Psalm 2/Notes/Lexical.v. 7.57421
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
The word "decree" (חֹק) here refers to a "god-given" "prescription" or "rule" (HALOT), though "the emphasis is on the right and privilege that it brings about, rather than upon the call for its observance and obedience."[1] Specifically, in this context, "the ḥōq of Yahweh to the king appears to be the [covenantal] promise of sonship pronounced at the king’s enthronement,"[2] the “personal covenant document, renewing God’s covenant commitment to the dynasty of David.”[3] On the close relationship between "covenant" and "decree," see e.g., Ps 105:9-11 (ESV):
- "He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.'"
- As in Ps 105, so here in Ps 2: the covenant with David is "confirmed as a statue (חֹק)" to one of David's descendants.