The Book of Psalms (Tiberian: T?hillîm; Modern: Tehillim, ?????????, or "praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Bible, and the Islamic Zabur. Taken together, its 150 poems "express virtually the full range of Israel's religious faith."
Hermann Gunkel's pioneering form-critical work on the psalms sought to provide a new and meaningful context in which to interpret individual psalms ? not by looking at their literary context within the Psalter (which he did not see as significant), but by bringing together psalms of the same genre (Gattung) from throughout the Psalter. The main genres are:[38]
1.Hymns
2.Lament/complaint psalms
3.Royal Psalms
4.Thanksgiving psalms
5.Wisdom psalms
6.Smaller genres and mixed type
Psalm forms or types also include:[citation needed]
Songs of Zion ? Psalms 48, 76, 84, 87, 122, 134;
Historical litanies ? Psalms 78, 105, 106, 135, 136;
Pilgrim liturgies ? Psalms 81, 21;
Entrance liturgies ? Psalms 15, 24;
Judgment liturgies ? Psalms 50, 82;
Mixed types ? 36, 40, 41, 68