本書總共有一百五十篇。其中具名的著者有大衛七十三篇、亞薩十二篇、可拉的後裔十篇、所羅門兩篇,另有摩西、希幔、以探各一篇,合起來具名的有一百篇。
其餘不具名的五十篇中,據信有不少也是出自大衛之手,故大衛所寫的篇數至少佔了全書的一半以上。
David: 73 psalms
(The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate credit a few more to him.2)
Half of Psalms was written by King David at various points in his life—and not all of them were good times. David’s psalms show how a man of God prays during times of hardship, loss, joy, and guilt.
Asaph (the family): 12 psalms
This family was ordained by David to lead the people in worship, and was recommissioned when Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem (1 Ch 25:1; Neh 7:44; 12:46–47).
The sons of Korah: 11 psalms
Back in the book of Numbers, a man named Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron—and God caused the earth to swallow him up. His sons survived, though (Nu 26:11), and continued to serve in the house of the Lord. They share one psalm (Ps 88) with the wise man Heman.
Solomon: two psalms
Solomon is better known for his work in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, but he also contributes a few lines to Psalms.
Moses: one psalm.
In addition to writing Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, Moses also wrote the ninetieth psalm (Ps 90).
Ethan the Ezrahite: one psalm
We don’t know much about Ethan, except that he was very wise, and Solomon was wiser (1 Ki 4:31). Sorry, Ethan.
The remaining 50 psalms aren’t credited to any one author.