When was Psalm 37 written?

Answer 1

Psalm 37 is traditionally attributed to King David, and on that basis would have been written during the tenth century BCE. However, many scholars believe that the psalms were written during and after the Babylonian Exile, in which case Psalm 37 was written no earlier than the sixth century BCE.

Although the superscript attributes this psalm to David, a king would not have written verse 29, "The righteous shall inherit the land" or verse 34. In fact, verse 34 implies that the Exile has ended and the Jews are returning or believe they will soon return: "Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it."

Answer 2

King David wrote it. Traditional chronology places his lifetime in 906 to 836 BCE.

Tradition states that King David gave us the Book of Psalms. Seventy-three of the 150 bear his name, and the unattributed ones are also from him (Talmud, Berakhot 9b).

Concerning those Psalms that have the names of other authors, tradition teaches that we may thank David for them too (Talmud, Bava Bathra 14b). This is because it was he who collated and canonized them into his Book (Talmud, Bava Batra 14b). Some of their authors were contemporaries of David (such as Heiman, Eitan, Asaph, Jeduthun), while others lived before his time (Adam, Moses, Malkitzedek). If not for King David, those Psalms would have gone lost.

For some decades, academic scholars have claimed that many psalms were written several centuries after King David. They stated this for theoretical reasons. Recent analysis, however, makes it clear that the language, style, genre and phraseology of the Psalms is much more ancient than had been claimed. (Buttenwieser, Moses: The Psalms, Chronologically Treated with a New Translation. Also: Dahood, Mitchell, Psalms; The Anchor Bible.)

See also:

About King David

Psalm 23

The purpose of the Psalms

Answer 3

A sacred song penned by king David.

He was anointed as King over Judah 1077 BCE and ruled for 40 years. So Psalms 37 was written sometime during those years.