Psalm 21 Overview

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In YHWH's strength

Psalm 21

Please note: Resources for Psalm 21 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.

  How to Use This Page

Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 21

This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 21 as a whole. It includes the following sections:

• Introduction
• Structure
• Background
• Participants

Introduction to Psalm 21

Author:

Purpose:

To rejoice in YHWH's strength which causes the king to prosper

Content:

The king is trusting in YHWH. YHWH's presence brings joy to the king so that the king's presence brings fear to his enemies.

Message:

YHWH's strength brings confidence and joy to his covenant king.

Psalm 21 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 21

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.

• YHWH placing the crown upon the king’s head shows that he has divine approval and is YHWH's representative who has been installed to lead and protect his people (Craigie 2004:191; cf. Ryken 2000:185).
• YHWH's presence (or face) is a source of joy to those in his favour (Ps 16:11). "The presence of God is the central promise of the Abrahamic covenant (Ge 17:7–8), of the Mosaic covenant (Ex 25:8; cf. Ge 9:27), and of the Davidic covenant (2 Sa 7:9, 14)" (VanGemeren 2008:231).
• YHWH promised through covenant with David that his house and kingdom would be established with an enduring legacy (2 Sam 7:16; Ps 61:5–7).
• The arm is a symbol of strength (Job 35:9, Ps 18:35, Is 52:10). The right side represents strength (Ps 20:6, 78:54), authority (Gen 48:14), and support (Lam 2:3). YHWH does wonderous things by his right arm (Ps 115:15; Ex 15:6), but also uses the hand of his servants to deliver his people (2 Sa 3:18b).

Background Situation for Psalm 21

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 21

This resource is in the process of reformatting.

These are the participants in Psalm 21:

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