Using the Pe–Ayin Order of the Abecedaries of Ancient Israel to Date the Book of Psalms

Abstract

Various abecedaries with the unusual order of the letter pe preceding the letter ayin have been discovered in ancient Israel. These abecedaries date from 1200–600 bce. The pe–ayin order was already known from the acrostics of Lamentations 2–4, and from the Septuagint text of the acrostic of Proverbs 31. Scholars have not appreciated the significance of the pe–ayin order as an aid to dating the Psalms. The acrostic of Psalm 34 makes much more sense under the assumption that the pe verse preceded the ayin verse, and it seems that all the acrostics in the first book of Psalms (9–10; 25; 34; and 37) originally reflected the pe–ayin order. The acrostics in the fifth book of Psalms (111; 112; 119; and 145) reflect the ayin–pe order, an order that seems only to have arisen in Israel in the post-exilic period. The differing orders in the first and fifth books help to confirm an early date for the first book and a late date for the fifth book.