Salmos 20
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Salmos 20
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS This may have been a liturgical prelude to battle, as Psalm 21 is a liturgy of welcoming home the victorious king and army. There are eight IMPERFECTS used in a JUSSIVE sense in vv. 1-5. The offerings of Ps. 20:3 (i.e., "meal" and "fat") may have been the expected sacrificial offerings before a battle. The song/shout and the banners of Ps. 20:5 may have been the expected ways of welcoming home a victorious king. Psalm 21 may be the song referred to in Ps. 20:5.
Salmos 20:1-3
20:1-3,4-5 This strophe is a prayer, as is Ps. 20:4-5, to plead with YHWH to help His covenant representative (i.e., the Davidic king, cf. 1 Sam. 8:7; 10:19) in battle (cf. Ps. 20:5,7). Notice the series of IMPERFECTS used in a JUSSIVE sense (cf. NASB, NRSV, REB, NIV, JPSOA, i.e., prayer requests) in Ps. 20:1-5. May the Lord answer you – BDB 772, KB 851, Qal IMPERFECT May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high – BDB 960, KB 1305, Piel IMPERFECT May He send you help from the sanctuary – BDB 1018, KB 1511, Qal IMPERFECT May He support you from Zion – BDB 703, KB 761, Qal IMPERFECT May He remember all your meal offerings – BDB 269, KB 269, Qal IMPERFECT May He grant you your heart's desire – BDB 678, KB 733, Qal IMPERFECT, cf. Ps. 21:2; 37:4 May He fulfill all your counsel/purpose – BDB 569, KB 583, Piel IMPERFECT May He fulfill all your petitions – same as #7 20:1 "in the day of trouble" This is a recurrent phrase (cf. Gen. 35:3; 2 Kgs. 19:3; Ps. 50:15; 77:2; 86:7; Prov. 24:10; 25:19; Isa. 37:3; Jer. 16:19; Obad. 1:12,14; Nah. 1:7; Hab. 3:16). It stands for many different life problems that occur in this fallen world. The good news is that God is aware of our problems (i.e., Exod. 3:7-8) and is with us in the midst of those problems (i.e., Psalm 23). He is the answer to all human need and amazingly He is pursuing us! The term "day" (BDB 398) has several connotations. Here, it denotes a period of time, not a 24 hour period exclusively. SPECIAL TOPIC: DAY (YOM) ▣ "the name of the God of Jacob" This is a collective term for the covenant descendants of the Patriarchs. There are two Special Topics that illuminate this phrase. SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YWHW ▣ "set you securely on high" NKJV, Peshitta "defend you" NRSV, TEV, NJB, LXX "protect you" "keep you safe" "be your tower of strength" The MT VERB (BDB 960, KB 1305, Piel IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense) is from the root "to be high," and thereby inaccessible and secure (cf. Ps. 59:1; 69:29; 91:14; 107:41). This is the same imagery of a high, defensible fortress used in Ps. 18:2! 20:2 "from the sanctuary. . .from Zion" These are parallel lines of poetry. Both refer to the temple in Jerusalem. It was not built in David's day but the tabernacle was there. Jerusalem was built on seven hills; the temple was built on Mt. Moriah (cf. 1 Chr. 21:18; 2 Chr. 3:1). Mt. Zion was the site of the Jebusite fortress captured by David (cf. 2 Sam. 5:7; 1 Chr. 11:5), as well as the site for his palace. It came to be the name used for the entire city of Jerusalem and the phrase "daughter of Zion" for the Israelite people (cf. 2 Kgs. 19:21). Notice that Ps. 20:6 uses the phrase "from His holy heaven," which is another parallel. SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, ZION, JERUSALEM 20:3 "meal offerings" See SPECIAL TOPIC: GRAIN OFFERING ▣ "burnt offerings" See SPECIAL TOPIC: BURNT OFFERINGS ▣ "Selah" See note at Ps. 3:2 and Introduction to Psalms, VII.
Salmos 20:4-5
20:4 "your heart's desire" This is "the" issue of peace and trust. A good example of an appropriate desire for a Davidic King is Solomon's prayer of dedication of the temple (cf. 1 Kgs. 8:22-61). Humans must be diligent to follow God's revealed desire for us and not the desires of our own fallen, selfish, immediate hearts! 20:5 "We will sing for joy" NKJV, LXX "we will rejoice" NRSV, TEV, JPSOA "we shout for joy" "with joy we can hail. . ." "Let us sing aloud your praise" "We will be glorified" This VERB (BDB 943, KB 1247, Piel COHORTATIVE) denotes a "shout" for good or bad, depending on the context. Here it is rejoicing over the military victory accomplished by YHWH (cf. Zeph. 3:14). ▣ "in the name of our God" The "name" had special meaning in Israel (see SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH). YHWH appears in v. 5c. Here, the word used for Deity is Elohim. It denonted the Deity of creation, provision, and order. SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. ▣ "we will set up our banners" This follows דגל (BDB 186, KB 213, Qal IMPERFECT [found only here in the OT] used in a COHORTATIVE sense). The JPSOA translates it as "standards." It would be an expected welcome procedure for the victorious king and military. The NET Bible (p. 875) recommends an emendation to another verbal root, נגיל, from BDB 162 with PREPOSITION. The NET Bible suggests this fits the parallelism better and also notes Ps. 89:16, where the VERB is used in connection with "in Your name." ▣ "petitions" This rare NOUN (BDB 982) is found only twice in the OT, here and Ps. 37:4. The VERB root (BDB 981) means "ask." The root occurs in several biblical names (cf. 1 Sam. 9:2,3,5; 1 Chr. 1:48,49; 4:24; 6:24).
Salmos 20:6-9
20:6-9 The psalmist (i.e., the King, a priest, or a collective SINGULAR; Ps. 20:9 fits this last option best) affirms his confidence that YHWH will respond appropriately. Now I know ‒ BDB 393, KB 390, Qal PERFECT (see SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW) YHWH saves ‒ BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil PERFECT (see SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION [OT]) The VERB denotes a settled confidence (cf. Ps. 56:9; 118:6; Rom. 8:31-39). YHWH will hear and answer positively (cf. Ps. 20:6b,c). The King and the covenant people are part of a larger universal redemptive plan for all humanity. SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN 20:6 "His anointed" This is the Hebrew VERB "anoint" (BDB 603), which became a popular title for God's Special Coming King (cf. Ps. 2:2; 18:50). SPECIAL TOPIC: OT TITLES OF THE SPECIAL COMING ONE SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH SPECIAL TOPIC: ANOINTING IN THE BIBLE ▣ "from His holy heaven" This is an idiom for the temple/tabernacle in Jerusalem, located on Mt. Moriah. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HEAVENS AND THE THIRD HEAVEN ▣ "His right hand" This is a Hebrew idiom of power, authority to act. SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE GOD SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND 20:7 The VERB "boast" (BDB 269, KB 269, Hiphil IMPERFECT) is literally "cause to remember," with the connotation of rejoicing or praising in some past event or blessing or person. It denotes that in which one trusts. human power (i.e., chariots, horses, soldiers, weaponry, etc.) YHWH and His promises The concept of "boasting" is significant in the Bible; note especially Jer. 9:23-24. See the use of the concept in Paul's writings in the Special Topic below. Here are some good parallel texts – Deut. 20:1; 31:6,8; Jdgs. 7:2; 1 Sam. 17:45,47; 2 Chr. 20:17; 32:8; Ps. 33:16,17; 44:2-3,4-8; 60:11-12; 146:3-7; 147:10; Prov. 21:31; Isa. 31:3; Jer. 17:5; Zech. 4:6! What are you trusting in/boasting about? SPECIAL TOPIC: BOASTING 20:8 Note the antithetical parallelism of the two poetic lines in v. 5. There are consequences to our words/actions! SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY 20:9 "Save, O Lord" This is an exclamatory prayer request (BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil IMPERATIVE (cf. Ps. 3:7; 6:4; 17:13). SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION (OT) SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D. ▣ "May the King answer us in the day we call" The grammatical form of the VERB is a Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense. The LXX and several English translations see it referring to the prayers of the people for the King (cf. Ps. 20:6; Ps. 21:7; NRSV; TEV; NJB; REB). "King" may refer to YHWH (cf. Targums' UBS Handbook, p. 202; also note Ps. 98:6; 145:1).