Psalms

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Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his loyal love endures. 2 Let Israel say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 3 Let the family of Aaron say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 5 In my distress I cried out to the Lord. The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I am not afraid. What can people do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper. I look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 12 They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly as a fire among thorns. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 13 “You aggressively attacked me and tried to knock me down, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” 15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. The Lord’s right hand conquers. 16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory; the Lord’s right hand conquers. 17 I will not die, but live, and I will proclaim what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord severely punished me, but he did not hand me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple. I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the Lord’s gate—the godly enter through it. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me, and have become my deliverer. 22 The stone that the builders discarded has become the cornerstone.⁠ 23 This is the Lord’s work. We consider it amazing! 24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it. 25 Please, Lord, deliver! Please, Lord, grant us success! 26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord be blessed.⁠ We will pronounce blessings on you in the Lord’s temple.⁠ 27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us. Tie the offering with ropes to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks. You are my God and I will praise you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 118:26 and John 12:13

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Summary

John’s description of the crowd greeting Jesus with palm branches and praise echoes Psalm 118, a song traditionally sung during Sukkot as worshippers waved branches. John uses this to shape his narrative with the patterns in the Hebrew Bible.

Passages

Psalm 118:26

Hebrew Bible

24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it. 25 Please, Lord, deliver! Please, Lord, grant us success! 26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord be blessed. We will pronounce blessings on you in the Lord’s temple. 27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us. Tie the offering with ropes to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks. You are my God and I will praise you.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

John 12:13

New Testament

11 for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem were going away and believing in Jesus. 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion; look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!”

90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

References

"... In the Temple, if we can read our Jewish sources without regard to time frames, Hosanna hymns were recited on Sukkot, in the Fall, while holding the items commanded by Leviticus 23:40. John 12:13 explicitly refers to the palm branches. The word Hoshanna [“O’ save us”] in Psalm 118:25 came to refer to the shaking of the palm and willow branches. They were reportedly held in the hand together with myrtle branches and a citron fruit while Psalm 118:25 was sung in the Temple. The symbolism of the Sukkot species and the hymns woven about them continue to excite the poetics of Jewish ritual to the present day and a massive collection of Hosanna hymns has been preserved. The precise festival day is of no import in my view as the Jesus Entrance Procession is removed from real time narrative and reflects a distant future when the messiah will arrive in Jerusalem. The last arrival of Jesus at the Temple is the best location for the scene, whatever day it happens to be. The Passover setting is not relevant to the Entrance scene—but it is relevant to the Last Supper scene ..."

Herbert W. Basser, “Planting Christian Trees in Jewish Soil,” in Judaism and Christianity: New Directions for Dialogue and Understanding, ed. Alan J. Avery-Peck and Jacob Neusner, BRLJ 28 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 61–82.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Psalm 118:26 and John 12:13

Summary

Passages

Psalm 118:26

John 12:13

References

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