What is Psalm 151? Should Psalm 151 be in the Bible?

TL;DR:

Psalm 151 is not part of the original Hebrew Scriptures and is considered apocryphal, found mainly in the Greek Septuagint. While it may be of historical interest, it is not inspired Scripture and was never recognized as canonical by Jews, Protestants, or Roman Catholics.

what does the bible say?

Psalm 151 is not in the Bible. While it is included in a couple versions of the Bible, such as the one used by the Greek Orthodox church, the source for the Psalm is not the Hebrew text. Instead, it’s from a Greek collection of works translated and collected between the third and first centuries BC. That was after the Jewish canon was closed, with Psalm 151 believed to be one of the Apocryphal writings. Because there is no evidence of it ever existing in the original canon and we recognize God’s sovereignty even over history, this Psalm is not canonical and should not be treated as part of the Bible. Although Psalm 151 is not canonical and some historical statements in it may be inaccurate, it does not contain anything that would be considered heretical. It can be read online at: Psalm 151 (CEB).

from the old testament

Psalm 151 is not in the Hebrew Bible, which is why it is not in most English translations. Therefore, it is not considered canonical (part of the Bible) by Protestants, Roman Catholics, or Jews.
Learning more about what was in the original Hebrew canon can help guard us against content that doesn’t belong within God’s inspired word. Proverbs 2:3-5 enjoins us to search for truth: “yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

from the new testament

Psalm 151 is not referenced or discussed in the New Testament. But 2 Timothy 3:16-17 asserts the inspiration of Scripture. We can learn from extra-biblical texts, but we should never give them the same status as the canon.

implications for today

While scholarship and popular magazines regularly bring up “lost” works of Scripture, the biblical canon does not come from a council, church, or any other human organization. From a human standpoint, something might be accidentally lost or even intentionally suppressed,. but that cannot happen with true Scripture because it comes from God.

That does not mean that the Bible floated down from heaven. Rather,God worked in history to preserve His canon. The working of the Holy Spirit in believers and circumstantial events revealed the difference between true and false works. That does not mean Psalm 151 is necessarily bad. However, only true Scripture is profitable for the believer (2 Timothy 3:16–17). If God had wanted Psalm 151 in the canon then, just like he preserved the other 150 Psalms, He would have preserved this one, too. He did not and, therefore, we can be confident that He did not intend it to be a part of the Bible.

What does this mean? Regardless of what “lost text” scholarship finds or claims was wrongly excluded from Scripture, we can have confidence that it was not supposed to be part of the Bible. God is the one Who created everything out of nothing (Genesis 1), Who moves the hearts of kings to do as He wills (Proverbs 21:1; Ezra 1:1), and Who guided the tiniest details, such as a coin ending up in a specific fish’s mouth (Matthew 17:24-27). If this all powerful God wanted Psalm 151 in the Bible, it would never have been overlooked in the first place.

understand

Psalm 151 is not in the original Hebrew Bible and is considered apocryphal.
Psalm 151 appears in the Greek Septuagint but was never accepted as canonical by Jews, Protestants, or Roman Catholics.
God sovereignly preserved the true canon, so Psalm 151 was never meant to be part of Scripture.

reflect

How does trusting God's sovereignty over Scripture shape your confidence in the Bible today?
When you encounter non-biblical texts like Psalm 151, how do you discern what to do with them?
Do you sometimes struggle with the idea that not everything written about God is meant to be Scripture? Why or why not?

engage

Why are some people drawn to “lost” or extra-biblical writings like Psalm 151?
How can we help one another stay grounded in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture?
What does the inclusion of Psalm 151 in some traditions but not the Bible teach us about the importance of understanding how the biblical canon was formed?