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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 1 Kings 15:4 and Psalm 132:17

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

1 Kings 15 says God kept David a lasting dynasty in Jerusalem despite an unfaithful king, echoing Psalm 132, where God swears to keep a lamp burning for David’s family. Both express the same promise that David’s line never goes dark.

Passages

1 Kings 15:4

Hebrew Bible
3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. 4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty in Jerusalem by giving him a son to succeed him and by protecting Jerusalem. 5 He did this because David had done what he approved and had not disregarded any of his commandments his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

Psalm 132:17

Hebrew Bible
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.”
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Finally, the promise of a “lamp” for David finds its late reflection in Psalm 132, in which Deuteronomistic echoes are patent: “I have arranged a lamp (nēr) for my anointed one” (verse 17). and his offspring. It is not necessary to emend wlbnyw to lpnyw, “before him” (as does Klostermann), for the notion of continuity through “offspring” is found in 1 Kings 15:4. ...”
Mordechai Cogan and Hayim Tadmor, II Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible 11) (New York: Doubleday, 1988), 95.

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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1 Kings 15:4 and Psalm 132:17

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