Psalm 110

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Book of Hours 1511, Dixit Dominus Domino meo… , Alexander Turnbull Library

The 110th Psalm (Psalm 109 after counting the Septuagint and Vulgate ) is a psalm from the biblical book of Psalms . He is assigned to David and belongs to the group of royal psalms. Because of its messianic content, it is the most frequently quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament .

Text, structure and content

The psalm is one of the most difficult texts of the psalter in terms of its content and its text transmission. Thus, Hans-Joachim Kraus states: "No psalm in research as many hypotheses and discussions triggered as the 110th Psalm."

The psalm can be divided into two parts, whereby the introductory formulas appearing as God's word in verses 1 and 4 form the structure:

  1. Verses 1–3 EU : As a prophetic promise ("Spruch JHWHs ") formulated promise of the speaker to the King of Israel , who is to rule over his enemies at the right hand of God
  2. Verses 4–7 EU : Description of the victorious battle of the king, who is called the eternal priest "in the manner of Melchizedek ".

The question of who is the speaker in v. 1 is already particularly controversial. Traditional views take the beginning of the psalm "of David" literally and see King David as a prayer who quotes a divine saying and speaks of "his Lord" as a third party. According to this, there would be a ruling figure superior to David who would sit at the “right hand of God”. In historical-critical exegesis , however, it is assumed that the prayer is a fictional figure who, as court or cult spokesman, conveys a divine saying to the Israelite king as "his master". According to this, the figure to the right of God is the ideal-type Israelite king himself, who holds the throne in the manner of David . However, the psalm hardly documents a separate festival of accession to the throne , as is sometimes assumed.

The majestic images in the first part of the psalm are familiar from ancient oriental iconography . This includes the idea of ​​the defeated enemy as a “footstool” (v. 1) and also the “staff” in v. 2 as a symbol of the power of the king, which can be found in the older Babylonian and Assyrian times.

Verse 3 is extremely difficult to understand because the Hebrew consonant inventory does not make any clear sense. Erich Zenger prefers the traditional Masoretic text , which he considers to be the result of an editorial revision, and translates it

“Your people are willingly in sacred ornamentation on the day of your power. The dew of your youth comes to you from the womb of the dawn. "

Other attempts at reconstruction come up with alternative readings, which sometimes lead to significantly different translations.

The second part of the psalm gives the king permanent priestly dignity. In addition, the Jerusalem priest-king Melchizedek is remembered from pre-Israelite times, who blesses Abraham in Gen 14.17-20  EU .

The meaning of the last verse of the psalm is also controversial, insofar as there is uncertainty about the acting subject. Some exegetes see another enthronement rite of the Davidic king here. However, this would require a change of subject between vv. 4-6 (YHWH as agent) and v. 7 (the Priest-King as agent), for which there are no further indications in the text. The image of “drinking from the stream on the way” can also describe YHWH as the victorious warrior who shows his superiority after a successful battle.

Dating

The first part of the psalm is mostly dated to the pre-exilic period of Israel, sometimes even to the oldest royal period. The comparison with other royal psalms from pre-exilic times ( Ps 18  EU , Ps 21  EU , Ps 2  EU ), which show the king himself as a fighter, suggests, according to Erich Zenger, a later date of origin in which YHWH is presented as a "warrior". The image of the pre-Avidian priest-king Melchizedek and the oath of God to receive kingship (v. 4) also point to the post-exilic period in which the messianic restoration of kingship was expected. Dating back to the Maccabean era is no longer represented today.

Meaning in the New Testament

Christ enthroned at the right hand of God, French book illustration of the 15th century

The first verse of the Psalm plays an extremely important role for the entire New Testament and is one of the most cited Old Testament verses in the New Testament. His statements are interpreted Christologically : After his exaltation, Jesus Christ sits “at the right hand of God” ( Mk 12.36  EU , 14.62 EU ) and God places “his enemies at his feet” ( Lk 20.41–44  EU , 1 Cor 15.25  EU ). Jesus interprets the first verse of the Psalm as a prophetic statement from David, whereby he himself is the Lord who sits at the right hand of the Lord God.

In addition, the Psalm is used in the Letter to the Hebrews to justify the conferring of the title " high priest " on Jesus on the basis of the Scriptures. Ps 110.4  EU in particular is often quoted:

  1. Heb 5: 1-6  EU emphasizes the correspondence of the priesthood of Christ to the Levitical priesthood: Aaron and Christ were both called and instituted by God.
  2. Heb 6.20  EU emphasizes the eternity of this priesthood.
  3. Heb 7  EU identifies the priesthood of Christ with the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek and emphasizes its preference over the Levitical priesthood. Melchizedek himself is superior to Abraham as the progenitor of the Levites ( Heb 7,4–7  EU ) and legitimized and singled out by an “oath” of God ( Heb 7,17–24  EU ).

The Letter to the Hebrews bases this argument on the view that the covenant in Jesus Christ is the “better covenant” ( Heb 7:22  EU ).

This outstanding high esteem for the Psalm in the New Testament is also reflected in the Christian Apostles' Creed , where, alluding to v. 1, it says of Christ ascended to heaven:

“He sits at the right hand of God the Almighty Father; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. "

Church music

Psalm 110 ( Vulgate 109 Dixit Dominus Domino meo ) belongs to the classic series of Sunday vesperpsalms and thus one of the most frequently set Biblical texts. He was u. a. set to music by Georg Friedrich Händel ( Dixit Dominus (Handel) ), also z. B. by Claudio Monteverdi (in his Marienvesper SV 206 and in his Selva morale e spirituale SV 252-288), Johann Rosenmüller (at least six times as a separate work), Antonio Lotti (at least six times), Antonio Vivaldi (at least three times: RV 594, 595 and 807), Alessandro Scarlatti , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (three times as part of his Dixit & Magnificat KV 193, his Vesperae de Dominica KV 321 and his Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339).

literature

  • Hermann Gunkel: The Psalms . 6th edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1986, ISBN 3-525-51653-3 , pp. 481 ff .
  • Ferdinand Hahn: Christological majesty. Your story in early Christianity . 5th edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1995, ISBN 3-8252-1873-2 .
  • Martin Hengel: Psalm 110 and the exaltation of the risen one at the right hand of God . In: Cilliers Breytenbach, Henning Paulsen (eds.): Beginnings of Christology, Festschrift for Ferdinand Hahn on his 65th birthday . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1991, ISBN 3-525-58157-2 , pp. 43-74 .
  • Frank-Lothar Hossfeld , Erich Zenger: Psalms. Psalm 101-150 (=  HThKAT ). Herder, Freiburg, Basel, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-451-26827-4 , pp. 195-218 .
  • Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms 60–150 . 2nd sub-volume (=  BKAT 15/2 ). 8th edition. Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2003, ISBN 3-7887-2028-X , p. 925-938 .
  • Miriam von Nordheim: Born of the Dawn? Psalm 110 in tradition, editing and reception (=  WMANT 118 ). Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2008, ISBN 978-3-7887-2276-0 .
  • Angela Rascher: Explanation of Scripture and Christology in the Letter to the Hebrews (=  BZNW 153 ). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-019697-9 .

Web links

Commons : Psalm 110  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Miriam von Nordheim: Born of the Dawn? P. 1.
  2. ^ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms. 2nd volume Psalms 50-150. P. 928.
  3. ↑ Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger: Psalms. Psalm 101-150 . P. 203.
  4. ^ Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen ( 6 1986), 481ff.
  5. ↑ Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger: Psalms. Psalm 101-150 . P. 206.
  6. ^ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms. 2nd volume Psalms 50-150. P. 930.
  7. ↑ Bruno Meissner: Babylonien und Assyrien (1920), 50.70.262
  8. ↑ Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger: Psalms. Psalm 101-150 . P. 197.
  9. ^ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms. 2nd volume Psalms 50-150. P. 936.
  10. ↑ Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger: Psalms. Psalm 101-150 . P. 213.
  11. ^ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms. 2nd volume Psalms 50-150. P. 930.
  12. ↑ Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger: Psalms. Psalm 101-150 . Pp. 204-205.
  13. Jump up ↑ Ferdinand Hahn: Christological Highness Titles , p. 127.
  14. ↑ Martin Hengel, Psalm 110 and the exaltation of the risen One at the right hand of God , p. 43.
  15. ↑ Angela Rascher: Explanation of Scripture and Christology in Hebrews , pp. 118f.