The significance of Jerusalem stems from the presence of the house of Yhwh in its midst. In this Song of Ascents, David will express excitement that should be inherent to any who go to Jerusalem, for the thrones of the house of David and house of Israel’s God reside there. As such, this psalm perpetuates the hope in a restored Jerusalem and a restored Davidic kingdom. Moreover, the psalmist provides the ways by which the reader can respond to this hope, namely, by praying for the peace of the city of peace.
Althoug
h there is some disagreement on attributing the psalm to David,[1] the title at least expects the reader to hear the speaker as David.[2] Thus, when the psalm opens, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’”, the “I” and “me” should be understood as David. This provides an interesting perspective for the psalm, because the psalm reflects on the importance of Jerusalem for both the worship of the people at the house of Yhwh and the judgment that would take place in the house of David. The psalm highlights the importance of the house of Yhwh by virtue of a literary device called inclusion, whereby the psalm opens with a reference to the house of Yhwh (v. 1) and closes with it (v. 9). Yet, during the lifetime of David, only the kingdom was residing at Jerusalem. The house of Yhwh had not yet been built, and the city had not yet taken on the status of “the city.” As a result, the psalm takes on a note of anticipation and hope for the fulfillment of what Yhwh had promised to David. In other words, David could only hope to go to the house of Yhwh in Jerusalem as an anticipation of a future fulfillment of the Davidic covenant (see 2 Samuel 7). This fact accentuates the larger scheme within the Songs of Ascents in which after the exile, the Songs interpret eschatologically the promises made to David.
In the greater context of the Psalter, this psalm (1) joins the resounding voice of expectation for the coming King and (2) provides an important hermeneutical clue for a proper reading of the Songs of Ascents. The former has been established in the Psalter by Psalms 1 and 2; the latter will be confirmed among other places in Psalm 132, a psalm about David and his kingdom. Subsequent readers, then, join David’s hope for God’s faithfulness to these promises, specifically in establishing a kingdom of David’s Son in a peaceful, worshiping Jerusalem.
V. 2 elucidates our understanding of v. 1 as David’s anticipation of going to the house of Yhwh in Jerusalem: “Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” Moving from singular to plural brings corporate implications to the psalmist’s words. Joy can be found by the congregation as they simply stand within Jerusalem’s gates.[3] On the one hand, the help and security hoped for in Psalm 121 at the hands of Yhwh, their keeper, would be tangibly realized in Jerusalem’s walls and spiritually enjoyed by the presence of God in her midst. On the other hand, joy in Jerusalem would also be found in the presence of the monarchy, as vv. 4–5 make clear.
Once again, the writer connects vv. 2 and 3 through step parallelism, where v. 2 ends with Jerusalem and v. 3 begins with it. The first person hope and recollection of vv. 1 and 2, respectfully, gives way to a general description of Jerusalem’s importance and status among the nation.[4]
First, Jerusalem is described as being “built as a city that is bound firmly together” (v. 3). This is another difficult verse to understand or translate exactly, but the focus seems to be on the compactness or security of the city as it was built. Thus, the poet highlights the hope that comes as being found within the gates of this well-built, secure city.
Second, Jerusalem is described as the place “to which the tribes go up” (v. 4). The place to which the nation would go to worship Yhwh was anticipated in Deuteronomy 12; it was confirmed to be Jerusalem at the end of 2 Samuel. Interestingly, v. 4 uses the verb for “go up” that is also used within the titles of the Songs of Ascents. The general conclusion can therefore be made that these songs were perhaps intended to speak of the congregation’s going up to Jerusalem. At the same time, this may have not just a physical understanding of returning to Jerusalem as part of the nation’s responsibility during the feasts, but it may also join in the larger hope of the Psalter for the culmination of David’s kingdom by the Son, in whom the nation and the nations will find their refuge (see Ps 2:12).
However, the immediate purpose for going up to Jerusalem is to fulfill a decree that Israel was to be a nation that came to Jerusalem for the purpose of giving thanks to Yhwh. V. 4 speaks of Jerusalem as the city “to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.” The pattern established for God’s people was to travel to the central location where Yhwh would be worshiped. Although not specifically decreed in a particular passage, this expectation of giving thanks was centered on “the name of Yhwh,” a phrase that is often used of David’s and Solomon’s building of a house “for the name of Yhwh” (see e.g. 1Kgs 8:17; 1Chr 22:7).
Third, Jerusalem was the place where thrones of justice were established. V. 5 states, “There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.” By using poetic parallelism in which the first line is further described by the second, the thrones for judgment are identified as the thrones set up for the house of the David. Here, David anticipates a series of kings, a series of thrones, as part of his house. An important responsibility of those who would sit on those thrones is to administer justice (see Psalm 72 and Isaiah 11). In the prophetic promises regarding the kingdom of David and his sons, Jerusalem would be the place where Yhwh judges the nations (see e.g. Isaiah 2). This continues the pattern that David sees established in his days and in the days of his sons.
In that David describes in vv. 3–5 the security, the true worship, and the administration of justice to be found in Jerusalem, this provides the proper basis from which to make the requests of vv. 6–7:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!”
David beckons the readers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and he provides the words that they should pray.[5] For Jerusalem to be this haven of rest, it must be characterized by peace, a theme that has already been established in the Songs of Ascents (see e.g. 120:6–7). As such, Psalm 122 joins the chorus of reflection on the Priestly Blessing in expressing peace from Yhwh as specifically related to Jerusalem and the security (or perhaps prosperity) that she provides.
David closes his psalm with two commitments. First, in v. 8 he calls upon himself to speak: “For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’” Peace in Jerusalem will mean security not just for the future of his kingdom, but also for those who are his brothers and friends. Second, in v. 9 he calls upon himself to seek the good of the city: “For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” So David, the king, commits himself (1) to promote peace and (2) to work for the good of Jerusalem. Moreover, he focuses on those who populate his kingdom and the house of Yhwh, the God who is personally related to David’s people (“our God”).
In essence, then, Psalm 122 gives us a clearer picture of the expectations of the Davidic kings and of the Son of David to come. There existed (and would exist) a close relationship between the king and the worship of Yhwh at Jerusalem in the house of Yhwh. Both the king and the congregation would work toward that end. The former would administer justice as part of a reign that promoted peace and goodness; the latter would pray for the peace of the city within which they would gives thanks to the name of their God. Thus, the hope that David had in the establishment of the central sanctuary of worship and justice becomes the hope of all who subsequently read this psalm. “To pray for the peace of Jerusalem (v.6) is to pray for the coming of the Promised Seed of David, the Messiah.”[6]
Notes
[1] For example, a couple Hebrew manuscripts do not contain it, as well as the Septuagint and Targums.
[2] Zenger points out that Psalm 122, the middle psalm in the first 5, has a reference to David in the title, as does the middle psalm in the last 5 (Psalm 132). Moreover, the title of Psalm 127 refers to Solomon.
[3] Zenger, 458: “Dass der Psalm nicht den Gottesberg Zion als den mythischen Thronsitz des Weltkönigs JHWH, sondern die Stadt Jerusalem mit dem ‘Haus JHWHs’ in seiner Mitte beschreibt, ist typisch für seine nachexilische Entstehung.” That the psalm does not describe Zion, the mountain of God, as the mythical throne of the king of the world, Yhwh, rather the city of Jerusalem with the “house of Yhwh” in its midst, is typical for its post-exilic origin.
[4] Zenger, 458: “Der zweite Teil V 3–5 nennt drei Gründe, die die Stadt Jerusalem zu einer besonderen Stadt und zum ‘Realsymbol’ der Gegenwart JHWHs in einer feindlichen Welt machen.” The second part in vv. 3–5 gives three reasons that make the city of Jerusalem a significant city and the “real symbol” of the presence of Yhwh in a hostile world. He goes on to say that Jerusalem was not just any city of Israel, rather took on the title of “the city,” especially in post-exilic texts (see 1Kgs 8:44, 48; Jer 8:16; Lam 1:19; 2:12; Ezek 7:23; 9:4, 9; Mic 6:9).
Zenger, 460: “Nur wenn und insofern JHWH selbst Jerusalem ‘baut,’ kann und wird es seine ‘Stadt-Funktion’ erfüllen können.” Only when and if Yhwh himself “builds” Jerusalem can and will it be able to fulfill its “city-function.”
[5] Although the repetition of the words “peace” and “secure/security” can be seen, an element of the poetic artistry is missing in the English. Six of the ten words in the verse have the consonantal sounds “sh” and “l” in order. This has been observed by Allen, 158, as a play on the name of Jerus(h)alem, describing here as a city of peace (see Hebrews). Zenger, 452, also notes the alliteration and assonance in vv. 6–9.
[6] Sailhamer, 218.
As the Creator, Yhwh has the authority and ability to do what the psalmist claims in the rest of the psalm, as it moves from a first person wish to a description of Yhwh’s work on behalf of the one addressed as “you” in the next six verses.
Exegetical Reflections 