This is the third of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with some suggesting a medieval pious forgery and others suggesting an origin in the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) Preserved in its entirety, the third psalms in Antonin 798 largely focuses on reversal of fortune. It also appears to invoke the memory of Moshe, but not by name. . . .

This is the second of four apocryphal psalms from the Cairo Geniza, MS RNL Antonin 798, vocalized and cantillated per Masoretic norms, and translated anew. The origin of these psalms (found in a few pages of an incomplete manuscript) is unclear, with earlier scholars suggesting a medieval pious forgery and more recent scholars suggesting an origin in or contemporaneous with the Qumran community. (In any case, no sign of them has been found in the Qumran scrolls, although some aspects of the Hebrew may suggest a relationship there.) The second psalm found in this partial manuscript is preserved in its entirety and preserves an introductory schema found for the rest of the psalms here and likely missing from the first. Perhaps the text originally included psalms for each day in Iyyar! This psalm begins by invoking martyrdom, with the powerful image of a shephard killing his own flock. It then transitions into universalist-messianic language reminiscent of texts such as the second paragraph of Aleinu and the Rosh haShanah piyyut Va-ye’etayu, then discussing the beauty of the Torah before ending with a catena of blessings. . . .