Psalms of Solomon 1

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Psalms of Solomon (Apocrypha)

Introduction:
The Psalms of Solomon were probably written by 2-3 different people over time, but mostly originally written between 63-40 BC.
Some manuscripts spell Solomon as Salomon, so sometimes online you'll see the title as “Psalms of Salomon” but it's not talking about a different book.
It's unlikely to be from the time of David's son, King Solomon. Many people were named Solomon, as it was a popular name.
The oldest surviving manuscripts are in Greek from the 11th century AD, but were translated from a much older, but lost Aramaic manuscript. We can tell by the choice of words in the Greek translations that it was a translation, rather than being originally in Greek.
Biblical scholar, Henry Swete (1935-1917) believed that they were originally part of the Alexandrinus Codex (5th century AD) but those pages had been ripped out of the original codex.
There's also exactly 12 missing pages in the Codex Sinaiticus in the 4th century AD, thereby providing evidence of their original presence.
Both Alfred Rahlf and Henry Swete included them in their Greek copies of the Septuagint.
But it was not included in the Codex Vaticanus or in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The fact that these psalms weren't in the Dead Sea Scrolls, helps to validate that they were probably written in the first century BC, rather than earlier. Coming originally from Aramaic, helps to validate that they weren't written in the AD years when Greek was dominant.
When we think about “established Old Testament scripture” during the time of Christ, we must consider that there wasn't much time for writings between 48 BC and 40 BC to be repeatedly hand copied, circulated and become well known, accepted and popular.
The words of these Psalms match the historical context of the time-frame.

Instead of translating “God” as “Theos”, our translation uses the word “God”, since these Psalms weren't originally in Greek.
We use “The Lord” instead of the divine name, since the original writing was probably Aramaic which avoided the divine name.
The reason that we have provided this current translation is because it seems that the Psalms of Solomon were divinely confirmed to us.
Pastor Zimmerman had preached a sermon about the need to control our anger and our words, in general on a daily basis, although there are times that harsh rebuke or war is necessary. Included in that sermon were bible verses that also spoke of our need to listen to counsel/advice.
Later in the same day, the pastor finished reading the Psalms of Solomon for the first time. And in that section that he read that day, was the exact same themes of the sermon.
This manuscript had been laying on his desk for many months, perhaps probably a year. So it wasn't coincidence that he finished reading those specific chapters on that same day, without foreknowledge of the relationship of those chapters to the sermon.
Therefore, in faith, we share these holy inspired words with you.

Context/Inspiration of the Psalms of Solomon:
The people of Jerusalem are portrayed as sinful and hypocritical, referring to the time of the Hasmonean rulers and their supporters.

After the Maccabees defeated Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the mid-2nd century BCE, they took control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple, which had been defiled by the Greek Empire. This victory is celebrated in the biblical holiday of Hanukkah for 8 days every year.
The Maccabees, a priestly family also known as the Hasmoneans, didn't just win religious freedom — they eventually turned their rebellion into a political revolution. They established an independent Jewish kingdom, with both religious and political authority. The leader of the Maccabees, Judah Maccabee, died in battle, but his brothers continued the fight. One of them, Simon, secured independence around 140 BC and became both high priest and political leader.

This new Hasmonean dynasty ruled for about a century. It was unique because the rulers were both priests and kings, which was not traditional law in Judea— normally, priests came from the tribe of Levi, and kings from the line of David in the tribe of Judah.

God had promised that there would always and forever be a descendant of David on David's throne, 2 Sam. 7.
The Davidic throne did not die out or go unoccupied. Instead, when Judah fell to Babylon (in the 6th century BC), the Davidic line was transferred out of the land, eventually making its way to the British Isles, where it continued in a different form, outside of Judea. This was a migration of the royal line through Jeremiah and the king's daughters (Jer. 41-43 and Ezek. 17.)

The Hasmonean dynasty (from 140s BC to 37 BC) was not the fulfillment of God's promise of a person always on the throne of David, but nevertheless, was a government of Judea that God brought to power and blessed until the family fell away from God, and therefore suffered the judgement.

The true Davidic king, though unknown to the people of Judea at the time, was alive in the British Isles, with the royal line having been preserved outside of the land of Judea, leading eventually to the British monarchy being a modern-day continuation of that throne — with Queen Elizabeth II and eventually King Charles fulfilling the promise made to David.
Many Jews, particularly the Pharisees and others who were more traditional, believed the Hasmoneans had overstepped by claiming to be kings outside of the line of David.
Still, many Jews living in Judea accepted the Hasmonean kingship/priesthood because it was a time of independence, and the Hasmoneans defended Jewish practices against foreign influence.
Over time, though, later Hasmonean rulers became more focused on power and less on moral values. Internal divisions grew, especially among different Jewish groups like the Pharisees and Sadducees.

By the 1st century BC, the Hasmonean dynasty was deeply divided. Two brothers, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, fought for control after their mother, Queen Salome Alexandra, died. Hyrcanus was the older brother and originally became high priest and ruler, but he was considered weak. Aristobulus, the younger and more ambitious brother, challenged him and took power. A civil war broke out between them. This power struggle was not just a family dispute — it involved different political and religious groups backing each brother, which made the conflict even worse.

Eventually, both brothers asked Rome to help decide who should rule. This gave the Roman general Pompey an excuse to get involved in Judean affairs. In 63 BC, Pompey arrived in Jerusalem. He decided to support Hyrcanus II, but in doing so, he marched into the city, entered the Temple (which deeply offended many Jews), and ended Jewish independence.

In 63 BC, Pompey — full name Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus — was not a king or a Caesar. He was a powerful Roman general and politician, but not an emperor or monarch in any formal sense.

At that time, Rome was still a republic, not an empire. There was no emperor yet — Julius Caesar wouldn't take that role until decades later, and Augustus (the first official emperor) would come after him.

So, in 63 BC, Pompey was a general who had been granted extraordinary military powers by the Roman Senate. He had recently completed major military campaigns in the eastern Mediterranean, defeating pirates, conquering parts of the Near East, and reorganizing Roman control in the region. Because of these victories, he had immense political influence and military authority, even though he held no royal title.

In that same year, 63 BC, he entered Judea and intervened in the civil war between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. He chose to back Hyrcanus, marched into Jerusalem, and effectively ended Jewish independence by placing Judea under Roman control.

Hyrcanus was allowed to remain as high priest, but he no longer had real power — Rome was now in control. This marked the end of the Hasmonean dynasty's independence and the beginning of Roman rule over Judea. The kingdom that the Maccabees had fought for was now just another client state of the Roman Republic.

The Psalms of Solomon were inspired by the moral and spiritual failure of leadership, with the people suffering under the hypocrisy and lawlessness of both the Jews and the Romans.

(Lament over the sins of the people. Hypocrisy and divine judgement.)
(Isa. 29:13 — “This people draw near with their mouth... but their hearts are far from me.”)
(Psalm 1 — Contrast between the righteous and the wicked.)

1  I CRIED OUT TO THE LORD IN MY DISTRESS; TO GOD, WHEN SINNERS ROSE UP AGAINST ME.

2  SUDDENLY, THE CRY OF WAR WAS HEARD BEFORE ME; I SAID, "HE WILL LISTEN TO ME, FOR I WAS FILLED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS."

3  I CONSIDERED IN MY HEART THAT I WAS FULL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHEN I PROSPERED AND BECAME ABUNDANT IN CHILDREN. (4:18)

4  THEIR (the sinners in Israel/Judea) WEALTH SPREAD OVER ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR GLORY REACHED TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.

5  THEY WERE EXALTED AS HIGH AS THE STARS; (due the covenant of blessings from God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph) THEY SAID, "WE WILL NEVER FALL."

6  BUT THEY BECAME ARROGANT IN THEIR PROSPERITY, AND THEY DID NOT ENDURE.

7  THEIR SINS WERE IN SECRET, AND I DID NOT KNOW OF THEM.

8  THEIR LAWLESS ACTIONS SURPASSED THOSE OF THE NATIONS/GENTILES BEFORE THEM; THEY DEFILED THE HOLY THINGS OF THE LORD WITH DEFILEMENT.

<- Wisdom 19 Psalms of Solomon 2 ->

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