Pinchas Shir’s Unheard Voices of Hebrew Kings and Prophets

How much do you know about the beliefs and spiritual ideas embraced by Jews of the Second Temple Era?

Biblical literature lays a solid foundation, but it is not a secret that students of antiquity also survey many texts outside the Bible to understand the broader cultural context.

                   

The Psalms of Solomon (תהילים של שלמה) are also called Songs of Shlomo (מזמורי שלמה) and should not be confused with Wisdom of Solomon and Odes of Solomon. This composition a collection of eighteen Jewish poetic texts from around the first century BCE. Many scholars believe that these psalms were originally composed in Hebrew or possibly in Aramaic.

“1 O LORD, my God, your name I’ll praise with joy, Amidst the ones who know your judgments, fair and just. 2 You are kind, merciful, a haven for the poor; When I cry out, let my plea not meet your silence. 3 None can take from the strong unless you allow? Who can claim anything you’ve made, Unless it’s given by Your hand? 4 For a man and his share are balanced before You, He cannot expand it beyond Your decree, O God.” (Psalms of Solomon, Chapter 5)

New and updated translations of seven Jewish texts: Prayer of Manasseh, Book of Baruch, Psalms of Solomon, Testament of Moses, Lives of the Prophets, Apocalypse of Moses, and Apocalypse of Abraham can be found in Unheard Voices of Hebrew Kings and Prophets by Pinchas Shir.

. Because these spiritual works are extra-canonical, their voices are often unheard. Curious? Let them speak to you.

READ HERE