Texts in Conversation
The Psalms of Solomon uses the language of Isaiah 11 to describe a future messianic ruler who is empowered by wisdom and righteousness to judge fairly and wisely and destroy the unrighteous with the word of his mouth.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 11:2
Hebrew Bible
1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots. 2 The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him—a Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. 3 His smelling is in the fear of the Lord7. He will not judge by mere appearances or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 4 He will treat the poor fairly and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and order the wicked to be executed.
Date: 740–450 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Psalms of Solomon 17:37
Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
35 For he will strike the earth with the word of his mouth forever. He will bless the people of the Lord with wisdom and gladness, 36 And he himself (will be) free from sin, so that he may rule a great people. He will rebuke rulers, and remove sinners by the power of his word; 37 And (relying) on his God, throughout his life he will not stumble; For God will make him powerful by means of (His) holy spirit, And wise by means of the spirit of understanding, with strength and righteousness. 38 And the blessing of the Lord (will be) with him: he will be strong and not stumble; 39 His hope (will be) in the Lord: who then can overpower him?
Date: 65–30 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The influence of Isaiah 11:1–4 is particularly significant because Isaiah 11 is used to describe the Messiah in many other texts as well: the king is girded with strength (Psalms of Solomon 17:22) and wisdom (sofia, Psalms of Solomon 17:23), both descriptions taken from Isaiah 11:2. The king’s destruction of the godless nations “with the word of his mouth” (Psalms of Solomon 17:24) is taken from the Septuagint’s translation of Isaiah 11:4. This same phrase returns later in the psalm when we hear that the Messiah “will strike the earth with the word of his mouth” (Psalms of Solomon 17:35). The psalmist adds “forever” to the end of that description in order to emphasize the everlasting reign of the Messiah. The language of Isaiah 11:1–4 continues in the eighteenth psalm’s description of the Messiah, where he is presented as teaching the people of Israel in the ways of righteousness. Righteousness and justice are common traits of the idealized king in several prophetic portraits, both before and after the exile to Babylon ..."
Scott Reynolds, “The Messiah and Eschatology in the Psalms of Solomon” (MA diss., Trinity Western University, 2016), 58–59.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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