“For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David” (Psa 39:0).
Because the superscription of Psalm 39 is so unique, it begs for our attention. This is the first time a psalm is attributed to two different people. Searching for a modern analogy, it may be helpful to think of Jeduthun and David’s connection to Psalm 39 in a manner similar to Peter Jackson and J. R. R. Tolkien’s connection to The Lord of the Rings. David wrote Psalm 39, just as Tolkien is the author of The Lord of the Rings. Jeduthun was the one who adapted the psalm to be performed in the temple for an audience, just as Jackson turned Tolkien’s books into a movie trilogy.
Seeing his name in the superscription reminds us that when we read the psalms, we are not merely reading David’s prayers to God, but also hearing God’s prophetic word to us.
But the appearance of Jeduthun’s name for the first time raises an important question: why? In all honesty, I do not know the precise reason. Yet its appearance in Psalms 39, 62, and 77 reminds us of how the author of the Psalter wants us to read and interpret the psalms. According to the Scriptures, Jeduthun was not only a Levitical singer appointed by King David (Neh 11:17; 1 Chron 9:16; 16:38, 41–42), but also the king’s “seer” (2 Chron 35:15), that is, a prophet who prophesied to God’s people through praise and worship (1 Chron 25:1, 3, 6).
Seeing his name in the superscription reminds us that when we read the psalms, we are not merely reading David’s prayers to God, but also hearing God’s prophetic word to us.David entrusted his psalms to Levitical “seers” who transposed them into a revelatory worship experience. These psalms, in turn, were collected by the inspired author of the book of Psalms not only so that we can use them for prayer and worship, but also so that we may hear the inspired word of the LORD. In this sense, Jeduthun’s name reminds us that we must read the Psalms as prophecy, which ultimately points to the Son of David, whom all the prophets, including Jeduthun, said would come.
