Go to Related Reading
About this book

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 2 Samuel 21:17 and Psalm 132:17

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

In 2 Samuel 21, David’s warriors call him the “lamp of Israel,” warning that his death would extinguish it. Psalm 132 uses the same idiom, speaking of a lamp established for David as part of the covenant.

Passages

2 Samuel 21:17

Hebrew Bible
15 Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted. 16 Now Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, had a spear that weighed 300 bronze shekels, and he was armed with a new weapon. He had said that he would kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to David’s aid, striking the Philistine down and killing him. Then David’s men took an oath saying, “You will not go out to battle with us again! You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel!” 18 Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha. 19 Yet another battle occurred with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Elhanan the son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Samuel

Psalm 132:17

Hebrew Bible
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

"... Both the time for lighting and for extinguishing the lamps were used as time specifications for other activities (Exodus 30:7-8) or simply for indicating a certain time of day (1 Samuel 3:3). As natural light takes on positive associations based on its role as dispeller of darkness, a congruent metaphoric range extends to the artificial light from lamps: e.g. 'For you are my lamp, Yahweh, and Yahweh will illuminate my darkness' (2 Samuel 22:29). So, too, we should note the lamp imagery applied to David and the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 21:17; 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 18:19; 2 Chronicles 21:7; Psalm 132:17). On the other hand, extinguishing a lamp is a way of referring to divine punishment (Proverbs 20:20; 24:20; Job 18:5-6; 21:17) ..."
Ellen Robbins, “Studies in the Prehistory of the Jewish Calendar” (PhD diss., New York University, 1989), 89.

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

Your feedback

2 Samuel 21:17 and Psalm 132:17

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library