Tehilim Chapter 34 according to Aleph Bet

Question

Is there an explanation for why this chapter of tehilim was written according to the Aleph Bet, and why it skips the vav?

See Rada"k on the 1st verse. The vav is included in the pasuk that has heh. Rada"k doesn't explain why this is. — DanF, Feb 05 '18 at 22:45
@DanF Sounds somewhat like an answer, if you can find an explanation why that is. — ezra, Feb 06 '18 at 00:04
@DanF Meiri says that too. Although, he may have just gotten it from Radak. — , Feb 06 '18 at 06:36
You may not find an answer as to why this Tehillim is alphabetical. AFAIK, the Gemarah Brachot emphasizes saying Tehilla Ledavid (#145, commonly called "Ashrei") because it is alphabetical, but they don't explain why that one, among other Tehillim are alphabetical. It was a common technique to make "songs" alphabetical probably for memorization, mainly. Why David chose #34, specifically, as one of them, may not have an explanation. — DanF, Feb 06 '18 at 16:29
This article addresses both questions by positing that alphabetic thinking contributed to both its composition and its consumption. (The clear evocation of such a framework does away with the need to complete the acrostic, having achieved it sufficiently with the preponderant pattern.) — WAF, Sep 02 '18 at 21:20

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 28 '19 at 06:25

The Radak there explains that it was made in Aleph Bet order because of the happiness from his escape:

מרוב השמחה ששמח דוד בהנצלו עשה שירה זו באל״ף בי״ת

As noted in the comments by DanF, Radak notes that the vav line is included in the hei line of:

הביטו אליו ונהרו ופניהם אל יחפרו

This is not uncommon in piyutim, songs, and even tehillim, etc, see, for example the comments to this question.

1 Answers1