358. Job is never identified as a Jew, and he wasn't a king, but his book fits with the poetic books of both King David and King Solomon. Job is thought to have lived in the Arabian Desert, somewhere between Babylon and the Holy Land. Interestingly, he was the great naturalist of the Old Testament, and he displayed a deep knowledge and an observant eye for the world around him. "Speak to the earth and it shall teach thee," he advises (Job 12:8 KJV). He followed his own advice because he describes precisely the habits of mammals, the way of birds, the patterns on the skies, the rains and the floods. He speaks knowingly of the various trees that grow along the streams, from the papyrus in the marshes to the thorny shrubs of the desert.
359. A keen watcher of the skies. In chapter 9 Job refers to "Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south" (KJV). He was aware that the stars are not scattered at random in the night but are fixed in unchanging patterns, one of which is the Zodiac. The Zodiac is an imaginary belt across the sky consisting of twelve groups of stars-constellations, or "chambers," as Job called them-through which the sun and moon seem to pass. Each constellation appeared to the ancients to represent the figure of some animal or a mythical being associated with animals.
360. "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest" (KJV). David, weighed down by his duties, must have wished he could take flight from his tasks. He might have selected almost any bird to express this wish in Psalm 55, yet he chose the dove for a particular reason. The former shepherd knew that while most birds can fly, only doves can take off with a sudden burst of speed and sustain their powerful flight for a long distance.
361. David was more than a great warrior. He was a musician who played the eight-stringed harplike instrument known as the lyre. He was also a great poet who composed about half of the Psalms. David used many descriptions of animals, birds, and plant life in the Psalms to portray poetic images.
362. Was he a lover or a fighter? David's eye for beauty included a passion for women as well as nature. As was the custom, many of David's wives and concubines were the result of political maneuvers that expanded and secured David's kingdom territory.
363. The habits of the Palestinian house sparrow were so well known that Psalm 102 uses it as a symbol of desolation: "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top" (KJV). Here is an intentional contradiction, for it is difficult to visualize a lone sparrow. House sparrows are highly gregarious birds; they seek food in large flocks and at night they group in protected places, such as under the roof eaves of buildings. This psalms unlikely picture of a single sparrow evokes a feeling of utter loneliness and abandonment.
364. "I am like a pelican of the wilderness" (KJV). Also found in Psalm 102, this too is David's lament. The white pelican is abundant around the inland lakes and rivers of Africa and Eurasia where it preys on fish, but many Bible readers have wondered what the pelican was doing in the wilderness. In the Bible the word wilderness refers to any unpopulated place, such as a mountain, desert, or marsh. Pelicans are often found living in the deserts of the Bible lands, so long as there is an inland lake within flying distance.
365. The shortest psalm (117) has just two verses and the longest psalm is just two psalms later (119). It is also the longest chapter in the Bible, and longer than some whole Bible books-such as Obadiah, Philemon, and Jude.
366. It appears that this collection was begun as something of a hymnbook for temple worship in Jerusalem. Words such as selah, maskil, and miktam are found throughout the book to give direction to those who would speak or chant these psalms in public worship.
367. The Book of Psalms is really five different books of songs and poems; all connect our relationship to God. Book 1 includes Psalms1-41; book 2 is Psalms 42-72; book 3 includes Psalms 73-89; book 4 has Psalms 90-106; and book 5 has Psalms 107-150.
368. Acrostic poems are found throughout Jewish literature. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is an acrostic poem-every new stanza begins with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 112 is similar, with each line beginning with the next letter of the alphabet. This was not only poetic, but also aided in the memorization of the psalm.
