It has been known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by
Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat,[3] and by Rashi, who quoted it in his commentary on I Samuel
17:49, and on many other passages.
Names
The midrash is also known as "Aggadat Tehillim"[4] or "Haggadat Tehillim".[5]
Beginning in the 12th century, it was also called "Shocher Tov",[6] because it begins with the verse Proverbs 11:27, "שחר טוב יבקש רצון ודרש רעה תבואנו". In addition, the Hebrew acronym for "Shocher Tov" (ש"ט) has been mistakenly expanded as "Shem Tov" or "Shem Tob", and the midrash referred to by that name.[7]
Editions
The true midrash covers only Psalms 1–118, and this is all that is found either in the manuscripts or in the first edition.[8]
, adding comments of his own. Since Psalms 123 and 131 are not covered in Yalkut Shimoni, the author of the supplement included no aggadic interpretations on these two psalms.
Book of Psalms
.
Authorship and composition
The name of the editor and the date of the redaction of the true midrash (Psalms 1–118) cannot now be determined. The assumption that
aggadot appear in different forms in different passages.[11]
It has been said that the date of the redaction of the midrash cannot be determined.
Aggadic collections on the Psalms were made at a very early time, and are mentioned several times in the Talmudim and in Genesis Rabbah.[12]
But it cannot possibly be assumed that the aggadah collections on the Psalms are identical with the present Midrash Tehillim, since the latter contains many elements of later date.
It cannot be denied, however, that much material from those old collections is included in the present midrash. It must therefore be assumed that parts of the old collections had been preserved among the later aggadists. Then, when a midrash to the Psalms was undertaken together with the other
midrashim
, homilies and comments on single verses were collected from the most diverse sources, and were arranged together with the earlier aggadic material on the Psalms, following the sequence of the Psalms themselves. In the course of time this collection was supplemented and enlarged by the additions of various collections and editors, until the Midrash Tehillim finally took its present form.
Babylonian amoraim referred to (e.g., R. Ḥida) are mentioned also in Yerushalmi.[13]
Contents
The midrash contains homilies on the Psalms, and comments on single verses and even on single words. The homilies are as a rule introduced with the formula "as Scripture says". In only a few cases are they introduced as in the other
Pentateuch as well as on the number of verses in various Psalms. Thus it enumerates 175 sections of the Pentateuch, 147 psalms,[15] and nine verses in Psalms 20.[16]
The midrash contains a number of stories, legends, parables, proverbs, and sentences, with many ethical and
Emperor Hadrian, who wished to measure the depth of the Adriatic Sea.[18]
Among the proverbs which are found only in this midrash are:
"Walls have ears" (i.e., care should be taken in disclosing secrets even in a locked room)[19]
"Woe to the living who prays to the dead; woe to the hero who has need of the weak; woe to the seeing who asks help of the blind; and woe to the century in which a woman is the leader."[20]
Many customs can be traced to this midrash, e.g., that of not drinking any water on the Sabbath before the evening.[21]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilhelm Bacher and Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (1901–1906). "Midrash Tehillim". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Its bibliography:
