Psalm 5/Context

Context

Figures of Speech

Figures/Evocative language seem to predominate in the second half of the psalm, especially section 3 (vv.9-12). This macro-level feature may correspond to the tendency within parallel lines toward the heightening of the b-line.,

Historical background

The Psalm appears to presuppose a situation in which the king (David, the Psalmist) faces a rebellion. Wicked men who want to exalt themselves to a position of power (הוללים, cf. Ps. 75:5-11) have rebelled against Yahweh (v.11d). "Verses 5f. suggest that they aspire to the privileges of God's ruler – to have God's legitimizing favor, to reside with him and be stationed before his eyes [cf. Ps. 41:13]." Meanwhile, David, the legitimate king, appears to have been displaced from the vicinity of Yahweh's house (v.8a). These several details correspond well with the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. 15-17), mentioned in the superscription of Psalm 3, where Absalom usurped David's throne through smooth talk (Ps. 5:10d; cf. 2 Sam. 15:1-7), and David, forced to flee Jerusalem, longed to return (Ps. 5:8; cf. 2 Sam 15:25).,

Reference/allusions

• v.8a. Reference to Yahweh's חֶסֶד in this Davidic prayer (לדוד) recalls the covenant between Yahweh and David (2 Sam. 7:15)
• v.9ab. Reference to Yahweh's pathway (דרך) as a figure for his righteousness (צדקה) may point to Gen. 18:19, where walking on Yahweh's path (דרך) by doing righteousness (צדקה) is said to be the prerequisite for receiving the Abrahamic blessings. The king in Psalm 5, knowing that the righteous will receive Yahweh's blessing (תברך צדיק, v.13a), asks to be guided down the path of Yahweh's righteousness.,

Alluded to in NT

Psalm 5:10 (LXX) is quoted by Paul in Rom. 3:13 within a catena of OT quotations, mostly from the psalms, that indict the human condition and show that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.,

Other

Canonical Context
Ps 1. Psalm 5 exhibits a number of connections with Psalm 1. Both psalms are structured so as to highlight the contrast between the righteous and the wicked. Both begin with the letter א and end with a word beginning with ת. Both are didactic in function. In addition to these broad poetic features, there are a number of lexical links. "Gianni Barbiero (1999:76–77) has noted and neatly tabulated the various connections between Psalm 5 and Psalm 1. He has noted the links between the ‘wicked people’ [רשׁעים] in Psalm 1:1, 4, 5 and 6 and ‘wickedness’ [רע] in Psalm 5:5; the ‘counsel of the wicked’ [עצת רשׁעים] in 1:1 and ‘their counsels’ [those of the wicked, מעצותיהם] in 5:11; the ‘delight’ [חפץ] of the righteous in 1:2 and Yahweh’s lack of ‘delight’ in wickedness in 5:5; the ‘righteous persons’ [צדיקים] in 1:5 and 6 and the ‘righteous person’ [צדיק] in 5:13; the fact that the road of the wicked will ‘perish’ [אבד] in 1:6 and the note that Yahweh will ‘destroy’ [אבד pi] the liars in 5:7; and the two instances of ‘road’ [דרך] in 1:6 and the reference to Yahweh’s ‘road’ [דרך] in 5:9."
Ps 2. "Psalm 5 has also been linked by the editors to Psalm 2. Barbiero (1999:77) notes the repetition of eight words or phrases and says that the themes connecting the two psalms are primarily the connection with the temple and Zion theology and further the confrontation in both psalms with the enemies of Yahweh and his anointed. The suppliant of Psalm 5 is, after all, David, the anointed (5:1). He further states that the contrast between 2:2 and 5:6 is conspicuous: The kings of the earth ‘take a stand’ [יתיצבו] against Yahweh and his anointed (2:2), but 5:6 responds by stating that the wicked will not be able to ‘withstand’ [לא־יתיצבו] Yahweh. He also refers to the exact repetition of כל־חוסי בו from 2:12 in the phrase כל־חוסי בך in 5:12, in both instances at the end of the psalm."
Ps 3. The reference to Yahweh as a "shield" (צנה) recalls the image in Psalm 3:4. Psalms 3 and 5 are further connected by virtue of the fact that they are both morning psalms (Ps. 3:6; 5:4). Furthermore, the historical situation named in Psalm 3:1 may apply also to Psalm 5 (see above).