Psalms Old and New

Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics

Ben Witherington, Ben Witherington III

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781506420578
• eBook ISBN:
  9781506420585
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Reading the Book of Psalms in its original context is the crucial prerequisite for reading its citation and use in later interpretation, including the New Testament writings, argues Ben Witherington III. Here he offers pastors, teachers, and students an accessible commentary to the Psalms, as well as a reasoned consideration of how they were heard and read in early Christianity. By reading "forward and backward," Witherington advances the scholarly discussion of intertextuality and opens a new avenue for biblical theology.

3

Psalter Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)

The Agony and Ecstasy

The Psalms are among the oldest poems in the world, and they still rank with any poetry in any culture, ancient or modern, from anywhere in the world. They are full of power and passion, horrendous misery and unrestrained jubilation, tender sensitivity and powerful hope.

—N. T. Wright^[1]

According to Benedict’s scheme, the community reads through . . . the entire book of Psalms every week. The monks are therefore exposed . . . to all the despairing, doubtful, bitter, vindictive, jingoistic, nationalistic, and seemingly racist passages in the Psalter. It is not that every sentiment expressed by a psalmist is admirable, but that in praying the Psalms, we confront ourselves as we really are. The Psalms are a reality check to keep prayer from becoming sentimental, superficial, or detached from the real world.

—Richard H. Schmidt^[2]

As with our earlier book on Isaiah, we will always begin by presenting a translation of both the MT (the Masoretic Text) and the LXX (the Septuagint text) so the reader may notice the differences comparing and contrasting the two.^[3] In general, it is clear that the earliest Christians, some due to language limitations and others due to the need to express their thoughts in the lingua franca of the age, almost always used some preexisting Greek text of the Psalms when they quoted, paraphrased, or excerpted material. In part this may be put down to the fact that the early Christian movement was overwhelmingly an evangelistic venture meant to spread the news about Jesus of Nazareth to all and sundry. In this respect especially we may contrast this Jewish movement with the one that had a base camp at Qumran, and spent time pondering mainly the Hebrew text of the Psalms and other OT texts. We need to keep these things in mind as this study progresses.

Our modus operandi here will be the same as in our Isaiah Old and New volume: we will present the two translations first then comment on the meaning of the psalm in its original context and then on how the psalm is used in the NT. One note more before we start: the earliest Christians seem more apt to use the language and imagery of the Psalms to describe and explain the Christ event, rather than doing some sort of exegesis of a psalm at length or in context. They used key phrases, little excerpts, to present the story of Jesus for the most part, rather than doing extended commentary. I would call this a homiletical and didactic use of the Psalms rather than an exegesis of the Psalms per se. As such they should not be faulted for bad exegesis, when that was not what they were trying to do in the first place. However, we will also occasionally see the Psalms expounded at more length, often christologically.

A Regal Start: Psalm 2^[4]

MT Psalm 2

LXX Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

1 Why did nations grow insolent, and peoples contemplate vain things? 2 The kings of the earth stood side by side, and the rulers gathered together, against the Lord and against his anointed, Interlude on strings 3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder and cast their yoke from us.” 4 He who resides in the heavens will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and in his anger he will trouble them. 6 “But I was established king by him, on Zion, his holy mountain, 7 by proclaiming the Lord’s ordinance: The Lord said to me, ‘My son you are; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will give you nations as your heritage, and as your possession the ends of the earth. 9 You shall shepherd them with an iron rod; like a potter’s vessel you will shatter them.’” 10 And now, O kings, be sensible; be instructed, all you who judge the earth. 11 Be subject to the Lord with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling. 12 Seize upon instruction, lest the Lord be angry, and you will perish from the righteous way, when his anger quickly blazes out. Happy are all who trust in him

Psalm 2 has been traditionally called a royal psalm, a song about the king. Interestingly it is one of the psalms in the first book of the Psalter that does not have a prescript telling us it is for, about, or by David. It is possible that this was the first psalm in some collection of the Psalter, because one variant reading of Acts 13:33 quotes from this psalm and calls it “the first psalm” (but see below). Were Psalms 1 and 2 originally seen as two parts of one psalm? This seems unlikely for Psalm 1 makes a nice preamble for the whole collection and is a wisdom and torah psalm, unlike Psalm 2.^[5] It has been thought to be better, by some scholars, to see Psalm 1 as a preamble to the Psalter, with Psalm 2 to be taken as the proper first psalm, as the variant reading in Acts 13:33 found only in manuscript D seems to suggest.

Another way to view this would be to suggest that while Psalm 1 and 2 have independent origins originally, they were placed here as a two-part preamble to the whole Psalter, noting some similar themes in the two psalms (e.g., Psalm 1 begins with a wisdom theme about blessing, and Psalm 2 ends with a word to the wise for the nations, a word about how they can be blessed).^[6] This is possible but would not explain what Acts 13:33 suggests. In any case, the Psalm divides neatly into four subsections: (1) vv. 1–3 describe the nations’ plans; (2) vv. 4–6 Yahweh’s response to such plans; (3) vv.7–9 the king’s own response, and finally (4) vv.10–12 the word to the wise for the nations. The poem thus has an ABB′A′ sort of structure.^[7]

As a royal psalm it is a song about the installation of the king, a coronation ode of sorts. Perhaps the major difference between the MT and the LXX in this psalm can be seen in v. 6 where in the Hebrew we have direct speech by Yahweh, whereas in the LXX it is a comment by the king himself. We also must note the change from “kiss the son, lest he be angry” to “seize upon the instruction, lest the Lord be angry” which, as I. Howard Marshall says, makes it easier to see the whole last stanza as part the instructions from the king to the nations.^[8]

The logic of the narrative in the poem seems to be as follows: in vv. 1–3 we hear...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Epigraph
• Table Of Contents
• Abbreviations
• Fore-words
• Tuning Up
• The Psalter in Early Judaism
• Psalter Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)
• Psalter Book 2 (Psalms 42–72)
• Psalter Book 3 (Psalms 73–89)
• Psalter Book 4 (Psalms 90–106)
• Psalter Book 5 (Psalms 107–150)
• “The Song Remains the Same”
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Bibliography