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Psalm

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A sacred song or hymn, particularly those found in the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible.

Explore this topic in depth (1)

Faith and Doubt in Poetry — Poetry has long been a place for speaking towards God, searching for meaning, resisting certainty and giving shape to silence. This guide explores devotional traditions and poems of doubt while offering practical ways to read and listen across differing beliefs.

Detailed Definition
The Psalms are a collection of 150 poetic texts that express the full range of human emotion before God—joy, despair, anger, thanksgiving, and praise. They are a cornerstone of Jewish and Christian liturgy. Their poetic forms (parallelism, metaphor, lament) have deeply influenced Western poetry. In literature, psalms provide a model for how to address the divine with raw honesty and artistic beauty. Writing a "psalm" is to engage in a tradition of lyrical, devotional utterance.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Hebrew poetry, Psalm is song of lament and praise: “Out of the depths—Psalm rises like incense”; In Christian tradition, Psalms structure prayer: “My refuge, my fortress—Psalm for anxious nights”; In contemporary verse, Psalm is personal: “Psalm for ICU waiting room—‘Be still, and know’”; Poets use Psalm form for modern cries: “Psalm for refugees—‘How long, O Lord?’”
Additional Notes
Psalms encompass the full range of human emotion—rage, doubt, joy, gratitude—addressed directly to God; their parallelism (thought rhyme) and musicality shaped Hebrew poetry; for modern poets, the Psalms model honest prayer that refuses pious euphemism, embracing raw vulnerability as a form of sacred speech.
Also Known As
Mizmor (Hebrew) Sacred Song Song
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