Song of Degrees
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This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
Song of Degrees, Song of Steps, or Song of Ascents (Hebrew:שיר המעלות Shir Hama'aloth) is a title given to each of fifteen of the Psalms, numbered 120-134. The probable origin of this name is the circumstance that these psalms came to be sung by the people on the ascents or goings up to Jerusalem to attend the three pilgrim festivals (Deut. 16:16). They were well fitted for being sung by the way from their peculiar form, and from the sentiments they express. "They are characterized by brevity, by a key-word, by epanaphora [i.e, repetition], and by their epigrammatic style...More than half of them are cheerful, and all of them hopeful."[citation needed] They are sometimes called "Pilgrim Songs." Four of them (122, 124, 131 and 133) are claimed in their ascriptions to have been by David, and one (127) by Solomon, the rest being anonymous. However modern scholars do not believe that these ascriptions can be taken literally, though they do give some evidence that helps in dating of the Psalms and identifying their original use.
