In my previous two posts, I looked at aspects of Psalms 93, 95, 96 and 98 that declare Yahweh, the divine King, to be the world’s own Creator. In my next post, I plan to argue that the creation theology of the sub-section constituted by Psalms 93-100 contributes to the larger thematic goal of Book 4 in the Psalter (Psalms 90-106). Before I do that, however, I’d like to attempt a better synthesis of Psalms 93-100, considered as a unit, than space would allow in my previous two posts. When the Kingdom of Israel’s God comes, these psalms emphasize, it is the Kingdom of the world’s own Creator.
Psalms 93-100 as a Unit
Recent work on Psalms 93-100 has pointed to the concatenations (i.e. significant links) that unite these psalms into a coherent “cycle” focused on the kingship of Yahweh. While the eight psalms in this cycle may have been composed at different times, yet they seem to have been designed or edited in such a way that it is possible to read them as a unit, evincing a measure of thematic progress across the cycles’ eight-psalm “arc.” I will be concerned with the function of Psalms 93-100 within the wider context of Book 4 of the Psalter in my next installment, but here we may briefly survey the trajectory of the divine kingship cycle with attention to the role of creation within this narrow unit.
According to Psalm 93, Yahweh’s kingship is as old as the physical cosmos which he made secure (93:1-2): There was no “when” when he was not king. The primeval truth of cosmic stability is affirmed for Israel in Yahweh’s enduring (or “faithful”) word and in his temple (93:5). Psalm 96 takes up what is known by Israel and foresees (or at least commands) its recognition by the nations, who themselves take up verbatim the confession of Psalm 93:1 regarding Yahweh’s kingship and the stability of the world (96:10).
The context of the “sanctuary” and the recurrence of the word “strength” consolidate the link between Psalms 93 and 96 (93:1; 96:6-7). Psalm 96 envisions that the nations will recognize, on the basis of his creative agency, that Yahweh is God and that all the so-called “gods” are not (96:5 and 10).
The statement that Yahweh has come to judge the earth in 96:13 can be seen as a response to the earlier prayer in 94:2, “Rise up, O Judge of the earth.” We may pause here to note that this connection to the exercise of judgment and justice appears to be the warrant for placing Psalm 94—which alone among Psalms 93-100 makes no explicit mention of Yahweh’s kingship—within the cycle of divine kingship psalms. In fact, the problematics introduced by Psalm 94—and a passing reference to the creation motif—justify a brief closer look at this communal lament before returning to the inter-connections of Psalms 93-100.
Psalm 94 introduces a complaint about the apparent lack of justice in society:
3 How long shall the wicked, O LORD,
how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They froth, they speak arrogantly—
all the wicked boast.
5 They crush your people, LORD,
they oppress your inheritance.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
7 and they say, “The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
The last verse reveals the theological perplexity to which the psalm addresses itself: it seems that Yahweh does not see—and yet he is supposed to be the “God of retribution” (v. 1), and is allegedly the Judge of the earth (v. 2). Given the canonical placement, the “crushing” inflicted by the wicked (v. 5) seems to recall the “crushers” of the waters over which Yahweh is exalted (93:3), and the stable throne of Yahweh (93:2) is opposed by the wicked’s “throne of ruin” (94:20).
At this point, the wisdom tradition and its creation theology assert themselves over against despair at the prima facie inactivity of Yahweh: “Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? (vv. 8-9; cf. Proverbs 20:12; Exodus 4:11.) Yahweh made the human creature (who now tends to exercise injustice), and his inactivity will not be prolonged indefinitely. The psalm expresses confidence that Yahweh will not forsake his people (v. 14), that judgment will again accord with justice (v. 15), and that God will be both a “rock” for the righteous (v. 22) and a destroyer of the wicked (v. 23).
The beginning of Psalm 95 picks up on the imagery of Yahweh as “rock” from the end of Psalm 94 (cf. 95:1 and 94:22); and, as we saw previously, Psalm 95 also advances the creation theme introduced in Psalm 93—i.e. all the chief features of the habitable world as we know it are his, because he made them.
More importantly, Psalm 95 both introduces a theme to be developed in Psalms 96 and 98, and together with Psalm 100 constitutes a “frame” around the “central” sequence of Psalms 96-99. According to 95:3, Yahweh is Great King above all gods—a declaration developed subsequently in 96:4-5 in terms of creation (again: Yahweh made the heavens, whereas the idols of the nations did not), and acknowledged in 97:7 through the obeisance of the gods before Yahweh’s theophanic arrival. As a companion to Psalm 100, Psalm 95:6-7 anticipates the theme of Yahweh as Creator and Shepherd of his people (cf. Ps. 100:3).
We have already noted the most salient similarities and differences between Psalms 96 and 98 in a previous post. We may now also remark on an oft-repeated claim that Psalms 96-99 form an ABA’B’ pairing: Psalms 96 and 98 (A and A’, respectively) announce the coming of Yahweh, whereas Psalm 97 (=B) depicts his theophanic arrival, and Psalm 99 (=B’) references his enthronement on cherubim and the trembling of the earth.
While the linguistic echoes adduced to establish this pattern seem plausible (for the most part), the occurrence of a patterned repetition sometimes hides the “dramatic” or “narrative” advance across these four psalms. A particular instance of missing the forest for the trees is the protracted discussion in the commentaries regarding the syntax and meaning of the phrase kî ba’ in 96:13 and 98:9. Due to the parallel structure of the psalms (discussed above) and to the tendency to exegete the psalms as independent compositions rather than as parts of a larger compilation, it is generally assumed that the phrase is to be translated in the same way in each psalm (i.e. as either “he is coming” or as “he has come”—both of which are grammatically possible). If, however, one is convinced that editorial shaping and intertextuality have been deployed, it is not self-evident that they both have to be translated in the same way.
To see why, we might attend to the particular role of Psalm 97 in the divine kingship cycle. As a theophany, Psalm 97 is noteworthy in its lack of anticipatory announcement of Yahweh’s impending arrival (cf. Psalm 18:7-15). Yet this is precisely what Ps. 96:13 could be taken to supply. It is, in fact, no surprise that Yahweh simply appears, resplendent in glory, at the outset of Psalm 97—for it is the role of Psalm 96 (esp. v. 13) to lead us to expect his appearance.
Psalm 98:1-3 is then explicable as a reaction to the appearance of Yahweh in Psalm 97: In the theophany, Yahweh bares his holy arm and acts in remembrance of his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. The nations and the cosmos see it, and (are commanded to) render praise to Yahweh in Ps. 98. The trishagion of Psalm 99 then presupposes the manifestation of Yahweh in Psalm 97 and the reaction to it expressed in 98: Yahweh is the “mighty King” (where “strength” again harks back to 93:1 and 96:6-7), who has established equity and executed judgment and justice in Jacob (answering to the concerns of Psalm 94).
This dramatic “movement” suggests that we may not want to homogenize the translation of kî ba’ in 96:13 and 98:9. In their canonical placement, the first is an expression that Yahweh is coming, but the second reacts to his arrival (in Psalm 97) with the remark that he has come.
Whatever we decide regarding the translation of 96:13 and 98:9, Psalm 100 does form a fitting conclusion to the divine kingship cycle:[1] “all the earth” is summoned to recognize that Yahweh is God and to worship him; Israel is recognized as his people; the courts of Yahweh are entered with worship (cf. 96:8); and the everlasting goodness, loyalty and faithfulness of Yahweh are recognized.
The emphasis on divine faithfulness within the kingship cycle will be particularly important in the next section of our investigation and may be remarked upon here: The decrees of Yahweh the divine King are faithful (93:5), as are his dealings with Israel (98:3) and with the nations (96:13)—he is faithful in all generations, in fact (100:5). As the passing references to creation in these psalms indicate, when the Kingdom of Israel’s God comes, it is the Kingdom of the world’s own Creator. This very Creator establishes a stable world, a stable and just sociality within Israel, and a stable international order.
Stephen Long is a PhD candidate in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity at the University of Notre Dame.
[1] Psalm 100 lacks the declaration “Yahweh is King,” but commentators regularly see it as the conclusion of Pss. 93-100 due to its summation of common themes from Psalms 93-99. See Zenger, “God of Israel’s Reign,” 179 for a convenient summary of the textual and thematic connections.