Psalm 121/Overview/Background

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  • Israelites would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate three annual festivals (see Exod 23:15–17; 34:23–24; Lev 23; Deut 16:1–17; cf. notes on the superscription).
  • The journey to Jerusalem involved many dangers (see v. 3 [foot slipping], v. 6 [sun and moon striking as a person walked in the open], v. 7 [life-threatening harm]), so people needed "help" for the journey (see vv. 1–2) (see also Exod 34:24).
  • Mountains are associated with deities (Deut 12:2; Hos 4:13; Isa 57:7; 65:7; Jer 3:6, 23; Ezek 6:2–7, 13; 18:6, 15), and so people might "lift their eyes to the mountains" in order to "find help and support there" (SDBH).
  • YHWH is the one true God, "the one who made heaven and earth" (v. 2), and he alone is able to provide help from the threats of heaven (cf. v. 6) and earth (cf. v. 3).
  • Life is like a journey (cf. Pss 1; 119), and so the annual journeys to Jerusalem might represent a person's journey through life.