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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 45

1 For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”; by the Korahites, a well-written poem, a love song. My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. I say, “I have composed this special song for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”⁠ 2 You are the most handsome of all men. You speak in an impressive and fitting manner. For this reason God grants you continual blessings.⁠ 3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior. Appear in your majestic splendor. 4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious. Ride forth for the sake of what is right, on behalf of justice. Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts. 5 Your arrows are sharp and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies. Nations fall at your feet. 6 Your throne, O God, is permanent. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.⁠ 7 You love justice and hate evil. For this reason God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy, elevating you above your companions. 8 All your garments are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. From the luxurious palaces comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy. 9 Princesses are among your honored women. Your bride stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir. 10 Listen, O princess. Observe and pay attention! Forget your homeland and your family.⁠ 11 Then the king will be attracted by your beauty. After all, he is your master. Submit to him. 12 Rich people from Tyre will seek your favor by bringing a gift. 13 The princess looks absolutely magnificent, decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold. 14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king. Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her, are led before you. 15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession and enter the royal palace. 16 Your sons will carry on the dynasty of your ancestors; you will make them princes throughout the land.⁠ 17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years, then the nations will praise you forever.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 53:2 and Psalm 45:2

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 45 praises a king whose beauty and speech show divine favor and legitimacy, based on ancient Near Eastern tradition. Isaiah rejects this, describing a servant with no beauty or appeal, challenging the idea that appearance proves favor or authority.

Passages

Isaiah 53:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the Lord’s power revealed through him? 2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. 3 He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Psalm 45:2

Hebrew Bible
1 For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”; by the Korahites, a well-written poem, a love song. My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. I say, “I have composed this special song for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” 2 You are the most handsome of all men. You speak in an impressive and fitting manner. For this reason God grants you continual blessings. 3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior. Appear in your majestic splendor.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... The silence of gospel authors contrasts with the practice of biblical authors who consistently featured commentary on the appearance of Jesus’ biblical ancestors ... Joseph was “handsome and good-looking” (Genesis 39:6). Saul “was a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he” (1 Samuel 9:2). David, the future king, possessed “lovely eyes and a handsome appearance” (1 Samuel 16:12). Physical attractiveness continues down the Davidic line with Absalom: “In all Israel there was no one to be praised for his beauty so much as Absalom” (2 Samuel 14:25), and Adonijah: “He was also a very handsome man” (1 Kings 1:6). Commentary on the physical appearance of prominent leaders and acknowledgment of their handsomeness seem to be consistent features of Jewish sacred literature completely omitted in the gospel accounts of Jesus. Psalm 45:2 offers one indication why the description of physical appearance might be significant in the identification of Israel’s leaders: “You are the most handsome of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever”. Male leaders are handsome because they are the recipients of God’s grace; biblical authors recognised this outward sign of physical attractiveness as an indicator of divine favour and fitness for leadership ... maybe the gospel authors followed the prediction of the prophet Isaiah that the suffering servant would have “no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2) ..."
Maurice Ryan, “What Did Jesus Look Like? Reclaiming Jesus the Jew in Art and Religious Education,” Journal of Religious Education 69 (2021): 239–252.

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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Isaiah 53:2 and Psalm 45:2

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