Many psalms are ascribed to David that most modern scholars no longer think were actually written by David. Why have these scholars come to this conclusion? Why might these psalms have been ascribed to David if they were not actually written by him?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Many of these psalms refer to circumstances or situations (such as the existence of the temple) from after (sometimes long after) David's life. The ascriptions themselves came from much later than the authorship of the psalms themselves. They were likely ascribed to David because of the tradition of David as a musician at the foundational period of Israel. Such ascriptions also assign authority and sometimes an especially poignant context to a given psalm.

Many Psalms Are Ascribed to David That Most Modern Scholars