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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 132

1 A song of ascents. O Lord, for David’s sake remember all his strenuous effort 2 and how he made a vow to the Lord, and swore an oath to the Powerful One of Jacob. 3 He said, “I will not enter my own home, or get into my bed. 4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber, 5 until I find a place for the Lord, a fine dwelling place for the Powerful One of Jacob.” 6 Look, we heard about it in Ephrathah; we found it in the territory of Jaar. 7 Let us go to his dwelling place. Let us worship before his footstool. 8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,⁠ you and the ark of your strength.⁠ 9 May your priests be clothed with integrity. May your loyal followers shout for joy. 10 For the sake of David, your servant, do not reject your chosen king. 11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; he will not go back on his word.⁠ He said, “I will place one of your descendants on your throne.⁠ 12 If your sons keep my covenant and the rules I teach them, their sons will also sit on your throne forever.” 13 Certainly the Lord has chosen Zion; he decided to make it his home. 14 He said, “This will be my resting place forever; I will live here, for I have chosen it. 15 I will abundantly supply what she needs; I will give her poor all the food they need. 16 I will protect her priests, and her godly people will shout exuberantly. 17 There I will make David strong; I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.28⁠ 18 I will humiliate his enemies, and his crown will shine.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 132:11 and Acts 2:30

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Acts 2 refers to God’s promise that one of David’s descendants would sit on his throne, echoing Psalm 132 where this covenant is declared unbreakable. Acts uses it to interpret the events surrounding Jesus' life and death connected to that promise.

Passages

Psalm 132:11

Hebrew Bible
9 May your priests be clothed with integrity. May your loyal followers shout for joy. 10 For the sake of David, your servant, do not reject your chosen king. 11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; he will not go back on his word. He said, “I will place one of your descendants on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and the rules I teach them, their sons will also sit on your throne forever.” 13 Certainly the Lord has chosen Zion; he decided to make it his home.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Acts 2:30

New Testament
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of joy with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his body experience decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it.
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Acts

References

"... C. K. Barrett has argued that three topics dominate OT discussion: preaching (Acts 2:17–21, 25–28, 34–35; 3:22–23, 25; 7:3, 5–7, 18, 27–28, 32–35, 37, 40, 42–43; 8:32–33; 13:22, 33–35, 41), prayer (Acts 4:25–26) and direction for the church’s life (Acts 1:16, 20; 13:47; 15:16–18; 23:5; 28:26–27). These are good general categories, but more detail is possible. In fact most texts are Christological, emphasizing Jesus as the fulfillment of messianic and Davidic hope or highlighting how he fulfills promises associated with the end-time activity of God or a righteous sufferer. The Psalter, Isaiah, Joel and Amos are keys to this portrait (Psalm 2:7 in Acts 13:33; Psalm 16:10 in Acts 2:25–28, 13:35; Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2:34–35; Psalm 118:22 in Acts 4:11; Psalm 132:11 in Acts 2:30; Is 53:7–8 in Acts 8:32–33; Is 55:3 in Acts 13:34; Amos 9:11–12 in Acts 15:15–17; Joel 2:28–32 in Acts 2:17–21). In addition Acts 3:18–21 highlights the general promises of Scripture in indicating that, as Israel’s Messiah, all that Jesus did not fulfill in his first coming, he will realize in his return ..."
Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 1189.

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

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Psalm 132:11 and Acts 2:30

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