Psalm 5 Overview

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Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 5

This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 5 as a whole. It includes the following sections:


Introduction to Psalm 5

Author:

Purpose:

To petition the divine King and Judge for justice from enemies.

Content:

YHWH, act justly! Banish the evildoers! Shelter the righteous!

Message:

YHWH is a just ruler and he blesses the just.

Psalm 5 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. Psalm 5 At-a-Glance.jpg

Background Orientation for Psalm 5

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.

  • In ancient Israel, the king was also the judge who decided cases (2 Sam. 15:2; 1 Kgs 3:16-24).
    • YHWH is King David's "King" (see v. 3), and his heavenly court is the highest court in the land.
  • The rising of the morning sun was associated with the enactment of justice, and people would bring their cases before the king in the morning (cf. 2 Sam. 15:2).
  • God's house was the place of worship and God's immediate presence (cf. Pss. 42-43). To be away from God's house was distressing.
  • When David was away from the temple, he longed to return (cf. 2 Sam. 15:25; Pss. 27).
  • Since the temple is YHWH's "house" (v. 8), YHWH is a host to those sojourning in, or traveling to, his house.
  • In the ancient Near East, hosts were obligated to keep their guests safe from enemies (cf. Ps. 23:5-6).

Background Situation for Psalm 5

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. Psalm 5 Background situation.jpg

Participants in Psalm 5

This resource is forthcoming.