Psalm 5 Overview

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Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 5

This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 5 as a whole. It includes the following sections:


Introduction to Psalm 5

Author:

Purpose:

To petition the divine King and Judge for justice from enemies.

Content:

YHWH, act justly! Banish the evildoers! Shelter the righteous!

Message:

YHWH is a just ruler and he blesses the just.

Psalm 5 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. Psalm 5 At-a-Glance.jpg

Background Orientation for Psalm 5

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.

  • In ancient Israel, the king was also the judge who decided cases (2 Sam. 15:2; 1 Kgs 3:16-24).
    • YHWH is King David's "King" (see v. 3), and his heavenly court is the highest court in the land.
  • The rising of the morning sun was associated with the enactment of justice, and people would bring their cases before the king in the morning (cf. 2 Sam. 15:2).
  • God's house was the place of worship and God's immediate presence (cf. Pss. 42-43). To be away from God's house was distressing.
  • When David was away from the temple, he longed to return (cf. 2 Sam. 15:25; Pss. 27).
  • Since the temple is YHWH's "house" (v. 8), YHWH is a host to those sojourning in, or traveling to, his house.
  • In the ancient Near East, hosts were obligated to keep their guests safe from enemies (cf. Ps. 23:5-6).

Background Situation for Psalm 5

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. Psalm 5 Background situation.jpg

Participants in Psalm 5

This resource is forthcoming.