Psalm 37 Overview
They will soon wither
Psalm 37
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 37
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 37 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 37
Author:
Purpose:
- To encourage the righteous not to be upset by the success of the wicked, but to trust in YHWH and do good.
Content:
- The wicked will be destroyed, and the righteous will possess the land. Therefore, don't get upset about the wicked! Trust in YHWH and do good!
Message:
- The wicked will not last for long. It is the righteous who will possess the land.
Psalm 37 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 37
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.
- YHWH is the judge of all the earth who rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked (see Gen 18:25).
- The success of the wicked poses a perennial challenge to the idea of YHWH's justice (see Jer 12:1; Mal 3:14-15; Ps 73; Job 20-21; cf. The Babylonian Theodicy VII, XXIII in COS 1.154).
- YHWH promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants (see Gen 12:7; 15:7, 18-21), and in the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, YHWH fulfilled his promise (see Josh 21:43-45; Jdg 2:6; 1 Kgs 8:56). But Israel's continued possession of the land depended on their faithfulness to the covenant (see Lev 26; Deut 28; cf. Ezra 9:10-12; 1 Chron 28:8) (cf. Martin 2013).
- In the end, "all of [YHWH's] people will be righteous, and they [i.e., the righteous] will possess the land forever" (Isa 60:21; cf. Isa 57:13; 65:9; Jer 30:3; Gen 13:15; 17:8; 48:4; Exod 32:13; Josh 14:9).
Background Situation for Psalm 37
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 37
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