Psalm 119-by human design??

[doomsayer2]

Greetings-
This is a topic i have been wanting to share for quite some time now but haven't had the opportunity yet. Basically something a lot of "us" may not even be familiar with,as thus is hardly ever brought up.
Most do know Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible,and maybe even that 117 is the shortest,which is really beyond coincidental to begin with.
But what about Psalm 118 being in the exact center of the bible,at least the KJV and earlier versions. Also,there is the numerology involved in 119 in particular. It is divided into 22 section of 8 verses each. Anyone's guess how 8 is significant,but each section represents a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is also found in the book of Lamentations,with 4 of 5 chapters of 22 verses each.
Then there is Psalm 22,which many believe describes the crucifixion of Christ,and is followed by maybe the most well known chapter(23) of them all!
But what's most strange about 22 is it's use in the new age numerology as a "master number",and the only one at that. But we know Satan is a great counterfeiter from the beginning,because the Hebrews certainly didn't borrow it from pagan sources.
And then there is the 22 chapters of Revelation,with 21 verses in the final one...suppose even God thought one more would be a bit much?

But i say all that to ask this one question,which is exactly how does the Psalm 118 scenario unfold the way it has? I simply don't see how the drafters of the original KJ bible could have foreseen it and arranged those particular chapters accordingly. Given the fact that 119 could have been recognized as the longest so they would have started there. But is it possible they could have taken this from another part of the Psalms and simply called it 119 and put it there?? But the question begs for what purpose,and how exactly did they become aware when they arrived at the center of the scriptures,and then decide to put there own "signature" of sorts on their work? Then go a step further and put the shortest(117) there as well. THAT to me is what makes it even more unlikely it was done by design. I think anyone would know where i'm going with this but would welcome any other input as well.

 

[football5680]

Unless the numbers actually appear in the text of the bible they are meaningless. Chapters and verses were added thousands of years later and the earliest people were simply reading the text without these. Chapters and verses just started to be used between 1300-1600. The only distinctions would be between the different books in the bible but again the order of the books vary and that order was created by humans. The text is inspired but the order is based on what the writing was about. The Old Testament order was created by the Jews and then was adopted by Christians. They start with the Torah, then the historical books, then the writings, then the major prophets and then the 12 minor prophets. The New Testament begins with the 4 Gospels, then the book of acts, then the letters, then the book of revelations. Some newer translations reject some of the verses because they don't find them in the earliest manuscripts but they still keep the verse numbers the same.

I'm not somebody who holds the King James bible as the perfect infallible translation done by the hand of God, it is simply one of the many English translations of the bible. As our knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages grow, and we find older manuscripts the translations can become more accurate so we shouldn't just stop at some translation done 500 years ago and say it is perfect when they went through the same process of translating as modern scholars do today.

 

[childofdust]

doomsayer2...

First, love your name! It reminds me of a track off one of my favorite albums: Doomsayer by Argyle Park - YouTube
“awaken, you sleeping giant, bride of I AM, it's time for defiance,
for ideas that call us to witness the Lamb, discipline, power, and love.”

The Psalter that we use today in the Protestant West, and which comes from the Masoretic Text used by the Palestinian Jews of Yeshua's time, is composed of five books, each with their own compositional history, and each one ending with a doxology:

Book 1: Psalms 1-41
– ending doxology: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

Book 2: Psalms 42-72
– ending doxology: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.
– additional ending: The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.

Book 3: Psalms 73-89
– ending doxology: Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.

Book 4: Psalms 90-106
– ending doxology: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. And let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the LORD!

Book 5: Psalms 107-150
- Psalm 150 is itself a doxology not just for this book, but for the whole Psalter

Scholars believe that the Psalter was created and ordered in this way in order to be its own “Pentateuch” - its own “five books of David” just like the “five books of Moses.”

The Greek Psalter has a different order and different psalms.

The evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls shows us that the fifth book of the Psalter was still fluid in the first few centuries before Christ. It included psalms that do not exist in our Psalter (or in any other psalter) and there are several different orders to the psalms in that last book. This is where we find Psalm 119.

In the Masoretic Text, Psalm 119 occurs after the “Passover Hallel” (psalms 113-118).

“In Jewish tradition Psalm 113 constitutes the opening of the Great or Egyptian Hallel and was sung aloud, according to the Talmud, at various festivals in the Temple and also during the Passover celebration.”
--Ballhorn, Zum Telos des Psalters, 176

That block of texts used at the Passover ends with Psalm 118. In terms of literature, Psalm 119 comes after the “Passover Hallel” because, like the other psalms that frame the “Passover Hallel” (psalms 111-112), it is about Torah wisdom. And, indeed, Torah, the subject of Psalm 119, is seen as one of the greatest works or deeds of God. Thus, just as one should “study” the works of God (Psalm 111:2), so one is left to meditate upon Torah in psalm 119.

Psalm 119 also appears at this point because, theologically, the “Passover Hallel” ends (psalm 118) with the saved righteous one going through “the gates of righteousness” into the presence of the God of Salvation and it is through the Law that God makes his salvation known. The Torah is, therefore, the “gates of righteousness” through which one enters.

Psalm 119 appears before the “Pilgrim Psalter” (psalms 120-134), a block of psalms that existed independently before they were incorporated into the Psalter. The purpose of the "Pilgrim Psalter" was to prepare people for entering the temple to worship. Psalm 119 comes before those psalms because without following Torah, one cannot enter the Temple. Psalm 119 thus represents the first act of preparation before any pilgrimage to the holy place.

Those would be the primary reasons why Psalm 119 appears where it does.

 

[doomsayer2]

Thanks for the reply and i think that pretty much answers my question as to the possibility of 119 being shifted around to that exact spot in the manuscripts/scriptures...the answer being no. The way you explained it the entire book of 5 sections was already set in place and individual chapters unalterable as far as messing around with the order of the Psalm books 1-5.
So then i guess the only real question left is just how did the longest chapter in the bible(119) end up almost right in the middle,if not done by a Divine manuevering. Again,this isn't about numbers at this point,but just the obvious significance of this chapter as pointed out by "childofdust",and not just because it's the longest,and 117 is the shortest.
It just all seems like a fantastic coincidence,at the very least...and i personally already am fairly convinced of the alternative scenario as this being NOT by human design. So then i suppose no further commentary is needed,at least for me.