Psalms

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Psalm 24

1 A psalm of David. The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. 2 For he set its foundation upon the seas, and established it upon the ocean currents.⁠ 3 Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? 4 The one whose deeds are blameless who has clean hands and a pure heart^*, who does not lie,⁠ or make promises with no intention of keeping them.⁠ 5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them. 6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah) 7 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors.⁠ Then the majestic king will enter.⁠ 8 Who is this majestic king? The Lord who is strong and mighty. The Lord a mighty man in battle.⁠ 9 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 10 Who is this majestic king? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the majestic king. (Selah)

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 24:8 and Samaritan Exodus 15:3

Hebrew Bible · Samaritan

Summary

The Samaritan version of Exodus 15 changes God from a 'man' of war to 'hero', to avoid describing God like a human. This change is likely older than the Samaritan community and may have followed existing traditions, such as Psalm 24.

Passages

Psalm 24:8

Hebrew Bible

7 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 8 Who is this majestic king? The Lord who is strong and mighty. The Lord a mighty man in battle. 9 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 10 Who is this majestic king? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the majestic king. (Selah)

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Samaritan Exodus 15:3

Samaritan · Samaritan Penteteuch

2 [Shema] is my strength and glory, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will honor him. 3 Shema is mighty in war, Shema is his name. 4 He threw Pharaoh’s chariot and his armies into the sea, and his chosen captains drowned in the sea of Sof.

130–120 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Samaritan Exodus

References

"... Nowhere else in Scripture is God depicted as a “man” ... The reading in the Samaritan Pentateuch is best explained as an attempt to soften this image with the literarily synonymous but theologically more acceptable “hero” of war, which could be understood as a description of YHWH’s actions as opposed to the deity’s person. This variant is not a reflection of the views of the Samaritan community per se, and was likely part of the Pre-Samaritan layer of that text, which was created by Jews in the Second Temple period (which is why texts of this sort were found in Qumran). It is thus possible that the author of Psalm 24 was aware of the reading now included in the SP’s text, and was alluding to it in his description of YHWH ..."

Emanuel Tov, God as a Warrior, Exodus 15:3 (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2023), 1–3.

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 24:8 and Samaritan Exodus 15:3

Summary

Passages

Psalm 24:8

Samaritan Exodus 15:3

References

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