Psalms 4Q-83 - David

This scroll of the Book of Psalms was found in Cave no. 4, and is a relatively early one, dating to the Second Century BCE.

The Book of Psalms was one of the most popular books amongst scribes who wrote and copied the Scrolls. A large number of the various Psalms were found in the caves surrounding Qumran.

This scroll includes part of Psalm 69, which begings with the words "For the Chief Musician upon the Lilies, by David". The entire Book of Psalms is attributed by the sages to King David.

73 out of 150 psalms begin with the name David. Perhaps the use of the name David was meant to indicate that King David was their author or to refer to events in King David's life.

This heading, may refer to a known melody to which the psalm was sung or to a musical instrument similar in form to the flower - the lily.

The psalm, in the form of a dialogue between the composer and God, is about personal suffering and oppression. The writer alternately cries out to God to save him from collapse - breakdown, confesses his sins and prays. The personal undertone runs through the entire psalm.