The Meaning of יְהוָה מָלָךְ

Argument Maps

YHWH is king

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[YHWH is king]: The phrase יְהוָה מָלָךְ ('YHWH is king' or 'YHWH reigns') refers to YHWH's eternal reign as king (a durative event with present/gnomic semantics).
 + <Context within Pss. 93, 96, 97, 99>: "Since here \[in Ps. 93:1\] and in other later passages it stands in connection with a general description of the power and glory of God as Creator and Lord of the world and in its effect on the world and the world order, and especially since it appears as an introductory formula of such general doxological...  passages, so it seems to have the general sense of the formula יהוה מֶלֶךְ גדוֹל and the like... i.e. a present meaning" (Hupfeld 1871:34 :C:; cf. Brettler 1989:151-2 :M:). 
  + <Ps. 93>: Ps. 93 says that YHWH's reign is ancient/eternal.
   + [Ps. 93:2]: "Your throne has been secure from ancient times; you have always been king (מֵֽעוֹלָ֣ם אָֽתָּה)" (Ps. 93:2, NET). 
  + <Ps. 96>: Possible references to enthronement in Psalm 96 are "balanced by descriptions of God's enduring actions as king" (Brettler 1989:151 :M:).
   + [Ps. 96]:  "E.g. greatness (v. 4...), creator (vv. 5b, lOa...), הוד והדר כבוד, words for divine strength (vv. 6-9...), bowing (v. 9b...), fear of him (v. 9b...) and judge (vv. 1Ob, 13...)" (Brettler 1989:151 :M:).
  + <Ps. 97>: Ps. 97 highlights YHWH's "general royal attributes" (Brettler 1989:151 :M:).
   + [Ps. 97]: "E.g. justice (vv. 2b, 6a, 8b...) sitting on a throne (v. 2b...), fear before him (vv. 4-5...), אדון כל הארץ 'master of the whole world' (v. 5b...), כבוד (v. 6b...), being bowed down to (v. 7b...) and being supreme (v. 9...)" (Brettler 1989:151 :M:).
  + <Ps. 99>: "Psalm 99:1-5 is almost totally lacking in enthronement imagery... Elements of God's continuing kingship predominate (Brettler 1989:151 :M:).
   + [Ps. 99]: E.g., "fear (v. 1...), greatness (vv. 2, 3...), justice (v. 4...) and being bowed down to (v. 5...)" (Brettler 1989:151-2 :M:).
 - <יהוה מֶלֶךְ>: The meaning 'YHWH is king' would be more clearly communicated by יהוה מֶלֶךְ. "If the intention was only to express 'an existing and enduring state' (Buttenweiser, op. cit., p. 340), why did they not vocalize מֶלֶךְ taking the sentence as a regular nominal clause?" (Mowinkel 1967:II,222 :M:; cf. Baethgen 1904:289 :C: \['nicht מֹלֵךְ'\]). #dispreferred
 - <Active verb>: מָלָךְ is an active verb, not a stative verb. #dispreferred
  <_ <Active verbs with stative meanings>: "Sometimes an active verb is treated like a stative verb, i.e. when its meaning comes close to a stative meaning" (JM §111h :G:).
   + [Active verbs with stative meanings]: "ידעתי is used for *I know* (cf. §112a)" (JM §111h :G:).
   <_ <Active meaning>: Elsewhere, the verb מלך has an active meaning. #dispreferred
    <_ <Both active and stative>: "Some verbs have both an active meaning and a stative meaning, e.g. מלך to rule, to become king (to begin to be king) 2Kg 15:1; to be king 2 Kg 9:13; 1 Sam. 12:14; Ps. 93:1…" (JM §111h :G:)
    <_ <Doublet with stative form>: "There may originally have been a doublet with stative form, for the Babylonian vocalisation has the pf. målọḫ" (JM §111h :G:).
     + [EC1 Jer. 23:5c]: In Jer. 23:5c, instead of MT's וּמָ֤לַךְ, the Babylonian manuscript EC1 has ומָלֹךְ (cf. בָטֹח instead of בָטָח in Job 6:20 and כָבֹד instead of כָבֵד in 1 Sam. 4:18) (Kahle 1913:184 :M:).
 + <Word order>: The S-V word order of יְהוָה מָלָךְ suggests that it has a stative meaning (cf. Michel 1956 :A:). 
  + <S-V to describe states>: "In the great majority of instances... the position of the subject at the beginning of the clause is not intended to introduce a new fact carrying on in the narrative, but rather to describe a *state*. Verbal-clauses of this kind approximate closely in character to noun-clauses" (GKC §142a :G:).
   <_ <Narrative pragmatics>: "The correctness of Gesenius §142a is apparent only; almost all of the examples cited there are within a longer narrative and the order S-O is used either to indicate the pluperfect or as the initial clause of the story" (Brettler 143 :M:). #dispreferred
  - <Thetic>: The clause יְהוָה מָלָךְ is probably thetic, initiating the entire discourse (cf. Atkinson 2021:99ff; see esp. p. 110 on thetics as 'introductives'). #dispreferred

YHWH has become king

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[YHWH has become king]: The phrase יְהוָה מָלָךְ ('YHWH has become king') refers to the beginning of YHWH's reign as king (a punctual event with past/present-perfect semantics). #dispreferred
 + <Enthronement practices>: Some of the psalms which include the formula יְהוָה מָלָךְ (or the similar formula אלהים מלך \[Ps. 47\]) also contain elements of human enthronement rituals (cf. Brettler 1989 :M:). #dispreferred
  + [Ps. 96]: E.g., "Psalm 96 shares the elements of joy (vv. 11a, 12) and noise (v. 11b, possibly vv. 1-2) with coronations, and might include the element of the recitation of God's past deeds (vv. 5b, 10a)" (Brettler 1989:151 :M:). #dispreferred
  + [Ps. 47]: E.g., "noise (esp. vv. 2, 6), joy (v. 2b), at least one reference to sitting on the throne (v. 9b; possible v. 6, עלה, 'ascend') and it even mentions the witnesses of the enthronement (v. 10)" (cf. Brettler 1989:155 :M:). #dispreferred
 + <X מָלַךְ to announce a new king>: The formula יְהוָה מָלָךְ "alludes to the form used at the proclamation of the commencement of the reign of earthly sovereigns... This allusion makes it plain that the language does not apply to the constant government of God, but to a new glorious manifestation of his dominion, as it were a new ascent of the throne" (Hengstenberg 1848:150 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [X מָלַךְ to announce a new king]: "But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, 'As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then shout: Absalom has become king (מָלַךְ אַבְשָׁלוֹם) at Hebron!'" (2 Sam 15:10, NRSV; cf. 1 Kgs 1:11, 13; 2 Kgs 9:13, 29). #dispreferred
  <_ <Word order>: The expression יְהוָה מָלָךְ has a different word order (S-V) than the expressions used to announce new human kings (V-S) (Michel 1956 :A:). 
   - <1 Kgs 1:18>: The word order in 1 Kgs 1:18 is S-V #dispreferred
    + [1 Kgs 1:18]: "But now Adonijah has become king (אֲדֹנִיָּה מָלָךְ), and you, my lord the king, do not know about it" (1 Kgs 1:18, NIV). #dispreferred
 + <Morphology>: מָלָךְ is an active verb in the qatal conjugation, and so it probably refers to a past/present-perfect event rather than a state (cf. Baethgen 1904:289). #dispreferred
 + <Ancient tradition>: The New Testament book of Revelation as well as some of the oldest translations of Ps. 93 (into Greek and Latin) seem to have understood the phrase יְהוָה מָלָךְ as a past-tense event ('become king'). #dispreferred
  + <Ancient versions>: The ancient versions which clearly mark tense (Greek and Latin) use past tense forms to translate the verb מָלָךְ. #dispreferred
   + [Ancient versions]: LXX: Ὁ κύριος ἐβασίλευσεν (NETS: "The Lord became king"); Symmachus: κύριος ἐβασίλευσε (Ps. 96:10); Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): Dominus regnavit #dispreferred
  + <Revelation>: Revelation 19:6, which probably alludes to Psalm 93, interprets the verb in an ingressive sense ('has begun to reign') (Beale 1999:932 :C:). #dispreferred
   + [Rev. 19:6]: “...because the Lord our God, the Almighty, has begun to reign (ἐβασίλευσεν)” (Beale 1999:931 :C:). #dispreferred
   + <Parallel with Rev. 11:17>: "The ingressive aorist is evident from the literary and thematic link with the climactic expression of God’s reign in 11:17 and from the contextual reference to Babylon’s judgment, which implies that God’s reign is established after that judgment" (Beale 1999:932 :C:). #dispreferred
    + [Rev. 11:17]: “Lord God Almighty … because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign (ἐβασίλευσας)” (Beale 1999:931 :C:). #dispreferred
 - <Eternal kingship>: YHWH has always been king, and there is no point in time at which he became king. 
  <_ <Non-Israelite perspective>: "The phrase יהוה מלך 'God is/has become king' is... placed in mouth the of foreigners who are viewed as accepting God's yoke. In that sense, from the foreigner's perspective, God is becoming king" (Brettler 1989:157 :M:). #dispreferred
   + <Foreigners in Pss. 96-99>: Pss. 96-99 "all portray foreigners acknowledging God" (Brettler 1989:157 :M:). #dispreferred
   + <Zechariah>: The prophet Zechariah foretold a day when YHWH would "become king over all the earth" (Zech 14:9a, NRSV). #dispreferred
    + [Zech 14:9a]: וְהָיָ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־כָּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ #dispreferred
  <_ <New manner of reigning>: "He here treats of a new and a previously unheard of manner of reigning. There is an implied contrast between the time of the Law, when God confined his empire, or kingdom, within the boundaries of Judea, and the coming of Christ, when he extended it far and wide, so as to occupy the whole world from one end to the other. The majesty of God sent forth some sparks of its brightness among the heathen nations, when David made them tributary; but the prophet could not, on that account, have properly said that God reigned among them..." (Calvin on Ps. 47:9 :C:). #dispreferred
 - <Not suggested by context>: "An ingressive meaning, which the denominative מלך can certainly have in itself, is nowhere suggested by the context of the psalms in question" (Jeremias 1987:159 :M:).

Conclusion

"'YHWH malak' can be translated as 'The Lord reigns' (RSV), or 'The Lord is King' (NRSV), or 'The Lord has become King' (REB). The first translation construes the kingdom as an activity, the second as a role, and the third as an event. All three are grammatically possible. Each is right, without denying the accuracy of the others, because of the complexity and profundity of what the sentence speaks about" (Mays 1993:118).

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: Ὁ κύριος ἐβασίλευσεν
  • "The Lord became king"
  • "Der Herr ist König geworden"
• Symmachus: κύριος ἐβασίλευσε (Ps. 96:10)
• Peshitta: ܡܪܝܐ ܐܡܠܟ
  • "The Lord reigns"
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): Dominus regnavit
• Targum: ייי מליך (Ps. 93:1); ייי מלך (Ps. 96:10; 97:1; 99:1)
  • "The Lord reigns"

Modern

YHWH reigns

• The Lord reigns (NIV, ESV, NET)
• L'Éternel règne (NVS78, S21, BDS)
• Jehová reina (RVR95)
• El Señor reina (NVI)
• YHVH reina (BTX4)

YHWH is king

• The Lord is king (NRSV, NEB, JPS85, NLT, GNT)
• Yahweh is king (NJB)
• Der HERR ist König (LUT, HFA, NGÜ, ELB, EÜ, GNB, ZÜR)
• Le Seigneur est roi (TOB, PDV2017, NFC)
• C'est le Seigneur (YHWH) qui est roi ! (NBS)
• El Señor es Rey (DHH, cf. NVI).

YHWH has become king

• The Lord has become King (REB)

Secondary Literature

Atkinson, Ian T. 2021. “In Pursuit of a More Comprehensive Framework for Fronting in Classical BH Prose.” Ph.D Dissertation, Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch.

Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.

Beale, Gregory K. 1999. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Brettler, Marc Zvi. 1989. God Is King: Understanding an Israelite Metaphor. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 76. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press.

Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm. 1848. Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 3. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1871. Die Psalmen. Vol. 4. Gotha: F.A. Perthes.

Jeremias, Jörg. 1987. Das Königtum Gottes in den Psalmen : Israels Begegnung mit dem kanaanäischen Mythos in den Jahwe-König-Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Kahle, Paul. 1913. Masoreten des Ostens, die ältesten punktierten Handschriften des Alten Testaments und der Targume. Leipzig: Hinrichs.

Michel, Diethelm. 1956. “Studien Zu Den Sogenannten Thron-Besteigungspsalmen.” Vetus Testamentum 6 (1): 40–68.

Mowinckel, Sigmund. 1962. The Psalms in Israel’s Worship. Oxford: Blackwell.

Some of the translations of the German texts in the argument maps above were produced with the help of DeepL.

References

97:1