Today in class as we observed some scriptures from Psalms, we came across superscripts at the beginning of a couple of the chapters. One of these superscripts, belonging to Psalm 22, reads, “To the leader: according the The Deer of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.” This caught my attention. How did this translation come about? Are these superscripts musical instructions? Are these verses intended to be sung to an existing melody of which the title may be “The Deer of the Dawn?” This curiosity has prompted me to do some research.
It seems that many religious scholars believe “The Deer of the Dawn” is actually the title of the song of Psalm 22, translated from its original Hebrew form which is “Aijeleth Hashahar.” It is thought that this title may have been a metaphor for Jesus Christ himself, according to the context of the verse. The music for this song has likely been lost long ago, but the words and original title remain. Below I have linked two very different musical arrangements with the same title as Psalm 22. One is strictly instrumental, and the other one is a more modernized, creative version with modified lyrics. I’ve also linked a source I used for this post.
https://songsandhymns.org/music-worship/article/the-song-of-the-cross
I think that the superscript “deer of the dawn” is interesting in relation to these two different musical pieces, as well as the text in Psalm 22. In the text, the author, David, is pleading to God to stay near to him and be his protector. Although the two songs are very different, it is reasonable to believe that they are both representative of God being “the Dear of the Dawn.” To me, the name “the Dear of the Dawn” sounds representative of how God is portrayed in the 22 Psalm. He is a figure that is hard to see, which requires faith, but through faith and light, God will be present in life like “the Dear of the Dawn.”
Thanks. Note that the phrase is actually “Deer of the Dawn” (rather than ‘dear’ which would mean something different).
It may be helpful to distinguish between whether a Psalm can provide a metaphor for Jesus, and whether is “was” one. When the Psalm was composed it was many centuries before the time of Jesus, and so it was not about him in any direct sense.