Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

David's VOW

The transfer of the

ark to Jerusalem

Jehovah's

covenant with

David

Jehovah's choice

and pro

visions

for

Jeru

salem

'An inheritance by the way he maketh it:

Therefore he lifteth up his head.k

§ 41. Jehovah's Promises to David and to Zion, Ps. 132

Ps. 132 1Jehovah, remember for David all his affliction;' "How he swore to Jehovah and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 3'I will not enter into the tent of my house, nor go up into my bed;m "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eye-lids;" "Until I find a place for Jehovah, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.'

"Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah;P we found it in the field of Jearim.
'Let us come to his abode; let us worship at his footstool.
"Arise, O Jehovah, to thy resting place;' with the ark of thy strength.
'Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and thy pious ones rejoice."

10 For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed.
"Jehovah swore unto David in truth, he will not depart from it:
'Of the fruit of thy body will I set one for thee upon thy throne.
12If thy children but keep my covenant and my testimony, which I teach
them,

Their children also shall be forever, they shall sit upon thy throne.'

13 For Jehovah hath chosen Zion, he desired it for his habitation;
14[Saying]: 'This is my resting place forever; here will I dwell, for I desire it.
15I will bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread;

16And her priests will I clothe with salvation, and her pious ones will shout
for joy.

k1107 An exceedingly difficult vs. Heb. reads, He drinks of the brook on the way; therefore he lifts up his head. The above translation follows a reconstruction suggested by Briggs (Pss., II, 379).

§ 41 Like Ps. 89, this ps. is based on the covenant with David recorded in II Sam. 711-16. The psalmist is, however, familiar with the writings of the Chronicler, II Chr. 640-42, and with a late Jewish tradition regarding the removal of the ark to Jerusalem in the days of David. He also uses the terms and is imbued with the ideas of the late priestly school. Cf. 9. 12. The pious ones mentioned in 9, 16 are probably the Hasideans who rallied about Judas Maccabeus. The literary style of the ps. is awkward and repetitious and lacks the vigor of the earlier periods. It probably comes from the Maccabean period and voices the hope that Jehovah will redeem his promises to Jerusalem and the house of David through the achievements of the Hasmonean rulers. The lamp for Jehovah's anointed (David), 17, was probably Simon, who revived the traditions and glories of the Davidic dynasty. It is significant that in the closing stanza the psalmist puts the chief emphasis on the restoration of Jerusalem.

1132 The reference is probably to the misfortunes attendant upon David's first attempt to remove the ark to Jerusalem. Cf. II Sam. 61-11.

m 1323 No such oath is recorded elsewhere in the O.T. It is either an inference from the historical situation or an element taken from later Jewish tradition.

1324 Cf. for the same idiom, Pr. 64.

1325 The Heb. plural probably emphasizes the size and dignity of the dwelling place in which Jehovah's ark was to abide. P1326 Ephrathah, in Ruth 411 and Mic. 52, is the designation of the region about Bethlehem. From this context it appears that it included the region southwest of Jerusalem in which Kirjathjearim, where the ark has been left, according to I Sam. 71, was situated.

1327 The historical narrative is here condensed. This vs. describes the resolve of the people. 1328 An echo of the ancient song that, according to Nu. 1035, was sung in the wilderness whenever the people took up the ark and began the march. It is probably quoted from II Chr. 611. 132 So II Chr. 6" and repeated in 16,

13210 Possibly this vs. is simply an addition from II Chr. 642.

JEHOVAH'S PROMISES TO DAVID AND TO ZION

17There will I make the horn of David bud;" I have arranged a lamp for mine anointed.

18 His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon him his crown will bloom.'

III

THE IDEALS OF AN UPRIGHT RULER

Ps. 101

§ 42. A Maccabean Ruler's Oath of Office, Ps. 101

Ps. 101 1Of mercy and justice will I sing to thee, O Jehovah."

me?

The

"I will behave myself wiselyb and blamelessly. O when wilt thou come to ciples

prin

which shall

I will walk in uprightness of mind in the midst of my house.

[blocks in formation]

I hate an act of apostasy; it shall not cleave to me.

3I will set before mine eyes nothing that is base,

"A perverse purposes I will banish from me; I will know no evil.

His

atti

"Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him will I cut off; Whoever has a high look and a proud heart, him will I not tolerate. "Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with toward

me;

u13217 This figure is derived from Ezek. 2921
13217 Cf. I Kgs. 154, where Rehoboam is described as the lamp of David.
42 This ps. is an important historical document.

the Maccabean ruler, that

In I Mac. 1414 it is recorded of Simon,

He strengthened all the distressed of his people,
He was full of zeal for the law,

And every lawless and wicked person he banished.

There is every reason to believe that this ps. voices the ideals of Simon, who out of gratitude was made by his Jewish subjects their governor, military commander, and high priest. Of all the Maccabean rulers he was the most famous for the justice and faith which he showed to his nation, and because he sought by all means to exalt his people .. so that the heathen were taken away from their country, as well as those who were in the city of David (I Mac. 1435, 36). It expresses well the spirit that actuated the early Maccabean rulers. The reference in 3 to, lit., the work of them that turn aside is clearly an allusion to the apostate Jews whose leanings toward Hellenism had precipitated the Maccabean struggle. The reference in the second line of 5 is probably to the Sadducean nobles with which the Maccabeans as yet had made no alliances. The ps. gives an exceedingly vivid picture not only of the noble motives which actuated Simon but also of the difficult conditions with which he had to deal. Its five-beat metre emphasizes the deep feeling which inspired him.

1011 The Heb. adds, echoing the main verb, I would sing praises; but this destroys the metre and is apparently the work of a later scribe. Duhm and other commentators would reconstruct the original verb so as to read, I will keep mercy and justice. While this reconstruction is possibly original, it is only a conjecture.

b 1012 Lit., in the way of uprightness. Cf., in an upright way.

• 1012 Certain scholars would reconstruct the Heb. so that this vs. would read, I will give heed to the way of the upright when he comes before me. While it is probable that the latter part of this line is corrupt, this reconstruction is not in harmony with its context. The first stanza of the ps. deals with the ruler's personal motives and actions. It is not until the second stanza that he describes his treatment of the wicked and the upright.

d1013 This verb and those throughout the ps. may be translated in the present, describing habitual action, but interpreted in the future tense they bring out more clearly the idea of the vow which underlies the ps. It corresponds in many ways to our modern oath of office.

101 Lit., thing of belial.

1101 Or, the work of those who turn aside.

101 Lit., a perverse mind.

or to falsehood in general.

Either a reference to the current tendency toward Hellenism

tude

right

and

wrong doers

Priests:

Jehovah's univer

sal rule

Question of people

He who walks in an upright manner, that one shall serve me.
"He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;

He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before mine eyes.
"Zealously will I destroy all the wicked of the land,

That I may cut off from the city of Jehovah all wicked doers.

IV

THE RULE OF JEHOVAH THE DIVINE KING

§ 43.

Ps. 24, 47, 93, 95, 96, 98, 97, 99, 2227-31

The Homage Due Jehovah the Universal King, Ps. 24
Ps. 24 The earth is Jehovah's and all that it contains,
The world and those who dwell therein;
2For he hath founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the floods.b

3Who may ascend the hill of Jehovah?
Who may stand in His holy place?

h1018 Lit., to mornings. The Heb. idiom, to rise early in the morning, was equivalent to our Eng. verb, to be zealous. The present idiom expresses the idea of being constantly zealous.

The Rule of Jehovah the Divine King. A phase of the messianic hope very different from that expressed in the preceding sections is developed in the present group of pss. The Davidio king has disappeared completely from the psalmist's vision and instead Jehovah is the divine King, who rules supreme not only over little Israel but over all nations and the universe. These pss. represent in many ways the noblest and most spiritual expression of Israel's messianic hope. In the light of the prophetic writings, it is possible to trace the gradual unfolding of this belief. Like the Davidic national hopes, its genesis may be traced back to the days of the united Heb. kingdom. The example of one king ruling over all the tribes of Israel and their conquered neighbors suggested the analogy of one divine King ruling supreme over Jew and Gentile alike. The prophet Amos was the first to express the definite conviction that Jehovah directed the fortunes of Israel's heathen neighbors as well as those of his chosen people. Acquaintance with the Assyr., Baby., and Persian empires, each ruled by one absolute monarch whose authority extended almost to the bounds of the known world, tended powerfully to broaden Israel's conception of the extent of Jehovah's rule. The exile also brought them into touch with many foreign peoples and developed within the hearts of certain enlightened Jews the desire to share with other peoples the worship of the one God who had specially revealed himself to the Jewish people.

Zechariah, whose date, early in the Persian period, can be absolutely fixed, is the first prophet to express definitely this missionary hope: In those days ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' In Is. 567 the noble hope is also expressed that Jehovah's house shall be called the house of prayer for all people. The unknown prophet of Zech. 149, who wrote during the latter part of the Gk. period or during the Maccabean age, also clearly declared, Jehovah shall be king all over the earth.

In these pss., which describe Jehovah's kingly rule, the liturgical element is prominent. The authors of most of them were well acquainted with the later O.T. writings: Ezek., II Is., Gen., Job, and many of the earlier pss. The influence of II Isaiah is especially strong. These pss. represent the high-water mark of Israel's messianic hopes. Their ideals are broader, less national, and more universal than those found elsewhere in the Psalter. They probably reflect the larger outlook of the Jews of the dispersion, and may well have been written to be sung by the pilgrims as they came streaming from the distant lands of the exiles to pay homage to the divine King at the great annual feast in the days following the restoration of the Judean community as a result of Nehemiah's work. They formulate that exalted belief in the rule or kingdom of God which was given the central place in the teachings of Jesus. Spiritualized, ethicized, individualized, and yet universalized by him, this conception of Jehovah's rule became the corner-stone of Christianity.

§ 43 Many interpreters find in this ps. two or three distinct units. Vss. 1. 2 describe Jehovah's universal rule; vss. 3-6 those eligible to worship in Jehovah's temple; vss. 7-10 the entrance of

242 The for is lacking in the Gk., Sym., and Theod., and may be a later addition.
b242 I. e., the great waters, which, according the primitive Semitic belief, encircled the earth.

[blocks in formation]

Jehovah into his temple. There is unquestionably a certain literary unity in the ps., whether it be original or the work of the editor, for throughout Jehovah is the object of homage, and the theme is the going up of the people to the temple to worship. The date of the concluding section, 7-10, is the crux of the whole question. Its background is evidently an important event in the history of the temple. Three such events have been advocated by different interpreters: (1) the dedication of Solomon's temple; (2) the rededication of the second temple in 516; and (3) the reconsecration of the temple in 165 B.C. The martial note favors either the earliest or the latest date, but the position of the ps. in the Psalter does not favor the Maccabean period although it does not entirely preclude it. The reference to the everlasting doors, lit., doors of eternity, is inconsistent with the original dedication of the temple, if the allusion is to the gates of the temple itself. That the author or at least the editor of the ps. in its present form had in mind the temple gates is clearly shown by the first part of the ps., e. g., . Furthermore, there is no suggestion in the ps. that the author had in mind the gates of Jerusalem. The peculiar phrase, King of Glory, recalls the similar titles which the Baby. kings employed in their public decrees and historical inscriptions. Jehovah's entrance into his temple implies that, according to the belief of his worshippers, he had for a time abandoned it. From Ezek. and elsewhere in the contemporary literature we learn that this was precisely what was popularly believed by the Jews during the period of the Baby, exile. Ezekiel taught that Jehovah had temporarily taken up his abode on a distant mountain in the north. The problem that disturbed the temple builders to whom Zechariah spoke was whether or not Jehovah would be satisfied with the temple and its service, polluted as they had been by the presence of the heathen. Cf. Zech. 31. The second half of this ps., therefore, is peculiarly appropriate in connection with the rededication of the second temple. It implies that the people marched in solemn procession to the temple very much as they did at the dedication of the walls a few years later. Cf. Neh. 1231-40. Equally appropriate is the opening stanza of Ps. 24, which describes the universality of Jehovah's rule an idea which appears in germinal form in Am. 9 and was characteristic of the prophets of the earlier part of the Persian period. The qualifications of a true worshipper of Jehovah are also defined in the next stanza in accordance with the principles laid down by the pre-exilic prophets, rather than in accordance with primitive Heb. thought or even of that of later Judaism. Each element, therefore, in the ps. was eminently appropriate in connection with the dedication of the second temple in 516 B.C., and this dating accords well with its position in the Psalter. Its simple, vigorous style and its exultant spirit support this conclusion. The ps. was probably written to be recited by the people and the priests as the procession stood before the temple.

24 Lit., who hath not lifted up himself to falsehood. A scribe has added the explanatory clause, hath not sworn to lie. His meaning evidently is that the worshipper had not borne false testimony against his neighbor. According to Heb. standards the vs. represents a rising climax: His hands were guiltless, his heart was pure, and he had done no wrong against his neighbor.

d245 I. e., that moral righteousness which qualifies one for admission to the sanctuary. 24 I. e., the type of man who was worthy to enter the presence of the divine King. 124 So Gk. and Lat., supported by Syr.

Priests: his

might

Call to praise Jehovah

His past achievements for his people

His

trium

phal

en

trance into Jerusalem His worldwide reign

The homage

paid him by all peoples

Jehovah's rule eternal

§ 44. Jehovah's Universal Reign, Ps. 47

Ps. 47 1Clap your hands, all ye peoples,

Shout to Jehovah with a voice of triumph;
2For Jehovah Most High" is awe-inspiring,
The great King over all the earth.

"He subdued the peoples under us,
And nations under our feet.
"He chose our inheritance for us,

The excellency of Jacob which he loveth.

"Jehovah hath gone up with a shout,
Jehovah amid the sound of trumpets.
"Sing praises to Jehovah, sing praises;
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

"Since he is king over all the earth,
To Jehovah sing with a skilful song.
Jehovah reigneth over the nations,
Jehovah sitteth upon his holy throne.

The nobles of the people are gathered together,
With the people of the God of Abraham;
For the shields of the earth' are Jehovah's;
Greatly exalted is he.

§ 45. Jehovah's Majestic Rule of the Universe, Ps. 93

Ps. 93 Jehovah reigneth,

Clothed in majesty as with a garment,

Jehovah hath girded himself with strength.

§ 44 This ps. is related both to 24 and the group of kingly pss. in 93-100. The warlike spirit in possibly points to the Maccabean era, but it is the triumph of an omnipotent God, not of a warrior, which is here proclaimed. The ps. was evidently written to be used in connection with a feast, possibly that of trumpets, as is suggested by $. Its background is a period of confidence and rejoicing and exaltation. The peaceful days following the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah furnish a natural background. Its spirit is also that of II Isaiah.

Aside from

47 According to Philo Byblius, the Phoenicians used Eliom as a name for God. Nu. 241, where it is employed by Balaam, its use as a designation of Jehovah is confined to the post-exilic writings.

h473 Lit., spoke.

1475 Heb., God, and so throughout the rest of the ps.

1477 Possibly this line is secondary, as it is only a variant of the first line of 3.

47° Supplying the preposition with from the Gk, and Syr. It is evidently omitted by a scribe because it has in Heb. the same radicals as the following word for people.

1479 I. e., the kings of the earth. Cf. Ps. 8918, where Jehovah is spoken of as the shield of his people.

45 This majestic ps. has many points of contact with II Isaiah. Cf. and Is. 519, 521; 2 and Is. 44, 45, 463. 5. 9. 19 It is closely connected with 97 and 99 by the initial phrase, Jehovah reigneth. The psalmist clearly had in mind the vision of Jehovah, the divine King, seated on his throne, that made a profound impression upon the young Isaiah (Is. 6). Instead of the seraphim, the primeval floods here bear testimony to Jehovah's might and majesty. The first four vss. constitute a complete unit. While the poem may be very old, it was probably suggested by contemplation of the picture of creation in Gen. 1. Its thought and symbolism are akin to the pow

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »