Biblical Views: Searching for a Woman’s Voice in Psalms

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Feminist study often calls attention to what is absent, such as a female voice or point-of-view in a particular text. I am using this approach, among others, as I study the Book of Psalms. Upon first, second and even third reading, no psalm from Psalms was obviously recited by a woman. In contrast, tens of psalms deal with “male issues,” such as victory in war. Moreover, the Hebrew grammar does not suggest that any psalm was recited by or on behalf of a woman. Many that look gender-neutral in translation are not so in Hebrew; the Jewish Publication Society translation of the beginning of Psalm 1:1, “Happy is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked,” is more accurate than the New Revised Standard Version’s “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked.” The Hebrew word ’ish is masculine singular “man.”

The Psalter contrasts sharply with other Biblical texts. As opposed to the apparent lack of female voice in the Psalter, the Bible does give many examples of women offering prayers or petitions. When Rebekah is pregnant with the twins Jacob and Esau, Genesis 25:22 notes: “But the children struggled in her womb, and she [Rebekah] said, ‘If so, why do I exist?’ She went to inquire of the Lord.”¹ Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, chants a psalm-like song in Exodus 15. Many scholars believe that her Song of the Sea is one of the most archaic texts of the Bible.^a In 1 Samuel 1–2, Hannah prays twice; the first is a prose petitionary vow, that if God gives her a son, she will return him to God (as a Temple servant), followed by a poetic prayer of thanksgiving after Samuel is born. Eli the high priest, upon seeing Hannah mumble the first prayer, thinks she is drunk because she is praying silently (until modern times, prayers were recited aloud). Nothing in the text, however, suggests that he thought it inappropriate or even strange that a woman was praying. Hannah’s prayer becomes paradigmatic for Jewish prayer in later tradition.² These examples only highlight the absence of women’s prayers in the Psalter.

Comparative evidence from outside the Bible makes this lack even more striking. Prayers by and for women are well known in the ancient Near East, and are also found in later Jewish culture. A collection of them recently became a bestseller in Israel.³ So why is there no obvious precursor to these prayers in the Book of Psalms?

Hannah’s second prayer, 1 Samuel 2:1–10, which was inserted by an editor of Samuel into its current place, is a psalm (poetic prayer) not found in (the Book of) Psalms; it offers us an important clue concerning how women prayed in ancient Israel. On first reading, these verses seem inappropriate to Hannah’s situation. They concern military victory, not childbearing, as attested by references to “bows,” “strength” and “foes.” Its conclusion suggests that it commemorates or prays for royal victory (verse 10): “He will give power to His king, And triumph to His anointed one.” It is hard to imagine this as the prayer actually recited by a woman who finally conceived a child after years of rivalry with a co-wife, and who is dealing with an insensitive husband (see 1 Samuel 1:8: “Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons?”)! What is this militaristic royal psalm doing in Hannah’s mouth?

Most ancient Israelites were illiterate. When they wanted to offer a poetic prayer, they would ask a Levite to offer it up for them; perhaps the person repeated the prayer word-for-word after the Levite. For a small fee, that Levite would look through his “book” and find the prayer most appropriate to the situation. (For additional shekels, a Levite composed a custom-tailored prayer for a wealthy person.) The psalm that was put into Hannah’s mouth includes “While the barren woman bears seven, the mother of many is forlorn” (verse 5). It has competition and victory as its theme; Hannah may have understood this as referring to her victory over her co-wife Peninnah. An editor may have had her say this—it reflects the cultural reality of people offering ready-made prayers. When most people pray, not all words are of equal value—some are moving, and others are often merely mumbled. I can imagine a woman like Hannah reciting 1 Samuel 2:1–10 and weeping from joy at the words about victory, God’s greatness and barren women bearing children, while simply muttering the rest.

The Book of Psalms is a collection of only some of the psalms or poetic prayers that circulated in ancient Israel—so why didn’t 1 Samuel 2:1–10 make it into the Psalter? I believe that the Psalms, largely Temple-based prayers, were written almost entirely by men for men. Women were peripheralized in the world of the Psalter, perhaps reflecting their minor role in the Temple (see, however, Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22). One of the Psalms expressly states: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your house; your sons, like olive saplings around your table” (Psalm 128:3; author’s translation). The (male?) children are 078well grounded, present around the table, while the wife is fertile but not seen, in the recesses of the house—possibly a reference to an inner room or section of the house where women prepared food and wove textiles. The religious participation of women is largely outside the world-view of the Psalter. Women probably had their own prayers, and these have been lost because they were, with one exception discussed below, not collected by the editors of the Book of Psalms, who were either simply not interested in them, or who believed that they were not “appropriate” for inclusion.

The single exception is Psalm 113. It introduces the Jewish liturgical collection Hallel (“praises,” composed of Psalms 113–118), and is often thought to be “the hymn” referred to in Matthew 26:30. Psalm 113 is in Late Biblical Hebrew, a dialect used in the Babylonian exile and beyond, during the Second Temple period. It shares some material with Hannah’s prayer, which states (1 Samuel 2:8): “He raises the poor from the dust, Lifts up the needy from the refuse heap, Setting them with nobles, Granting them seats of honor”; Psalm 113:7–8 states: “He raises the poor from the dust, lifts up the needy from the refuse heap, to set them with nobles, with the nobles of His people.” The similarities between Hannah’s prayer and Psalm 113 are too extensive and close to suggest coincidence. Psalm 113 is chronologically later than 1 Samuel 2, which suggests that the Psalmist copied from Samuel.

The end of Psalm 113 notes: “He sets the childless woman among her household as a happy mother of children. Hallelujah.” I believe that this is autobiographical. The quote from Hannah’s prayer and the psalm’s conclusion suggest that Psalm 113 is a thanksgiving psalm recited by a woman who had finally given birth. Psalm 113 is the exception that proves the rule that the Psalter is male-oriented.

Feminist study often calls attention to what is absent, such as a female voice or point-of-view in a particular text. I am using this approach, among others, as I study the Book of Psalms. Upon first, second and even third reading, no psalm from Psalms was obviously recited by a woman. In contrast, tens of psalms deal with “male issues,” such as victory in war. Moreover, the Hebrew grammar does not suggest that any psalm was recited by or on behalf of a woman. Many that look gender-neutral in translation are not so in Hebrew; the Jewish Publication Society […]