Psalm 21

The 21st Psalm read in Hebrew (Ogg Vorbis audio file; length: 1 min 39 s; 38 kbps)

The 21st psalm (according to Greek counting the 20th) is a psalm of David in the Bible . It belongs to the genus of the royal psalms.

Dating

The older psalm interpreters Hermann Gunkel , Artur Weiser and Hans-Joachim Kraus assign the entire psalm to the pre-exilic period. He has his seat in life as part of a celebration of the royal court in the sanctuary.

According to Oswald Loretz and others, the first part of the Psalm (verses 2–7) is to be assigned to the pre-exilic period, while the second part (verses 8–14) is a later addition and commentary on the first part. This addition comes from the post-exilic period.

A third possibility is to consider sections 2-7 and 9-13 as pre-exilic and verses 8 and 14 as updates for the purpose of adapting the Psalm to a later situation.

structure

The division of the Psalms into two parts is generally accepted in research. There are the following different variants:

Originator	2	8th	9	14th
Hermann Gunkel	Joy in divine blessings		Wish to win over enemies
Artur Weiser	Priestly prayer to the presently thought God	Church confession	Confidence prayer of the priest	Community sponsorship
Hans-Joachim Kraus	Song of thanksgiving in relation to the salvation of the king		Prophetic promise of salvation to the regent	Supplication with a vow of praise

Psalms 20 and 21 in the Biblia Hebraica (1909)

The Thanksgiving Song (verses 2-7)

The thanksgiving song can be placed in the pre-exilic period. It emphasizes the closeness between the king and YHWH : he is help and power for the king (verse 2), fulfills the king's requests (verse 3), blesses and crowns him (verse 4). The position of the king as representative of God is also mentioned (verse 6).

Even though the king goes beyond all worldly through this blessing of YHWH, he is still not divine. The goal of the represented closeness between God and King serves to legitimize his reign.

The wishes for the king (verses 9-13)

This section is addressed to the King and has a later insertion with reference to YHWH (verse 10). Unlike the first, this section does not deal with the closeness between God and the king, but with the enemies of the king.

Web links

Commons : Psalm 21 - collection of images, videos and audio files

Psalm 21 in the standard translation , the Luther Bible and other translations from bibleserver.com
Psalm 21 in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) on bibelwissenschaft.de
Sheet music in the public domain of settings for Psalm 21 in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Hermann Gunkel: Die Psalmen ⁶ 1986, p. 85f.
↑ ^a ^b Artur Weiser. Psalms I , p. 143.
↑ ^a ^b Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalmen , p. 315f.
^ Oswald Loretz: Die Königspsalmen I (1988), p. 92f.
↑ see Markus Saur: Die Königspsalmen: Studies for the Origin and Theology (2004), p. 98, footnote 4.
↑ see Markus Saur: Die Königspsalmen: Studies for the origin and theology (2004), p. 102ff.
↑ Hermann Spieckermann : saving presence: A theology of Psalms (1989), S. 219th

[Gunkel-1] Hermann Gunkel: Die Psalmen ⁶ 1986, p. 85f.

[Weiser-2] Artur Weiser. Psalms I , p. 143.

[Kraus-3] Hans-Joachim Kraus: Psalmen , p. 315f.

[4] Oswald Loretz: Die Königspsalmen I (1988), p. 92f.

[5] see Markus Saur: Die Königspsalmen: Studies for the Origin and Theology (2004), p. 98, footnote 4.

[6] see Markus Saur: Die Königspsalmen: Studies for the origin and theology (2004), p. 102ff.

[7] Hermann Spieckermann : saving presence: A theology of Psalms (1989), S. 219th