Psalm 97

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The 97th psalm (according to Greek counting the 96th) is a psalm from the fourth book of psalms . He belongs to the genus of " YHWH's accession to the throne ". There are also hymnic echoes in the psalm. What is striking about the psalm is the use of fantastic mythological images.

structure

The Old Testament scholar Hermann Gunkel divides the psalm in the following way:

  1. Verse 1: introductory call to the king,
  2. Verses 2-6: The glorious and terrible appearance of God,
  3. Verses 7–9: Effects of the apparition on the religious and political conditions of the world,
  4. Verses 10–12: Conclusion: application to the individual.

Remarks

heading

The call of the Israelites to these "islands" to praise YHWH is also found in other places. So it is called z. B. in Isa 42,10  EU :

"Sing a new song to the Lord, his glory from the end of the earth: Let the sea and its abundance roar, the islands and their inhabitants !"

According to Hermann Gunkel , this request has been important since the Indo-Persian wars.

Verse 3

As the fire goes before him and burns the enemies, YHWH wins without moving. This picture is often found in ancient times :

  • The appearance of YHWH to Elijah. So it says in the 1st book of kings ( 1 Kings 19,12  EU ): And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a gentle pang.
  • The story of Xerxes I , who is said to have watched the battle of Salamis seated (Herodotus XII, 90).
  • The Assyrian king is said to have let himself be carried to war on his throne.

Web links

Commons : Psalm 97  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen ( 6 1997), 424ff.
  2. ↑ Bruno Meißner, Babylonien und Assyrien (1925), 64