That depends on what manuscript of the Psalter you base your judgment on. As David Stein noted in a comment here, Codex Leningradensis counts 149, not 150.
It is often said that the LXX Psalter contains 151 psalms. In Codices Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, however, Psalm 151 is not numbered, but treated as supernumerary. The superscript of the Psalm in the Septuagint, furthermore, explicitly notes that it is “outside the number.” Here is the relevant data:
(1)
Subscript to Psalm 150 in Vaticanus (B), but not in Sinaiticus
(S) and Alexandrinus (A):
Βιβλος ψαλμων ρν’
The Book of 150 Psalms.
(2)
Superscript to Psalm 151 in BSA:
οὗτος ὁ ψαλμὸς ἰδιόγραφος
εἰς Δαυιδ καὶ ἔξωθεν
τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ
ὅτε ἐμονομάχησεν τῷ Γολιαδ
This
psalm [a song sung to plucked string accompaniment] was written apart.
Pertaining
to David and outside the number.
When he fought Goliath in single combat.
(3)
Subscript to Psalm 151 in A:
Ψαλμοι δαυιδ ρν’ και ιδιογραφος α’
The 150 Psalms of David, plus 1 written apart.
(4)
Subscript to Psalm 151 in S:
Ψαλμοι δαυιδ ρνα’
The 151 Psalms of David.
I construe ἰδιόγραφος in both instances in accordance with a gloss to be found
in Lorenzo Rocci’s Vocabolario Greco Italiano. “Autograph,” the common translation,
is a poor contextual fit in both cases.
On top of that variation, the numbering found in LXX Psalters does not
correspond to that known from MT Psalters, with some psalms combined in LXX and
some subdivided, as compared to MT. Furthermore, as already noted, the
tradition of MT in this respect is not uniform in all details.
More striking still is the diversity found in manuscripts recovered from
caves in the Judean desert. It is clear from these manuscripts that the
contents and arrangement of the Psalter were subject to variation up to 70 ce. It is also clear that in this early
period it cannot be taken for granted that the Psalter was transmitted as one “book”
or scroll. Subsets of the aggregate set of collections that make up the Psalter
as we know it from MT and LXX circulated independently up to 70 ce, with or without rearrangement and with
or without additional psalms included. The fact that Psalm 32 is “skipped over”
in two manuscripts and is not in fact attested at Qumran raises the
possibility that this beautiful psalm may have been “written apart” for quite
some time. It may have made its way to its current position relatively late in
the history of transmission.
The Peshitta Psalter may have contained 151 psalms from the start, as is
attested already in a manuscript copied no later than 597 ce (BM Add. 14568). Still, the late
lamented John Strugnell, who will be honored at SBL Boston this year, adduced
strong evidence for the view that Peshitta Psalm 151 is a translation from the Greek, not the
Hebrew as is the case with Psalms 1-150. Syriac Psalters with 151 psalms are a
witness to the honor accorded to the 151st psalm in Syriac-speaking
Christianity.
Nevertheless, after the discovery of ancient Hebrew manuscripts near
Jericho in 786/7 ce, the Peshitta
Psalter was expanded to include a total of 155 psalms – not in all extant
Syriac Psalters, mind you, but in many. One example: Mosul 1113, in which all
five of the psalms appear in consecutive order and are numbered 151 to 155. On the basis of evidence from an Arabic source, Strugnell
argued persuasively that a translator rendered what we now
refer to as Psalm 151A (perhaps more likely, 151A + 151B) and Psalms 152-155
(of which 151A, 151B, 154, and 155 are now at least partially extant in 11QPsa)
from the Hebrew into Syriac, but his translation of Psalms 151A and B did
not supplant Psalm 151 as found in Peshitta Psalters before and since.
Isn’t that cool? A “Dead Sea Scrolls discovery” made in the 8th cent. ce led to the addition of four extra psalms to the Psalter
of Syriac-speaking Christianity! My favorite among the additional Psalms is 155
(11Q5 24.3-17).
Only after letting the following lines from Psalm 155 seep into my bones, have I
been able to turn again to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 and make sense out of
some of its phrases, in particular, “lead me not into temptation”:
דין האמת יהוה
אל תשפטני כחטאתי
כי לוא יצדק לפניכה
כול חי
הבינני יהוה בתורתכה
ואת משפטיכה למדני
וישמעו רבים מעשיכה
ועמים יהדרו את כבודכה
זכורני ואל תשכחני
ואל תביאני בקשות ממני
Judge of Truth, Lord!
Judge me not according to my sins!
For no one living
is righteous before you.
Grant me discernment, Lord, by your Torah,
teach me your judgments,
that many may hear of your
works,
peoples honor your glory.
Remember me and do not forget
me,
lead me not into situations too hard for me.
“Lead me not into spots too hard for me” / “lead me not into
temptation” are expressions of humility on the part of the one who
prays. It is
not implied that God might lead in the way the one who prays asks he
will not. Rather, the
words describe what the psalmist knows God will already do. They are a
vehicle of the psalmist's resolve to shun evil, not fall into
temptation, and avoid situations that amount to asking for trouble. In short, they are a kind of self-abasement formula.
I plan to
blog on this psalm in the future.
Bibliography
John Strugnell, “Notes on the Text and Transmission of the
Apocryphal Psalms 151, 154 (=Syr II) and 155 (= Syr, III),” HTR 59
(1966) 257-281
They are a vehicle of the psalmist's resolve to shun evil, not fall into temptation, and avoid situations that amount to asking for trouble.
Given the larger context of the Psalm (that many may hear of your works), it seems that the request has also to do with the Psalmist's witness. He doesn't just want to avoid sin, he also doesn't want to bring God's name into disrepute by means of his behaviour.
Posted by: Phil Sumpter | November 30, 2008 at 10:00 AM
That's very true, Phil. It is natural to connect the themes you note with other petitions in the Lord's Prayer, for example, hallowed be thy name.
Posted by: JohnFH | November 30, 2008 at 11:40 AM