Bible Commentaries
Psalms 132

Verses 1-18

CXXXII. David’ s Zeal and its Reward.

Psalms 132:1-5 . David’ s oath to find a worthy abode for the Ark in which Yahweh dwelt.

Psalms 132:1 b. affliction: rather “ pains,” i.e. the pains he took to find a dwelling for Yahweh. He had (1 Chronicles 21) made elaborate provision for the material of the Temple buildings and had desired himself to erect them. The oath mentioned here is an addition to the sacred legend.

Psalms 132:6-8 . The finding and translation of the Ark.

Psalms 132:6 . The exegesis is the merest guesswork. Ephrathah may mean Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2, Ruth 4:11); the field of the wood may mean Kiriath-jearim (= “ city of woods” ), where the Ark abode twenty years ( 1 Samuel 7:2).) Here the general sense would seem to be that David heard of the Ark in his native town and found it not at Shiloh where it used to be, but at Kiriath-jearim. Or, since Ephrathah is said in 1 Chronicles 2:50 to have been an ancestor of Kiriath-jearim, we may understand the verse to mean, “ We found the Ark in the district of Ephrathah and in the town of Kiriath-jearim.”

Psalms 132:11 f. Yahweh’ s oath in return for David’ s piety. David’ s sons and sons’ sons in endless succession are to sit on his throne, if they are faithful to Yahweh.

Psalms 132:13-18 . The prosperity of Zion, the beloved of Yahweh.

Psalms 132:15 . provision: read, “ Zion.”

Psalms 132:17 . A lamp is the figure of prosperity. David ( 2 Samuel 2:17) embodies the prosperity of Israel, and is therefore said to be its lamp or light (cf. also Job 29:3).

Psalms 132:18 . flourish: rather “ shine.”