms were a literary genre unknown at the time of Kings David and Solomon. Also, some of the psalms attributed to David could not possibly have been written by him, most obviously when they refer to the Jerusalem Temple. Scholars say that the Book of Psalms was actually written over a period of more than two hundred years, from the sixth-century-BCE Babylonian Exile onwards. The authorship of the Psalms spans a period of approximately 1000 years. The earliest would be one of Moses' psalms, while the latest would have been written around 430BC. Many were written during the time of David - by David himself. The books were collected together in David's time and shortly after (completed by around 425BC).

Another answer:

Scholars say the psalms were written over a period of more than two hundred years, during and after the Babylonian Exile, although many of them contain pre-Exilic material and even occasionally some material from centuries earlier, passed down orally until committed to writing.

Answer 3

Tradition states that King David gave us the Book of Psalms. Seventy-three of the 150 bear his name, and the unattributed ones are also from him (Talmud, Berakhot 9b).

Concerning those Psalms that have the names of other authors, tradition teaches that we may thank David for them too. This is because it was he who collated and canonized them into his Book (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). Some of their authors were contemporaries of David (such as Heiman, Eitan, Asaph, Jeduthun), while others lived before his time (Adam, Moses, Malkitzedek). If not for King David, those Psalms would have gone lost.

For some decades, academic scholars have claimed that many psalms were written several centuries after King David. They stated this for theoretical reasons. Recent analysis, however, makes it clear that the language, style, genre and phraseology of the Psalms is much more ancient than had been claimed. (Buttenwieser, Moses: The Psalms, Chronologically Treated with a New Translation. Also: Dahood, Mitchell, Psalms; The Anchor Bible.)

Answer 2

Most of the psalms are traditionally attributed to Kings David and Solomon, and on that basis would probably have been written in Jerusalem during the tenth century BCE.
However, scholars believe that most psalms was written during and after the Babylonian Exile, in which case some may have been written in Babylon, while others were written in Jerusalem after the return. A few of the psalms appear to date from pre-Exilic times, and may even have been based on Egyptian originals.

The final compilation of the Book of Psalms no doubt took place in Jerusalem.

Answer 3

Tradition states that King David gave us the Book of Psalms. Seventy-three of the 150 bear his name, and the unattributed ones are also from him (Talmud, Berakhot 9b).

Concerning those Psalms that have the names of other authors, tradition teaches that we may thank David for them too. This is because it was he who collated and canonized them into his Book (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). Some of their authors were contemporaries of David (such as Heiman, Eitan, Asaph, Jeduthun), while others lived before his time (Adam, Moses, Malkitzedek). If not for King David, those Psalms would have gone lost.

For some decades, academic scholars have claimed that many psalms were written several centuries after King David. They stated this for theoretical reasons. Recent analysis, however, makes it clear that the language, style, genre and phraseology of the Psalms is much more ancient than had been claimed. (Buttenwieser, Moses: The Psalms, Chronologically Treated with a New Translation. Also: Dahood, Mitchell, Psalms; The Anchor Bible.)

See also:

About King David

Psalm 23

The purpose of the Psalms