Property: Background Ideas
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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<ul><li>YHWH made a covenant with David and his descendants (2 Sam 7:12-16; cf. Ps 89:4-5), saying, "I will raise up your offspring after you... and I will establish his kingdom... I will be his father, and he will be my son" (2 Sam 7:12-14).</li>
<li>Sons inherit their fathers' property (cf. Num 27:7-11; 1 Kgs 21:3; Job 42:15).</li>
<li>YHWH chose Zion, "the city of David" (2 Sam 5:7), as his holy mountain (Ps 132:13-14).</li>
<li>A mountain is a place where heaven (cf. v. 4a) and earth (cf. v. 2a) meet and thus a place where people experience God's presence and power (see e.g., Gen 22; Exod 3:1-2; 19; cf. Matt 17:1-8).</li>
<li>The king is the "image" of his god, the deity's earthly representative (cf. Gen 1:26-28; cf. Garr 2013, 136-165).</li>
<li>Lesser kings (vassals) frequently rebelled against greater rulers (suzerains; Ringgren 1983, 91-95), especially when the greater kingdom experienced a change in kingship (Hilber 2009, 320). In the Neo-Assyrian period (early 10th–7th centuries BC), accounts of withstanding a rebellion were a regular part of inscriptions and palace decorations which served to confirm the divine appointment of a king (Radner 2016, 46, 54).</li>
<li>A kiss is "a symbol of veneration both in the secular-political and in the cultic sphere" (TDOT; cf. 1 Sam 10:1; 1 Kgs 19:18).</li></ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH made a covenant with David, promising to give him an eternal dynasty and requiring that his descendants keep his commands (cf. 2 Sam. 7; 1 Kgs. 2:1–4; Ps. 89).</li>
<li>The ideal king is supposed to read the Law daily so that he learns to fear YHWH and keep his commandments (cf. Deut. 17:18-19; 1 Kgs. 2:1–4).</li>
<li>The king is responsible for establishing and maintaining justice in the kingdom.</li>
<li>"When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light" (2 Sam. 23:3–4, ESV).</li></ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH used his control over the deeps to send and stop the Flood, which was an instrument of his judgment (Gen 7:11, 8:2).</li>
<li>YHWH saved his people at the Red Sea by piling up the waters as a heap (Exod 15:8; cf Josh 3:13-16); there he threw Egyptian horses and their riders into the sea (Exod 14:23; 15:1, 19, 21).</li>
<li>YHWH formed a covenant with his people, and if they keep it then he will be their god (Gen 17:7-8) and they will be his treasured possession (Exod 6:7, 19:6, Deut 29:13).</li></ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH's creation is just and orderly (Pss 24:1-2; 74:12-17; 93; 96:10; 104:5-9; Prov 8:29).</li><li>After creating the world, YHWH rested on the seventh day and declared this day holy (Gen 2:1-3), then established a Sabbath rest for his people also to observe (Exod 20:8–11; Isa 56:6; 58:13-14; Jer 17:19-27).</li><li>Having established his reign, YHWH executes justice from his holy mountain (Isa 11:1-9; 57:15; Amos 1:2; Pss 2:6; 3:5; 43:3; 97:8; 99; 102:20-22).</li><li>YHWH is perfectly just, but that is not always obvious (Job; Eccl 7:15; 8:14), since the wicked may flourish for a while (Pss 37:1-2, 10, 20; 73; Job 21:7; Prov 29:16; Eccl 8:12-13).</li><li>The righteous will flourish eternally on YHWH's holy mountain (Exod 15:13, 17-18; Isa 65:17-25; Ps 37:18, 28-29), enjoying the future Sabbath rest he has prepared for them (Ps 95:11).</li> </ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH's creation is just and orderly (Pss 24:1-2; 74:12-17; 93; 96:10; 104:5-9; Prov 8:29).</li><li>After creating the world, YHWH rested on the seventh day and declared this day holy (Gen 2:1-3), then established a Sabbath rest for his people also to observe (Exod 20:8–11; Isa 56:6; 58:13-14; Jer 17:19-27).</li><li>Having established his reign, YHWH executes justice from his holy mountain (Isa 11:1-9; 57:15; Amos 1:2; Pss 2:6; 3:5; 43:3; 97:8; 99; 102:20-22).</li><li>YHWH is perfectly just, but that is not always obvious (Job; Eccl 7:15; 8:14), since the wicked may flourish for a while (Pss 37:1-2, 10, 20; 73; Job 21:7; Prov 29:16; Eccl 8:12-13).</li><li>The righteous will flourish eternally on YHWH's holy mountain (Exod 15:13, 17-18; Isa 65:17-25; Ps 37:18, 28-29), enjoying the future Sabbath rest he has prepared for them (Ps 95:11).</li> </ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH's heavenly court consists of lesser divine beings ('gods') whose duty it is to serve him (cf. 1 Kings 22:19; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss. 82; 89:6-7). The peoples of other nations worshipped these lesser divine beings (cf. Ps. 96:4-10; Isa. 36:18-20).</li>
<li>The victory of one people over another implies the victory of their god(s) over the god(s) of the enemy (cf. Ex. 12:12; 14-15; Josh. 10:14; 2 Sam. 5:24; Isa. 36:18-20)</li>
<li>Water is a symbol of chaos (Pss. 74:13-14; 89:10) and threat to God's people (Pss. 18:17, 32:6; 124:4). It could be used to symbolize foreign enemies (cf. Pss. 18:17-18; 46:4, 7).</li>
<li>After defeating his enemies, a god would build a temple to dwell with his people (e.g., [https://archive.org/details/the-context-of-scripture/page/n269/mode/2up?view=theater Baal myth COS I:241ff]). Such temples were prototypically made of cedar (of Lebanon) and stone (cf. 1 Kgs 5:26-32; [https://archive.org/details/the-context-of-scripture/page/n289/mode/2up?view=theater Baal myth COS I:261])</li>
<li>YHWH sent "the Flood" to destroy the earth in the days of Noah (Gen. 6ff). Afterwards, he drove back the waters (Gen. 8:1f) and rescued Noah and his family (Gen. 8:1f).</li>
<li>The following pattern of events is part of Israel's heritage: (1) YHWH triumphs over waters, (2) YHWH builds a temple, (3) Divine beings praise YHWH.</li></ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH's law requires people to deal with one another in loyalty and faithfulness.</li>
<li> Loyalty and faithfulness refer to being committed to relational obligations. "These obligations include responsibilities towards kinspeople, spouses, friends, covenant partners, and people to whom one is indebted as a result of favors received" (SDBH).</li>
<li> The opposite of loyalty and faithfulness is "falsehood," which results in pain and suffering.</li>
<li> Prophets receive messages from YHWH and report those messages to others.</li>
<li> David is a prophet.</li>
<li> Silver is a precious metal which, when mined, is mixed with other minerals that lessen its quality. In order to become pure, silver must be refined by fire; it is placed in a crucible, and the crucible is placed in a furnace in the ground.</li>
<li> When Saul had Ahimelech killed for giving David the priestly bread (1 Sam 22)</li>
<li>When the Ziphites seek to betray David (1 Sam 23)</li>
<li> When the Philistines refuse to let David fight alongside Achish, accusing him of being a traitor (1 Sam 29)</li>
<li> When Joab murders Abner, claiming Abner came in deceit (2 Sam 3)</li></ul> +
<ul><li>YHWH's ‘holy mountain’ and ‘dwelling place’ are two images that represent the protection and privileges that God's people enjoy (see also Ps 27:5; 61:5).</li>
<li> These ethical standards are found in the Israelite law codes; e.g. Lev 19:11 prohibits speaking deceitfully. The law codes also prohibit slander (Lev 19:16), charging interest to a fellow Israelite (Lev 25:36–37), and bribes (Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19).</li></ul> +
<ul><li>“The fatherless [cf. v.14] and the oppressed” is a reference to the class of people who were most easily wronged (cf. 82:3) but were protected by God’s law (Ex 22:22-24; Dt 10:18; 16:11, 14; cf. Isa 1:17; Jer 7:6; Jas 1:27; VanGemeren, W. (2017) Psalms. Available at Perlego (Accessed: 24 September 2022).</li>
<li>Oppressing the poor and vulnerable for unjust gain was a persistent problem in Israel (Zeph 3; Job 24:14; Hab 3:14; see Hengstenberg 1863, 163).</li>
<li>YHWH is a king, and one of the King's responsibilities was to care for the poor (Psa 72; Miller 2004, 192). As king, YHWH is sovereign over, and orders, all worldly affairs (Miller 2000, 407–408).</li>
<li>God is patient (Exod. 34:6–7; Neh 9:29; Jonah 4:2) and may allow sin to continue to 'completion' (Gen 15:16) before purging His land (Lev 18:24ff; 20:22ff; Num 35:33ff).</li></ul> +
Psalm 1 (especially when it is read against the background of the end of Malachi) appears to assume a situation in which...
# The wicked live alongside the righteous (like grain and chaff growing together in a field)
# The wicked seem to flourish (cf. Mal 3:14-15)
# People call the wicked "happy" (cf. Mal 3:14-15)
In response to this assumed situation, the psalmist says that it is the righteous, not the wicked, who are to be considered "happy." The psalm envisions a coming time when...
# Judgment will come (cf. v. 5)
# YHWH will separate the wicked from the righteous (like chaff from grain) (cf. vv. 4-5)
# YHWH will remove the wicked from the land (just as wind blows away the chaff) (cf. vv. 4-5)
# The righteous alone will possess the land (see esp. Ps 37 as in many ways echoing the themes of Ps 1)
# The righteous will flourish like trees in YHWH's garden (cf. Ps 92, which also echoes the themes of Ps 1)
In order to fully appreciate this "story" and understand the psalm, some background information is necessary:
* People declare someone to be "happy" (אַשְׁרֵי) when they admire that person's condition and consider it to be admirable and desirable (cf. Janzen 1965, 215-226; SDBH). For example, when the Queen of Sheba saw the wealth and wisdom and King Solomon, she exclaimed, "Happy (אַשְׁרֵי) are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!" (1 Kgs 10:8, ESV).
* When wicked people flourish, others are tempted to declare them "happy." For example, Malachi (which occurs immediately before Ps 1 in the order of the Hebrew canon) says, “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it’” (Mal 3:14-15, NIV; cf. Jer 12:1; Ps 73).
* YHWH is the judge of all the earth (Gen 18:25), and the job of a just judge is to acquit the righteous/innocent (צַדִּיק) and condemn the wicked/guilty (רָשָׁע) (see Deut 25:1).
*"In winnowing, grain is threshed in order to separate the kernel of grain from the husk and straw. The mixture is thrown into the air with a winnowing fork or shovel. The wind blows the light husks away, the heavier straw falls near the edge of the threshing floor, and the grain falls back to the floor to be collected. Both the light husks and the heavier straw are referred to in the words translated 'chaff' in the Bible" (Ryken et al. ed. 1998, 136).
* The place of YHWH's life-giving presence is depicted as a garden paradise (Gen 2; Ezek 47:12) in which the righteous grow like trees (Pss 52:10; 92:13-15; cf. Creach 1999).