Hippolytus, On the Psalms (attributed) 1
The Book of Psalms contains a new teaching, coming after the legislation of Joshua; indeed, it is the second instructional book to appear after Joshua's writing. After the deaths of Moses and Joshua, David — becoming a kind of savior, deemed worthy as a father — was the first to hand down a new way of psalmody to the Hebrews. Through it he abolished the sacrificial regulations legislated by Moses and introduced a new way of worshiping God through hymns and shouts, while also teaching many other things that go beyond Joshua's law in the matter of his work. That is the purpose and usefulness of this book. The reason for its title is this: most Gentiles who have believed in Christ think this book belongs to David, and so they call it the Psalms of David; therefore we must tell what has come down to us concerning it. The Hebrews entitled the book Sepher Tehillim, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is called the Book of Psalms (Acts 1:20). The phrasing appears as "as it is written in the Book of Psalms." Yet no author's name stands in the title of the book itself, and the reason is that the words gathered here are not from one person but from many. According to tradition, Ezra, after the captivity, collected psalms of many authors into one volume, along with words that are not necessarily psalms. On some the name of David is prefixed, on others the name of Solomon, on others something else; there are also some of Jeduthun and others of the sons of Korah, as well as those of Moses. Therefore the words gathered in this way could not be said to belong to David alone. We must inquire about the untitled ones — whose they should be thought to be. For why is even the simplest title not placed before them, a title such as "A Psalm of David" or simply "Of David"? We have reasoned that where this alone is the title, the piece is neither a psalm nor a song, but a word from the Holy Spirit, written for the benefit of the one who can understand. A tradition from a certain Hebrew came to me about the last psalms. Since many were untitled, but the one immediately preceding these untitled ones bears the title "Of David," he said that those also should be regarded as David's, taken in common; and if that is so, it follows that the untitled ones belong to those whose preceding titles are well established. The prophet named the present book of Psalms a Psaltery. For, they say, only on musical instruments is the active bronze sounded from above, not from below like the others, so that those who have learned it may preserve the analogy of such a name and look upward, to the source from which it resounded; for this reason he called it a Psaltery. For it is the echo and sound of the all-holy Spirit. — Origen on the Psalms.
Greek
Ἡ βίβλος τῶν ψαλμῶν καινὴν διδασκαλίαν περιέχει, μετὰ τὴν ΔἋΙωσέως νομοϑεσίαν, καὶ ὅτε δευτέρα μετὰ τὴν Διωσέως γραφὴν διδωσχαλιχὴ βίβλος τυγχάνει. μετὰ γοῦν τὴν Μωσέος κεὰὶ Ἰησοῦ τελευὃ τὴν καὶ μετὰ τοὺς κριτὰς Δαυὶδ γενόμενος, ὡσανεὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος αὐτὸς χρηματίσαι πατὴρ καταξιωϑείς, καινὸν τρόπον τὸν τῆς ψαλμῳδίας πρῶτος Ἑβραίοις παρέδωκεν, δι ἣς ἀναιρεῖ μὲν τὰ παρὰ Μωσῇ περὶ ϑυσιῶν νενομοϑετημένα, καινὸν δὲ τὸν δι ὕμνων καὶ ἀλαλαγμῶν τρόπον τῆς τοῦ ϑεοῦ λατρείας εἰσάγει καὶ ἄλλα δὲ πλεῖστα τὸν ίωσέως νόμον ἐπαναβεβηκότα δ ὕλης αὐτοῦ τῆς πραγματείας διδάσκει. Καὶ οὗτος μὲν τῆς βίβλου ὃ σκοπὸς καὶ τὸ χρήσιμον" ἡ δὲ αἰτία τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς αὕτη. ἐπειδὴ πλεῖστοι τῶν ἐξ ἐϑνῶν εἰς Χριστὸν πεπιστευχότων οἴονται τὴν βίβλον ταύτην τοῦ Δαιὶδ᾽ ὑπάρχειν. ἐπιγράφουσί τε αὐτὴν Ψαλμοὶ τοῦ Δαυὶδ, λεκτέον τὰ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐληλυϑότα ὅ περὶ αὐτῆς. Ἑβραῖοι ἐπέγραψαν τὴν βίβλον Σέφρα ϑελείμ. ἐν δὲ ταῖς πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων ,«βίθλος ψαλμῶν“ εἶναι λέγεται. ἔχει δὲ ἢ λέξις οὕτως ,,ος γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν. ὄνομα δὲ ἐν τῇ ἐπιγραφῇ τοῦ βιβλίου οὐ κεῖται ἐνταῦϑα, ἡ δὲ αἰτία τὸ μὴ ἑνὸς λόγους ἀναγεγράφϑαι ἐπὶ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ πλειόνων συνειλέχϑαι. τοῦ Ἔσδρα. ὡς αὖ παραδόσεις φασίν, μετὰ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν συναγαγόντος ψαλμοὺς πλειόνων εἰς ἕν ἢ καὶ λόγους οὐ πάντως ὄντας ψαλμούς. προτέταχται γοῦν ἐπὶ μὲν τινῶν τὸ Δαυΐδ ὄνομα, ἐπὶ δὲ ἑτέρων τὸ Σολομῶν καὶ ἐπὶ ἄλλων τοῦ σάφ. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ἰδιϑούμ τινες καὶ παρὰ τούτους ἄλλοι τῶν υἱῶν Κορέ, ὡς καὶ δΜΙωσέως. τῶν οὖν τοσούτον ἐπὶ 1ὅ τὸ αὐτὸ συναχϑέντες οἱ λόγοι οὐκ ἂν ὑπὸ τοῦ εἰδότος λέγοιντο μόνου τοῦ Δαυΐδ. ζητητέον δὲ περὶ τῶν ἀνεπιγράφων, τίνος αὐτοὺς χρὴ ὑπονοεῖν. διὰ τί γὰρ κἂν ἡ ἁπλουστάτη ἐπιγραφὴ οὐ πρόκειται αὐτῶν, ἥτις οὕτως ἔχει͵, , Τοῦ Δαυὶδ ψαλμὸς“ ἢ ,,ἸΤἸοῦ Δαυϊδ΄'΄ χωρὶς πάσης προσϑήκης; ὑπενοήσαμεν δέ. ὅπου αὕτη μόνη ἐπιγραφὴ ἐστιν, ὅτι οὔτε ψαλμός ἐστι τὸ λεγόμενον οὔτε ὠδή. ἀλλὰ λόγος τις ἐξ ἁγίου πνεύμεῖτος ὠφελείας ἕνεκεν τῆς τοῦ δυναμένου συνιέναι ἀναγεγραμμένος. Ἦλϑε δὲ εἰς ἐμὲ Ἑβραίου τινὸς παράδοσις περὶ τῶν τελευταίων. ἐπεὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ ἦσαν ἀνεπίγραφοι, εἷς δὲ ὃ πρὸ τούτων τῶν ἀνεπιγράφων ἐπιγραφὴν ἔχει ,,Τοῦ Δαυΐδ΄, ἔλεγε κἀκείνους ἀπὸ κοινοῦ λαμβανομένους τοῦ Δαυὶδ αὐτοὺς δεῖν νομίζεσθαι. καὶ εἰ τοῦϑ᾽ οὕτως. ἀκόλουϑόν ἐστι τοὺς ἀνεπιγράφους ἐχείνων εἶναι, ὧν οἱ πρὸ αὐτῶν χατὰ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν καλῶς εἶσι νενομισμένοι. οἴ Ῥαλτήριον δὲ τὴν παροῦσων τῶν ψαλμῶν βίβλον ὁ προφήτης ὠνόμασεν. ἐπειδὴ μόνον. φασίν. ἐπὶ τοῖς μουσικοῖς ὀργάνοις ἄνῶϑεν ἐπιφέρεσθαι τὸν ἐνεργοῦντα χαλκὸν τὴν ἀπήχησιν καὶ οὐκ ἐκ τῶν κάτω τοῖς ἄλλοις παραπλησίως. ἵνα οὖν τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς τοιαύτης δ ὀνομασίας οἱ μεμαϑηκότες αὐτὸ φυλάττειν σπουδάζωσι καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἄνω βλέποσιν. ὃϑεν ἀπηχήϑη, τούτου χάριν ψαλτήριον προσηγόρευσεν. τοῦ γὰρ παναγίου πνεύματος ἀπήχησίς ἐστιν ὅλον καὶ φϑόγγος. ᾿Ωριγένους περὶ τῶν ον ψαλμῶν.