Psalm 150 Overview
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 150
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 150 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 150
Author:
Purpose:
- To summon every living creature to join the praise of YHWH.
Content:
- Praise YHWH, because he is enthroned over the whole earth!
Message:
- YHWH is worthy of the praise of every living creature.
Psalm 150 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 150
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- God's "sanctuary" (see v. 1) is his "palace," the place from which he rules.
- The "firmament" (see v. 1) is the "base supporting the throne of YHWH" (Dictionary of Classical Hebrew). Just as the firmament holds back the waters above, so YHWH holds back the forces of chaos, and his reign provides the conditions for peace and prosperity.
- The horn (see v. 3) was blown when a king took the throne (cf. 2 Sam. 15:10; 1 Kgs. 1:34, 39; 2 Kgs. 9:13; Ps. 47:6-10).
- The enthronement of a king, announced by the horn, might be followed by a musical celebration (cf. 1 Kgs. 1:39-40).
- Women would play drums and dance (see v. 4) to celebrate a king's victory in battle (Ex. 15:20-21; 1 Sam. 18:6-7).
Background Situation for Psalm 150
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 150