Psalm 2

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Psalm 2:11 above the entrance to the synagogue in Sibiu

Psalm 2 together with Psalm 1 form the framework of the Book of Psalms .

The text of Psalm 2

verse Biblia Hebraica Standard translation Luther Bible
1 למה רגשׁו גוים ולאמים יהגו־ריק׃ Why do the peoples rage, why do the nations make futile plans? Why do the heathen rage and the peoples talk so in vain?
2 יתיצבו מלכי־ארץ ורוזנים נוסדו־יחד על־יהוה ועל־משׁיחו׃ The kings of the earth rise up, and the lords counsel together against the LORD and his anointed The kings of the earth rise, the great have allied themselves against the Lord and his anointed.
3 ננתקה את־מוסרותימו ונשׁליכה ממנו עבתימו׃ "Let us tear their chains and throw off their ropes!" "Let us tear their ties and throw away their ropes!"
4th יושׁב בשׁמים ישׂחק אדני ילעג־למו׃ But he who is enthroned in heaven laughs, the Lord mocks her. But he who dwells in heaven laughs at them, and the Lord mocks them.
5 אז ידבר אלימו באפו ובחרונו יבהלמו׃ But then he speaks to them in anger; in his anger he will frighten them: One day he will speak to them in his anger, and with his anger he will frighten them.
6th ואני נסכתי מלכי על־ציון הר־קדשׁי׃ I myself have installed my King on Zion, my holy mountain. "But I have installed my King on my holy Mount Zion."
7th אספרה אל חק יהוה אמר אלי בני אתה אני היום ילדתיך׃ I want to make known the Lord's decision. He said to me: "You are my son. Today I fathered you." I want to preach about the wisdom that the LORD said to me: “You are my son, today I have begotten you:
8th שׁאל ממני ואתנה גוים נחלתך ואחזתך אפסי־ארץ Make demands of me and I will give you the peoples for your inheritance, the ends of the earth for your property. ask of me, and I will give you heathen as an inheritance and the ends of the world as your property.
9 תרעם בשׁבט ברזל ככלי יוצר תנפצם׃ You will smash them with an iron club, like jugs made of clay you will smash them. " “You shall smash them with an iron scepter; thou shalt throw them to pieces like pots. "
10 ועתה מלכים השׂכילו הוסרו שׁפטי ארץ׃ Well then, you kings, come to your understanding, be warned, you masters of the earth! So be wise now, you kings, and be chastened, you judges on earth!
11 עבדו את־יהוה ביראה וגילו ברעדה׃ Serve the Lord in fear and kisses his feet with tremors, Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 נשׁקו־בר פן־יאנף ותאבדו דרך כי־יבער כמעט אפו אשׁרי כל־חוסי בו׃ so that he is not angry and your path does not lead into the abyss. Because little and his anger is kindled. Well, everyone who trusts him! Kiss the son that he will not be angry and you will perish on the way; for his anger will soon be kindled. But probably all who trust in him!

structure

  • Verses 1-3 Revolt of foreign peoples
  • Verses 4-6 YHWH's response
  • Verses 7–9 calling the king
  • Verses 10-12a ultimatum to rebellious kings
  • Verse 12b Beatitude

Content and interpretation

The question of the genre of the psalm and the situation in which it was created is central to understanding the psalm. Hermann Gunkel believes that the psalm “must be about the celebration of the accession to the throne, like so many other of these chants.” So, according to Gunkel, it is “a song by the Judean king himself on the feast of his accession to the throne. “ Hans-Joachim Kraus also agrees with this assessment, albeit with slight reservations. The seat in life is thus found, even if it is impossible to pinpoint an exact time of origin.

The speaker of the psalm is the king enthroned on Zion, who reports on his kingdom that will never end and that will stand above all other kingdoms founded by YHWH. The chaos described at the beginning of the psalm (verses 1-3) is tamed by the God appointed king and the world order is restored. Shaped by the Egyptian and Hellenistic royal ideology, the king is identified as the son of God (verse 7), who will rule over all nations "with an iron scepter" (verse 9). The resolution (verse 7) “is a concept of the sacred royal right. It designates the legitimation document, the king's protocol, which was written down at the enthronement and henceforth identifies the rightful ruler. “It does not mean that YHWH is to be regarded as the king's witness, but that the king was adopted by God. "The YHWH word of the Psalm means that God has accepted the King as his Son."

It should not be overlooked that this psalm, which proclaims an Israelite world domination, remained part of the canon even when Israel was in captivity and was anything but world ruler. The psalm can be read not only as megalomaniac propaganda literature, but also as a longing for a still hidden kingdom that was announced by God but still awaits its completion. The chaos of the peoples is waiting to be tamed in order to bring about the world order lying in the womb of creation. The aim of the message of Psalm 2 could be summed up in the declaration

“The rebellion of the peoples and kings against the universal rule of God and his anointed is a senseless undertaking - this rebellion is only noticed with amazement; and in view of the world-superior power of God and the valid authorization of his king, an ultimatum is called to reflect. "

In the New Testament, for example, Psalm 2 was received in Acts 13:33  EU .

Web links

Commons : Psalm 2  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hermann Gunkel: The Psalms . Göttingen 1926, p. 5.
  2. ↑ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms 1–63 , 1st part. Neukirchen-Vluyn 1972, p. 13f.
  3. ↑ see Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger: Die Psalmen , Volume 1: Psalm 1-50. Würzburg 1993, p. 50.
  4. ↑ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms 1–63 , 1st part. Neukirchen-Vluyn 1972, p. 18.
  5. ↑ Hermann Gunkel: The Psalms . Göttingen 1926, p. 7.
  6. ↑ Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalms 1–63 , 1st part. Neukirchen-Vluyn 1972, p. 21.