Psalm 7 Overview
If I have done this...
Psalm 7
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 7
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 7 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 7
Author:
Purpose:
- To invoke justice from YHWH towards both the righteous (specifically, himself) and the wicked (false accusers).
Content:
- God is a righteous judge. He saves the upright, and he brings the end to the wicked's violence.
Message:
- King YHWH will see to it that the wicked receive their punishment and that the righteous are vindicated.
Psalm 7 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 7
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.
- Cush was most likely a supporter of Saul.
- Settling civil offenses required taking a 'purgatory oath of...innocence (...Exod 22:10f) (Waltke 2014, 82). Israelites often made alliances between each other ( Gen 14:13, 24; Josh 10:6ff; 1 Sam 20:5–16; 1 Sam 28:1; 29:8). The breaking of these alliances was unacceptable (2 Kings 20:42; 2 Chron 19:2). These alliances also required mutual defensive obligations, such that the enemy of your ally became your enemy (see Tigay 1970, 183–184)
- The law forbids false accusations. Those who make false accusations must undergo the punishment that they intended to bring upon others (Deut. 19:16–20).
Background Situation for Psalm 7
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 7