Evil and the Disruption of Order: A Structural Analysis of the Acrostics in the First Book of Psalms

Abstract

The four alphabetic acrostics in the first book of Psalms (9/10, 25, 34, and 37) are all missing verses beginning with certain letters of the alphabet and have other anomalies as well. Most scholars attribute these problems to errors in transmission and try to solve them through textual emendation. We argue that these disruptions are an original feature of these psalms and are placed purposefully as part of a sophisticated literary structure.